I skateboarded, drank and smoked with this guy when I was about 15/16 (he was just part of our little group that skated etc, not a close friend, more just someone I knew). He was really out going, funny, confident. Whatever happened I didn't see him for another five years or so. Then at about 21/22 years old, me and another mate met him randomly on the bus... Right away it was obvious that something had gone badly wrong for him. He seemed jittery and withdrawn. We all laughed at a joke together, ten minutes later he asked if we'd been laughing at him, it was so surprising. He explained he was no good at doing jobs and had failed at chefing. He also explained he'd been living in a house were they were they had been doing Es everyday (he'd moved out and stopped that). Some of his house mates I knew of vaguely, I knew them mostly as dodgy bastards that should be avoided at all costs.

Anyway he seemed to be a wreck of a person. Judging the character change I doubt it wasn't permanent damage, but I'm no expert.

Bizarrely this encounter was 20 years ago, and I remember it clearly because it was so utterly shocking to me.

Thanks for the link by the way. Ever since my daughter was born I've been stopping my wife from shouting at her or labelling her something negative, because I know all too well what it did to me (it was totally minor for me, but it's there). My wife has finally accepted this and it's stopped. Hrm, one positive impact I've had on the world I guess :)