You Might Be a Stalker If…..

Famous comedian Jeff Foxworthy built a very successful career around a simple, but growing, list of things that might make one a “redneck.” With the growing tendency of people to give into stalking their exes, there can be a list that will warn you as to whether or not you happen to fall into the stalker category.

Consider that this list is a very serious one, albeit, the concept a bit tongue in cheek:

• If you tend to drive by your ex’s place of residence at 3 in the morning to see if a strange car is parked in the driveway, you might be a stalker.
• If you park down the street from where you ex lives and sit there for hours on end watching the house, you might be a stalker.
• If you follow your ex daily to see what he or she is doing and with whom, you might be a stalker.
• If you call your ex at odd hours to see if you get an answer, only to hang up when you do, you might be a stalker.
• If you send gifts constantly to your ex, even though you have been asked to stop, you might be a stalker.
• If you show up at public places or events that you know your ex will be attending all the time, you might be a stalker.
• If you try to visit your ex at work, even though you have been asked to stop, you might be a stalker.
• If you tend to tell everyone that you are engaged to your ex when you know that you are not even dating, you might be a stalker.
• If you refuse to believe or accept that the relationship is over and continue to act as if you and your ex are a couple, you might be a stalker.

As you peruse this list, do try to be honest when it comes to assigning any of these characteristics to either yourself, or someone you care about. Stalking is a very serious action and many people have been hurt through it. Some have even lost their lives. There is help for someone with stalker tendencies but that person must be willing to admit that there is a problem, and that seems to be the most difficult thing of all to do.

Committing even one or two of the acts on the list can put you in the danger zone, but if you said yes to ALL of them, run, don’t walk, to your nearest mental health clinic because help is needed. Answering for someone else means that you may have to do the nudging and pushing for that person to get the help they require because, typically, one of the strongest symptoms of being prone to stalking is denial. If someone does not believe a relationship is over, they do not see the harm in what they are doing.

Stalking is a very serious offense and should be treated as such. While there may be humor injected into the subject, the reality is not funny at all. It needs to be handled as soon as it is identified.