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The only thing worse than a clingy guy hanging all over you is a clingy friend who follows your every move, somehow has all of the same opinions as you and won’t let you breathe without her for more than five minutes. But clingy friends are tricky. That’s because this person might be really cool, someone you don’t necessarily want to stop being friends with – you just want her to back off a little bit.
So how do you deal with a clingy friend? How do you nicely tell that girl to give you some space without alienating her forever? It’s not the easiest thing in the world, but it is possible if you’re polite and honest and follow these 7 tips below.
Don't Feel Bad Saying No
You should never feel like you have to hang with your friend if she asks and you have nothing else really going on. You also shouldn't feel like you have the obligation to invite her everywhere you go. If you don't feel like hanging out with her one day, a simple "I can't, I'm busy!" is totally fine to say. If she's the kind of clingy friend who is going to press you until you tell her what you're doing, don't bother lying - that just makes things more complicated. Instead, just say, "you know, I'm tired and kind of just feel like bumming it on my own." If she gets insulted, that's something she needs to learn to deal with. Source: ShutterStockDo Your Own Thing Sometimes
Like I just said, you should never feel like you have to invite your friend everywhere you go. Don't feel guilty about hanging out with other friends when she's not there. It's actually good for you to have a variety of friends! You don't have to leave her out of everything, but don't include her in everything either. Also important? Don't hide that you're doing your own thing. That will make her feel like either something shady is going on. Even more than that, it's not going to help you make the point that you two have your own lives. Source: ShutterStockEncourage Her To Do Her Own Thing
Encouraging your friend to get her own life without insulting her is a little tricky. Try something like this: if she asks if you want to go to a party next weekend and you don't, say, "Nah, I'm not into it, but it sounds fun. You should still go!" Help introduce her to other people so she can get some more friends of her own. Try to be subtle, but firm, until she gets the hint. Source: ShutterStockDon't Always Answer Her Right Away
If this girl is the type who texts you and/or calls you all day long, consider taking some time before you reply. If you're always immediately available whenever she gets in touch, she's going to naturally assume you like talking all day. I'm not saying you should ignore her, but let her know you're busy with your own stuff by not responding for an hour or so once in a while. Source: ShutterStockLet Her Know She Can Have Her Own Opinion
Few things are more annoying than that person who has all of the same opinions as you do. You know what I mean - you say you hate the new Beyonce song and she chimes in with an, "OMG, me too!" when you know she was jamming out to it a few hours earlier. When you guys are talking about something, try to get her to state her opinion first and then say yours. If she changes her thoughts to be more like yours, you can gently and sort of jokingly say something like, "You can think something different than me!" Or you can just straight up call her out on it and be like, "Girl, I KNOW you like this person. Don't say you don't!" Sometimes being blunt (without being nasty) is the only way to get your point across. Source: ShutterStockTalk To Her
If none of this stuff is working and she's still getting on your last nerve, you may need to suck it up and talk to her about how she's acting. Tell her you love being her friend but you just need a little bit of space sometimes. Will she get insulted? Yes, probably. Will she get angry? Yeah, that's also possible. But being honest and talking it out is better than talking about her behind her back - that's a sure way to ruin a friendship, while this way may save it. Source: ShutterStockSeriously Think About If The Friendship Is Worth It
And if literally nothing works for you? Maybe you should start considering whether you really want to continue being friends with this person or not. I mean, if your friend is annoying you more than she's not annoying you, that's not a great sign. It might be time to cut ties or step back entirely for a little bit. Source: ShutterStockDo you have any clingy friends in your life? How do you deal with them? What does your friend do that is super clingy? Tell me in the comments.
I lost my BFF – because she was jealous of my boyfriend
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