Coworker / friend from school I used to talk to sees me in the gym every now and then.We’ll be walking past each other and literally make eye contact. I’ll smile or give a slight nod to simply and friendly acknowledge his existence. But he’ll just look away, no change in facial expression, no nod, nothing, and just keep walking as if he didn’t know me even though we used to talk all the time. Nothing conflicting has happened between us so I’m not sure where this is coming from or why he’s ignoring me.
There’s a few other people that I’ve noticed this with, that’ll just seem to ignore you even though you guys have done a bunch of stuff together and used to talk.
What causes this? Did someone spread a rumor about me? Have they been fake this whole time? Did they suddenly find some random reason to dislike me? Did ny hair look bad? How do I stop overthinking about random shit like this?
1 comment
When you saw them at the gym the first time did you guys have a conversation or simply nod at each other? If you didn’t have a conversation with each other that means there’s no real emotional value between you both and you shouldn’t be taking this so personally. People drift apart and at least he remembered you, or it could possibly be that he thinks you’re a stranger and is nodding out of common courtesy. Most likely he isn’t taking it as seriously as you are and is just moving on to concentrate being at the gym to work out, not to adhere to social expectations. If you have had a conversation though and it’s died down, I’d say it’s just a lack of connection or mutual reciprocity to make it a friendship between you both and it’s no one’s fault.
It could be that they’re going through personal experiences that doesn’t allow them to be reciprocal to others. If I’m having a tough time and saw someone I usually talk to I’d half smile and continue walking. I’d either explain myself if they were curious or act normal again if they didn’t. Everyone understands that shit happens. I think you may have to work on your self-esteem as well as getting used to rejection. You shouldn’t be taking this nod so personally. I think it’s kind that you want others to feel acknowledged however you have to understand that no one owes you their time especially if you’re not close and I think you should try to build healthier expectations.