You recognise someone from a recovery meeting in a supermarket. They are with a colleague who does not know you. A friendly greeting can be welcome, but mentioning where you met may disclose something the other person wanted to keep private.
The easiest response is often ordinary courtesy without an explanation: a nod, a brief hello or simply allowing the person to lead. Recognition does not require announcing the connection.
Discuss the awkward moment before it happens
Ask the group’s facilitator about its expectations for encounters outside meetings. You can also state your own preference privately: “If you see me with other people, please don’t mention the group unless I do.” That is a clear boundary, not a rejection of friendship.
Different people may want different things. Someone who speaks openly about recovery has not thereby given permission to identify every other member. Likewise, a person who greets you warmly one day may need more discretion in another setting.
Keep the explanation small
If a companion asks how you know each other, avoid inventing a detailed story or revealing the meeting. A simple statement such as “We’ve met before” may be enough. Let the person decide whether to add anything about their own experience.
The same care applies online. Do not tag someone in a recovery-related photograph, identify their attendance in a comment or add them to a group chat without checking first. Privacy can be lost through an enthusiastic gesture as easily as through gossip.
If you accidentally disclose the connection, acknowledge it directly and privately. Ask what would help now, without demanding reassurance or explaining away the impact. You cannot undo every disclosure, but you can stop repeating it.
Respectful contact leaves room for both warmth and choice. The other person’s recovery story remains theirs to tell.