I (20F) am severely depressed (have been for years) and I’ve turned to Reddit to try find people who are similar to me, to see how they manage and just feel less alone. I peruse r/selfharm mostly, since my major concern is my own self harm. I met a few guys around my age there; they seemed nice at first. But after a few hours of talking it became obvious they only cared about trying to get pictures of my cuts and my body. I was stupid and sent some SFW and mild pictures at first to introduce myself, but I grew uncomfortable and deleted them once they started to seemingly come onto me even when I told them repeatedly I had a partner. Many of them told me several times I was hot, even going as far as saying they were getting turned on by me. One guy even “joked” about posting my pictures if I didn’t send more. Even though the pictures are innocent, some have my face and everything and I didn’t want them to be public for my own safety as a woman. This isn’t the first time I’ve had people behave this way around me; I’ve had both online and in person friends/people act like this with me, which is why I’m just SO tired of it.
I just want normal friends. I know I was kind of dumb to expect that from Reddit but still. I’m a mentally ill person just hoping to find some people to relate to without immediately being sexualized. 🙁
Thats fucked up. Alot of people on reddit are… weird. I’d try playing some online games and try that. I found one of my best friends through a discord server, so thats always a very good option
man this is so sad that some people do this.. i hate evil people… i hope you’ll be okay.. why dont they just help a poor woman and stop being creepy like that
That’s super weird and creepy. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to reach out to people online. I think it just has to be approached with caution. It’s a lot easier to get vibes when you talk to people in person, especially in a group setting. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this though. It’s super uncomfortable
when you show you are vulnerable people will take advantage of that. i wouldnt know if this would actually work, but i feel like:
1. try getting to know ppl outside of your phone computer whatever. you might find slightly more empathetic people.
2. (this might not work at all, take this with a grain of salt) considering what i said above about ppl taking advantage of shit, if you try to get to know people in real life, try to not let your vulnerability show at first for a little bit. if nobody knows your weakness, they may not have the intention to abuse it in the first place. sorry if this was dumb
these kind of people are deeply hurt on the inside. be patient and respect yourself always.
i promise you im not those kind of weirdos😉
You can message me if you want. I can listen, give you my perspective on anxiety and depression. I don’t know about self harm, so I won’t ask for pictures. And I am not single, so won’t hit on you either.
I personally don’t believe in friendships between the genders
unless you both FOR SURE are not attracted to each other, it will never be a pure friendship and one side will always have a hidden motive
either way, this sounds really hard and I am sorry to hear you went through those kind of people.