I have name changed for the purpose of this thread. I need to preface this post by telling you I have significant anxiety and poor mental health stemming from a decade of abuse. It is because of those factors that my reaction to situations like this will differ greatly to that of more resilient women who may feel able to simply say "do one mate"
A couple of weeks ago when I was on my way to the shops I was stopped by a dodgy looking man, I say dodgy because he was intimidating to look at. He was wearing a hood, had what looked like a home made tattoo on his face, a scruffy beard and a large dog with him.
I was wearing headphones so I couldn't hear whatever he was saying and when he realised that he stepped into my path and gestured for me to remove the headphones.
He then asked if he could talk to me for a few minutes.
I told him I couldn't stop as I have an appointment and continued to walk but he wasn't deterred and kept walked alongside me trying to get me to stop and chat. He asked where I live and I said the opposite side of town (he had actually caught me 5 minutes from where I live) and he said oh ok, I live on that street there - gesturing to one within walking distance of my own road.
He was making me very uncomfortable and kept asking me for my telephone number. I decided I would give him a false number so I could be left in peace.
As I began to recite an 07... he said hang on let me put your name in first then I'll call you now so you have my number too.
I then panicked and wondered how he would respond to realising the number was false so I told him my name was something else and gave the correct number. Huge mistake but I just wanted to get out of there and I've first hand experience of men becoming abusive when rejected and he was giving me the creeps.
I managed to get away from him with him saying he would text me later. I immediately blocked the number from calling and texting and that was that.
Around a week later I'm out with my mother and my young child in the pram and I see him coming up the street again, I put my head down and walked straight past quickly. He didn't say anything but stopped in his tracks and stared.
Half an hour later I get a message on WhatsApp (it didn't occur to check whether he used that) and it's him asking if I would "start seeing him" and that he hasn't stopped thinking about me. At this point I respond and say sorry I'm not interested I have a partner.
He replied several times but i deleted the message thread without opening them.
I didn't want to block him as it was clear I would keep bumping into him and didn't want him to have a reason to be aggressive the next time I saw him in the street. I had been polite but firm and hoped that would be the end of it.
Then today I'm going to my local supermarket and he's coming up the street in my direction again so I keep my headphones in and look down and rush past. He doesn't say anything but slows down and stares.
Sure enough within the hour he's texting again on WhatsApp, sending me conspiracy theory posts. I then block him on that application so he has no way of getting in touch at all.
Whenever I see him he ignites my anxiety and I'm scared of him approaching me the next time he sees me. It doesn't look like I can avoid him as when I have seen him it's either on my local high street or near my house
He hasn't committed a crime so it's not a police matter but he makes me feel unsafe and I get a terrible vibe from him, like he's dangerous.
I can't not use my local supermarket and I can't not use the high street.
Do you think he'll get bored or do I have a problem on my hands?