I will no longer be allowing men into my DMs

Hello everyone, just wanted to let you know I will no longer be allowing men in my DMs. <br><br>I love getting to know you and connecting with you all, but unfortunately, I will no longer be allowing men in my DMs. Please know that this decision isn’t coming from a place of malice, but a need to keep myself safe as a woman. <br><br>Bye for now!<br><br>**Trigger warning: Gaslighting, online harassment, emotional manipulation.** <br><br>I want to preface that while I understand that not all men are like this, especially the good men in the sub, these actions cause women (including myself) to not feel safe. This is a reminder to all the women out there, and the men who want to help protect us, to stay vigilant and prioritize our safety. <br><br>I have removed my stories, as I do not want to give this person any more attention than they deserve. <br><br>I made the mistake of giving a man my phone number, and I quickly realized after we started talking that he was using Love Bombing tactics on me. (This is something narcissists do to gain control over someone by overwhelming them with displays of attention and affection.) I was confused and a little concerned that things were moving so fast. This man was calling me beautiful, telling me how much he adored me, respected me, and valued me. He wanted to fly me out to see him, and was making plans for us to be in a relationship. <br><br>When I confronted him on his love bombing behavior, he became defensive, angry, and told me I was a "typical American woman". He said all of this after only talking for 3 days. This was the final straw for me, and I realized I needed to end things. <br><br>The next day, he messaged me on instagram, saying how much he missed me. I stood firm in my decision and explained to him that this behavior was extremely inappropriate for someone I had just met. I blocked him on all my socials.<br><br>Fast forward to today (about 4 days later), I get a message on instagram from a woman with a screenshotted conversation between her and this man. He was telling her all these same things - that he respected her, valued her, wanted to see her in person. He even called her beautiful and told her how much he adored her!<br><br>This man was using the EXACT same lines on her. <br><br>I was SHOOK. <br><br>This shows you how manipulative and narcissistic this person is, and the lengths they will go to manipulate and gaslight women. <br><br>This is not the first time something like this has happened to me, and I’m sure it’s happened to a lot of you as well. It’s so important for us to stay vigilant and not give men the benefit of the doubt when it comes to our safety. <br><br>I will not be giving any more men the opportunity to do this to me. <br><br>Thank you for reading ?