I’d agree with you that if we’ve changed it is our “friends” who misunderstand, and so truly they are stuck in the past. I’d also agree that often this leads to divergence between the members of the relationship, which make its persisting into the future unlikely — once again, resulting in their being left behind as we grow.

However, I think there are social pressures that have an effect on us consciously and unconsciously. Just as Rebecca said, when she would “regress to her ‘childhood self’ role,’ being treated and viewed a certain way can bring you to act that way.

In my experience, people that would tease and belittle me as a child would still do the same thing when I encountered them again as an adult, and sometimes it took a part of me right back to feeling like a child again.

You make a solid point though. A lot of times people act as triggers, and it’s not that they’re treating us or viewing us as who we used to be, but they simply evoke memories of our past experiences causing us to feel like who we used to be. I think that it’s important to emphasize the memories of our former self we carry with us as well, and how that works to restrict us.

Thank you so much for your kind words, taking the time to read my work, and your insightful response!