Five Things To Do When Someone Needs You Too Much

“I don’t know how I would make it if I didn’t have you to talk to.”

“Sometimes I just want to it to be over. But I know I have you, and that keeps me from doing anything.”

“If I lost you, I’d be nothing.”

Words like these should send a shiver up your spine. If they don’t, you may have an intense need to be needed. (And that’s a problem as well…)

If it’s said in jest or understood to be an exaggerated statement of love, then that’s not worrisome. Or maybe its source is someone who’s facing a dire circumstance, such as caring for an ill parent or having suddenly lost their job, perhaps it could reflect deep gratitude or acknowledgment of you being there.

But if these words are routinely said in the context of an everyday relationship alongside conversation such as, “What are we doing Friday night?” “Did you get my text?” or maybe even, “I think I need therapy,” then you’re in troublesome territory.

When need becomes dependence… 

Don’t get me wrong. Normal, healthy friends listen intently about each other’s depression or sadness; sometimes you might might even hear that someone wants to hurt themself because they feel that down, and need support. You’re there for them; it’s a significant testament to your friendship. And it’s wonderful to trust that the same will be given – that this friend will have your back.

Deep friendship during really hard times is a wonderful gift.

What’s much harder to tolerate or to cope with is chronic, intense dependence, “What would I do without you? You’re saving me from myself.”

This dynamic can sneak up on you in any relationship. What started out as a fairly even give-and-take somehow mutated into “all give,” and very little “give back.” You slowly begin to realize how draining the relationship has become, as you mute your own desires or needs. Ultimately, you can find that you’re tired of conversations that are one-way, practically free therapy sessions. It can easily feel like the life is slowly being squeezed out of you. You feel trapped and perhaps even emotionally blackmailed.

You could easily be growing fatigued and resentful…. but how are you supposed to get out or at least, change things?

What’s clear is that their emotional fragility needs to be professi

onally treated. There could be significant depression or a bipolar disorder present, where at times, suicide can seem like the only way out. Or they could be struggling with a “personality disorder,” which is a consistently unhealthy way someone perceives themselves and others, as well as having little insight into the impact of their behavior.

You need things to change or you may even want out. And yet, you still care.

What can you do about it? Five proactive steps. 

1. If your friend is in therapy, ask to join a session.

Whatever your goals are within the relationship, be honest and take advantage of having the support of the therapist. You can discuss your need for a fundamental change so you’re not burdened with being the one they look to for guidance or even a reason to stay alive. If closure in the relationship is what you’re seeking, the therapist may be critical for your friend to help them through the change.

Remember it’s the therapist’s job to deal with the patient’s danger to self, not you.

2. If they’re not in therapy, then ask them to go to a therapist with you.

You may need a third party who can offer objective observations and give both of you support to navigate this terrain. If they refuse, you can meet with a therapist yourself. Hopefully, they can give you ideas about how to either get closure or to slowly create the boundaries that both of you need to abide by. 

Again, your responsibility is to look after your own emotional health. If they use you up so to speak. not only will you be empty but their source of support is waning or gone.

3. Read some material on how to handle feelings of abandonment or emotional manipulation. 

I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me. Stop Walking On Eggshells. Disarming The Narcissist. Understanding The Borderline Mother. All these books are wonderful resources and might help you make adjustments in how you communicate. You might not have to leave the relationship if you learn how to step out of the responsibility they’re attempting to give you and create more solid emotional boundaries.

4. Tell Others.

You may have to tell your friend that you can’t keep their secret and may have to choose to tell their family or someone who can legally be involved in their life. Some secrets are too heavy for you to carry alone. 

5. Look at your own need to be needed, or in control.

It may be that you have your own emotional reasons for creating this kind of relationship. Be honest with yourself and consider if you have the need to be needed, or maybe being seen as having it “together.” Those needs may be fueling your end of the problem and you may have needed to them – to need you. Maybe you’re lonely; maybe you live a fairly reclusive life. Maybe you’re repeating a pattern – that you’re “always” there for others. But that pattern is now destructive in your life. 

In the end, you can’t fix someone who has mental health issues that require professional intervention, and you can’t be the only “reason” someone who struggles with the darker aspects of depression chooses to live another day. Because that means you have to be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Without fail.

It’s their very difficult battle to fight.

You can support, listen, love. But not fix. 

 

 

You can hear more about this and many other topics by listening to my podcast, SelfWork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford. Subscribe to my website and receive my weekly newsletter including a blog post and podcast! If you’d like to join my FaceBook closed group, then click here and answer the membership questions! Welcome!

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