Tag: needy

Asking too much of a friend

Published: May 16, 2012 | Last Updated: May 21, 2012 By | 6 Replies Continue Reading

QUESTION  Hi Irene, I’ve recently been coming to terms with some deeply buried grief, and also struggling with self-injury problems as well. My "best friend" of 19 years has hardly been there for me and only seems to come around when he needs me. He makes it very clear that he does not care about […]

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Friendship: The Significance of Timing

Published: February 6, 2012 | Last Updated: February 6, 2012 By | 7 Replies Continue Reading

Two close male friends with a long history drift apart   QUESTION Dear Irene, My friend and I became friends when his family moved into my neighborhood when we were both kids. My friend was an outcast and very different from other kids at an early age. Parents questioned his sexuality early on and not […]

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An Insecure Friend

Published: November 15, 2011 | Last Updated: November 15, 2011 By | Reply Continue Reading

QUESTION  Dear Irene, I am generally insecure when it comes to friends. I am frightened that if I don’t co-operate or meet their requirements they will dump me. This was true during my college days- and now I’m married with two kids and still haven’t gotten over it. The second problem is I usually don’t […]

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A friendship that is too close for comfort?

Published: June 2, 2011 | Last Updated: June 2, 2011 By | 2 Replies Continue Reading

QUESTION Hi Dr. Levine, I am about to graduate from high school. I’ve been friends with this guy for about three years. When we first met, something hit me that I really wanted to be good friends. We quickly became very close friends—saw each other nearly every day at school and outside of school, hung […]

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My best friend is too demanding

Published: September 22, 2010 | Last Updated: October 10, 2010 By | 5 Replies Continue Reading

QUESTION Dear Irene, My best friend has become overly dependent on me. She’s been living in another state for the last few years but we see each other, on average, once every three months and talk multiple times a day, via phone, text and AIM.   I live with my fiancé (newly engaged) and even […]

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What next? She’s fallen in love with her best friend’s twins

Published: January 7, 2010 | Last Updated: January 7, 2010 By | Reply Continue Reading

QUESTION Hi Irene, A year ago, my best friend of 14 years gave birth to her twin boys. Their biological father has never been in their lives and my friend took him to court. She was awarded full legal and physical custody of the twins, which we were VERY happy about. Of course she asked […]

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Could YOU be a toxic friend? 5 Sure Signs

Published: September 28, 2009 | Last Updated: September 28, 2009 By | 17 Replies Continue Reading

After a tiff with your BFF, it’s natural to get upset and ask yourself (or a third person), "What’s wrong with her?" That’s because it’s much easier for all of us to recognize blemishes or faults in our friends than it is to look in the mirror. But if you’re finding that you’re having frequent […]

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Am I my friend’s keeper?

Published: September 7, 2009 | Last Updated: September 7, 2009 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

QUESTION Hi Irene, Hopefully, you can help me with my predicament. Over the past six months I’ve been "friends" with a 25-year-old girl. I’m a 37-year-old woman. Yeah, you know where I’m going with this! She is where I USED to be: binging, playing the victim role, can’t find love, affection, or the attention she […]

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Reader Q & A: By love possessed

Published: February 4, 2009 | Last Updated: February 4, 2009 By | Reply Continue Reading

QUESTION: Dear Irene, I have a friend who is a few years younger than me. I love her to death but she is causing me to feel bad about not being with her 24/7. She and I used to have the best time together; we laughed and watched movies and all sorts of stuff together. […]

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Wisdom from Whitney: Rx for being a less needy friend

Published: December 18, 2008 | Last Updated: December 18, 2008 By | 1 Reply Continue Reading

I recently received this post from a reader named Whitney that I thought was worth sharing. Whitney was fortunate to have a good friend—who gave her honest feedback about her neediness— without making Whitney feel totally hurt or bent out of shape. Whitney also seems to have a fair degree of insight into her own […]

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