It's par for the course when you deal with some types of negs. Some negs begin with something fairly innocuous, and if ignored, will go away to find someone else that's easier to get a reaction from. But if you react, fear, and start fighting back, some will revel in your reaction (it's not the countermeasure, it's your thinking process when you engage, your emotional investment in the process) and ramp up the attacks. I feel that from my own experience, once you commit to fighting back you have to set aside fear and empower yourself to fight, and commit to the fight until the neg goes away, which they do. But if you're fearful, and invest your mental and emotional being in the situation, you might as well get help from someone you believe in.