What to say to childhood/teenage friends if you meet them?

Post Reply New Topic

We are living in a small world and even if I moved miles away in my early adulthood I still feel "haunted" with thoughts about my childhood and teenage-friends, what I would say if we bump into each other one day.

Some of them I spent a lot of years with but they became selfcentered (especially one of them) and I then decided to just move on without telling too much, she would never understand anyway. Sometimes I see on Facebook that this former friends are visiting my current city and I feel so tense just imagen what I would say if they ask why I did this or that or how my life is doing now.

They are NTs and because we grew apart in early 20s, they didn't pick up my autism (I wasn't diagnosed back then and people didn't know so much these things then), it was easier to hide as well, we all were young in our minds, today I feel like I'm the only one who's the forever young-type in a childish way. My fear of meeting this people are because I don't work, I'm getting sick pay and can't function normal in society as they are doing, I don't even have a drivers licence and I'm really tense just to go on a regular bus, I have issues.

Can someone relate or know how to handle this fear and how to response?
What to say? What to avoid?

Usually if it has been that long, I do not say anything

A lot of the time, I recognize them and they do not recognize me

So I just ignore them



Once in a while I say something

But
it is usually not worth the cost benefit analysis

When I was 31, someone told me he recognized me. From fifth grade

20 years

And I did not recognize him

But he was wearing an entire manual labor suit, such that you could not see his head

If they say something, I say hi. How are you. Have a great day".

Only in rare instances do I ask for contact info




Having said that

I have no job either

And my appearance is not something I feel proud of



even though appearances are superficial