How to Deal With a Clingy Friend in a Nice Way

A human being is known to be a social being. This is the reason why most people normally create friends wherever they go. This can be in their workplace, school and other social places where people mingle freely. Having a friend who can support you from time to time is always a good idea.

However, as much as you might need his or her support, there are instances when you might be short on time or energy to devote to the friendship. Such friends might want to be part of all your plans, show up in your house unannounced and even try to mimic the things you do. This clingy behavior can get annoying. As annoying as it can get, you would not want to hurt your friend’s feelings by calling them annoying. The following are ways on how to deal with a clingy friend nicely:

Take Longer to Respond to Their Messages and Phone Calls

Your clingy friend might have texted you severally in the recent past. Ideally, you should respond to these texts as soon as you get a chance to respond. You can either reply to the text that he or she sent you or just choose to call back later in the day. However, your clingy friend might feel as if you also desire to get the same attention that he or she is looking for when you reply to the texts immediately. Therefore, you should wait for a day or two and then reply to his or her texts. To avoid annoying your friend, you can show him or her that you were busy or you had forgotten your phone at home.

Introduce Them to New Friends and Situations

Your friend might be clingy to you because he does not have other friends with whom he can hang out with. Perhaps, you might be the only person who might be very close to them. If you want to deal with this friend nicely, you can introduce him to other friends out there. This will reduce the tendency of being clingy all the time. You can trust that he will get new friends and perhaps be able to freely interact with them. Introducing your clingy friend to new experiences might make him change his behavior. This is because his focus will be on the new experience or situation. Anything that makes him think less about you will go a long way in mitigating this behavior

Ask Him or Her to Meet You Out When Going Places Instead of Driving Together

You might be tempted to call your clingy friend and travel together so that you can chat as you drive to your desired destination. This could be a wedding or a burial ceremony. Calling your clingy friend to accompany you as you drive is not right. You should instead ask him to come using his means and perhaps meet you once he arrives at the venue. This will allow him to interact with other people as he heads to the venue. The good news is that this encourages your friend to do things on his own.

If you are going to watch a movie together, you can ask him to get to the movie early enough and then arrive later. He can even order tickets for both of you and then reserve a seat for you. This will go a long way in enabling them to be alone for quite some time before you arrive at the venue. Over time, your friend will have the confidence that he can do things on his own without solely relying on you.

Set Boundaries

Dealing with a clingy friend can be easier if you set boundaries. You should set boundaries about how much time together. Ideally, you might not be able to be there with your friend any time that he or she pleases. All you should do is to cut them out of your life without making them feel bad. Here, you will be seeking out a healthier balance. You should make your friend know when he or she is overstepping the line.

Tell him or her that you will not be able to respond to texts right away and that you might not able to be too available like you used to in the past. Do not be harsh as you express yourself as this might make him feel as if he has been offending him. You can tell him that you have appreciated every moment that you have spent together in the past and you are about to change the way you operate. This way, your friend will learn to be alone for quite some time.

Make Plans That Are Convenient For You

Do not let your friend spend more time in your house for many hours. For instance, on Saturday’s you can tell your friend that you will be going to the market to buy a few household items so you will not have ample time to watch a movie together. You can insist on leaving together as you leave for the market. You can even fake a reason that makes you stay apart for a while. Your plans should seem to favor you only. This will make your friend have some time alone and perhaps reflect on his life.

Unfollow Them on Social Media

You might be fond of commenting on your friend’s posts on social media platforms such as Facebook simply because you get notifications on your phone. Commenting on his or her social media platform shows her that you are interested in him or her. You can unfollow her on these platforms such that you will not be able to see whenever your friend posts anything on these platforms. Also, this means that you will not be tempted to check on your friend now and then. You should do this secretly such that your friend will not know. This way, you will be able to distance away from your friend in a nice way.

Be Honest and Say No

Your clingy friend might want you to hang out together during the weekend. If you had other plans that weekend, you should tell him or her that you will not be available for him or her. For instance, if you had planned to visit your parents on that weekend, you can tell him this and promise that you will try hanging out next weekend. Being honest will make your friend know that you are not hiding anything or him or her. Sometimes, if you feel that you want to spend time with your lover, you can tell your clingy friend so without hiding anything from him. Saying no to some requests have worked well for many people out there.

Don’t Ask for Their Help in a Situation and Reject It If They Offer It to You

Chances are that you might have asked your clingy friend for a favor sometime back. If you have ever done so, you should do that anymore. You should find a solution to your issues without involving him or her. Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why he or she is clingy to you. You can instead ask a reliable friend for help. Remember that the more you depend on your space-invading friend for help, the more they will think that it is normal to cling on to you. Therefore, you should put a stop to all this by not showing them that they are indispensable for you.

Don’t Show Interest in Their Personal Life

Your clingy friend might have the tendency to pour his heart to you from time to time. He might be the type that seeks advice, sympathy or attention now and them. Chances are that you had invested yourself emotionally and helped them in the past. However, this might be cumbersome for you in the long run. Therefore, you should stop showing signs that you are interested in helping him deal with his issues. For instance, if your clingy friend comes for advice from you, you can tell him that the issue is beyond you politely. You can recommend that he seeks helps from a professional and so on.

Stop Initiating a Conversation with Him or Her All the Time

Starting to talk to your clingy friend might make him feel special in a certain way. This should be the reason why he or she is still clingy on you. If you feel that you need to talk to someone during your free time, you can choose someone else. Better still, you can choose to do something else to occupy yourself. The good news is that if you fail to talk to him first, your friend will not talk to you and this will make him less clingy at some point.

How to Deal With a Clingy Friend

Clingy friends can make you feel emotionally exhausted. This could make you desire to spend less time with them. Sometimes, you might get so frustrated to the extent of wanting to abruptly end the friendship. However, this should not be the case. Your clingy friend can still be your friend by considering the above-mentioned ideas. Consider these ideas on how to deal with a clingy friend nicely and you will not regret. These ideas are truly incredible.