I need help. I was a victim of a traumatic scam.

Hello friends and family. Today, I fell victim to a traumatic scam. I am on vacation with my son and was called by someone who pretended to be a law enforcement agent and convinced me that I had to pay an enormous amount of money to avoid being arrested for contempt of court. I cannot go into details as to why this scam fed into legitimate fears of mine associated with my professional role as a clinical social worker, but the claim was very believable and preyed on my fears.

I was triggered into a state of shock and fear and lost my ability to access logical/rational thinking. I have been working so hard these last several months to improve my financial health and this was an enormous, and humiliating setback for me and my son. My poor child witnessed me in this state of terror and panic and I can only imagine he was also terrified. I have a few amazing people in my corner offering to help me with the financial loss. I do not want to put that burden on this individual who will remain anonymous.

I have struggled since I was a teenager with asking for help. Carrying burdensome beliefs that to ask for help meant I was weak or that I would be controlled or punished for receiving help. I have got to let this belief go or it just might kill me or put me in another position that would cause serious harm such as this one. I hate that this happened to me and those I love but it has given me courage to ask for help today and to trust in my family and friends to show up for me.

I hope that none of you ever has to go through being scammed in this horrific way. It’s humiliating, terrifying, and incredibly stressful. I am exhausted but I am coming to believe that pain shared is pain lessened and that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength.