Scarleteen

Hi scarleteen, recently a thing has been getting in my head and I'm really freaking worried about it. About 2 years ago, when I was still a junior, a guy in high school told me to me to send pics of me in underwear. Well, I don't really remember what I sent him, it was something like wrapping a towel around me after shower and wearing shortie shorts with a crop top, but I'm sure I didn't send any nudes, not sure if I sent any with a sports bra on, thinking back abt this, I feel really freaking stupid. I regret it. Deeply regret it. I feel so stupid maybe cus I was too young back then. well ofcourse, recently I asked him if he still has the pics, he said no cus he changed his phone and the pics were in the old phone, I was like okay. I was okay for a few days, but then anxiety hits me again, I asked him again and he said if he ever has a naked picture of me he'll cut off his penis and turn gay. well, that was KIND of convincing. But I'm still no freaking worried about this, I feel like a disgusting whore. Help me please!

oh and I told him to promise me if he ever finds the pic he has to delete them. He said okay but I don't know if I should trust him. Well. Damn it. He has a girlfriend now and I feel like he doesn't really care about those pics anymore.

Hi annaanna,

The thing is, you know this guy better than any of us do, so you likely a sense of whether or not he's trustworthy (more so than we will). And, at a certain point, you'll likely have to just take him at his word.

It does sound like you're feeling some guilt around these pictures (and that can often link to anxiety about a thing). Would it help to discuss where you feel some of that guilt may be coming from? Sometimes we make judgements about something sexual that we realize later that were not comfortable with. And that's okay. So, try not to be too down on your past self for making that choice. Instead, think about what you might be able to learn from that choice (and the results of it) that you can apply in the future.