I don't know what to do and am panicking. If anyone could read this and give me advice I'd appreciate that so much. So I'm 18 years old and in highschool. Today on the bus somebody I didn't know came and sat by me which is normal bc often the bus is overcrowded but they kept looking over at the schoolwork i was doing and I was like... Ok. Then they started talking to me and I was talking to them which is fine, they asked me my age and I told them, then we reached their stop so they asked me for my number, which I gave them bc Idk why not, assuming they just wanted to chat and maybe be friends, and they left. So later today I'm texting with them and wanted to know what grade they're in so I asked them. They're a freshman. So immediately I started panicking. Like oh no, what if I accidentally did something predatory by talking to them, etc. But that was fine bc I thought you know, we'd talk for like 5 mins, I'd probably never speak to them, whatever. But they keep texting me now. They want to play video games with me. They want to show me a book they like tomorrow. I'm freaking tf out. Not like they've said anything remotely romantic or I would obviously shut the situation down immediately but even if it's not romantic at all I don't want to be friends with someone 3 yrs younger than me. Sounds like an exact situation to cause me maximum anxiety, and even if I didn't have POCD it would be weird bc nobody does that. But I don't want to be rude and tell them I don't want to talk to them bc of their age and I don't even know how I would phase that, so I'm freaking out rn. I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I don't know what to do please help.

Forest13

Date posted: 3y

Hey, I’m really sorry, I’m in kind of a similar situation and I get completely why you’d be scared having ocd of the same type, I have a friend who’s a year younger than me but looks alot younger and it’s giving me alot of anxiety, but they have been nothing but a kind amazing friend to me and I don’t want to jsut abandon them. Anyways if you want to stay friends with them although it might cause you discomfort you’re going to have to say something along the lines of “hey I jsut wanted to make it clear that I’m not looking for a relationship with you or anything because of the obvious age difference, I jsut wanted to mention this jsut incase you asked for my number for that reason. If you don’t want to stay friends and it’s to hard ocd wise and jsut in general I think having a friend that’s alot younger would always feel weird but that’s me with my ocd, I think just being honest with them that you feel weird about being friends with someone with the age difference you have, that it’s nothing against them at all and they seem lovely, I’m sure they will understand.

raebird

Date posted: 3y

try and view the previous conversations you had as exposures, and understand there’s nothing wrong with friendship. the world would be nothing without it. maybe just try to close the conversation in a nice way, you don’t have to be friends with anyone you’re uncomfortable with

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