I got caught out by gossiping. (Title edited by MNHQ by request of the OP)

[OMG1235]

My car is broken so today had to catch an Uber back home. Uber driver very chatty and I politely responded back to him. Once we got near my home he said he’s been here lots of times (a new development) and he asked me how it is and telling me how neighbours don’t chat to one another and I told him yes the neighbours not friendly at all, I should have stopped but I carried in with there’s a neighbour whose kid is in same class as my kid and they never even respond hello to me! I told him they so rude. We got close and he said the person he drops off every often lives at “number x”, he then asked my my number. The person I was gossiping about is his customer he picks up every day! How bloody odd, I have anxiety and will be thinking of him telling the other guy in passing or just commenting. They will know it’s me as it’s a small development. I’m such an idiot. He was so chatty and my boundaries just disappeared!

Worrying about it is pretty pointless at this stage as you can’t do anything about it….what has been said is said

Stop worrying about things that you can’t control….it’s out there and you can’t take it back

I doubt the taxi driver would bother to say anything, at the end of the day it wasn’t even interesting gossip….. it wasn’t as if you told him that a couple of the neighbours were having an affair or anything….. taxi drivers hear all sorts all day long…what you told him was probably not the most interesting thing he heard all day

It was unprofessional for the driver to start blathering on about his other customers. He must be nosy AF himself if he would consider telling this other fella "oh, this other lady from number x claims your a bellend". It would not be beneficial to him. But also no love lost between you and the neighbour. If they confront you just laugh and say the uber man must be round the bend as you barely know him and would never comment(?) Haha.

I’m like this with most things. I’m lying here when I have work in the morning thinking of this! I’m really not mentally well I know that. This is why I should stop all conversations with people I don’t know.

Think of spoons…

or any boring object really. Every time you go back to this conversation make yourself think of a spoon. Visualize it make it the center of your thoughts. Eventually you’ll get bored focusing on spoons and your brain will wander off in another direction.

Helps when you’re trying to sleep and intruding thoughts keep you up. Thinking about a spoon has never kept anyone awake 😁🥄

Don’t stop talking to people that you don’t know, just be more careful what you say

I gave up gossiping a long time ago ( well for the most part anyway) as I would be doing the same as you and I worried to much about what I had said and the possible consequences….. life is easier when you don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff…. the only time I might have a bit of a gossip now is with my sisters or VERY close long time friends that I can trust

Spoons! Great idea! I’ll try now once I stop typing.

thsts a good point I shouldn’t gossip with just anyone. Truthfully I feel hurt they don’t make any effort with me but I think that’s my mental state making it worse for me

I don't think you have anything to worry about tbh just relax.

I hope you managed to get some sleep.

Apparently the average taxi driver sees 5750 passengers per year. Let's assume he works 46 weeks a year, 5 days a week. That's 25 passengers he saw that day, and 125 that week.

I don't know about your capacity for remembering small talk with people. In my job (not massage, despite the user name) I see far fewer (probably between
6 and 10 per day), and I remember very little about that kind of chat. There's a small handful I do, but those are ones I've developed a friendship with over the time I've been there. There are people that remember what I've told them (because I'm the only person they see there) and I wouldn't recognise them if I walked past them on the street, never mind remember what we talked about.

It will all be fine.

Thank you all. I’ve had very little sleep. I am working in myself at the moment with CBT etc. I think my comment came out if hurt that I haven’t developed any friendships in this neighbourhood.

Bless you.

I know how you feel, I have anxiety and ocd and can ruminate for ages although I'm alot better in recent years.
Yes, the worse case scenario is that he may tell them HOWEVER I'd say the most likely scenario is that he's not going to say a word!! And has probably forgotten about it by now.
We can sometimes jump to the worse case scenario and also things can be a small thing and we can make it a very big thing in our heads.

If you try not to think about it, it will keep coming into your brain, if you keep overthinking it will also get bigger..
I'd try to accept that you've said it and allow it to be there but don't dig deeper and get on with things. This is what you do with intrusive thoughts, trying to avoid the thought or analyse or ask for reassurance makes it bigger and you're in a loop however acceptance and allowing it to be there whilst carrying on with your day should hopefully allow you to move on.

It's ok OP xx

Non issue. They won't say anything. If they do, you were misinterpreted. End.

It's no big deal.

Sorry you're stuck in this xxx

I mean this kindly, but I doubt that the taxi driver was that interested in what you were saying! Some drivers are chatty; they like to pass the time in that way. But they speak to hundreds of people in a week; they’re only likely to remember the specifics of a conversation if it specifically applies to or interests them. What he’ll have taken away from your conversation is probably just a general “people can be odd”. Even if he clocked at the time that you specifically meant the guy he picks up, he’s unlikely to have been dwelling on the point and less likely still to remember and repeat it to him next time he sees him. I really wouldn’t worry about it.

OP, I can't understand why you care!! Why do these people's opinions matter?

Book recommendation: "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*"