What does clinginess in a relationship mean? Clinginess in a relationship means one partner is exhibiting behavior that is needy, suffocating, dependent, obsessive, or jealous, often resulting from a negative self image.
What Does it Mean to Be Clingy? To be clingy is to stay highly close or dependent on someone for emotional support and a sense of security. Clingy people may feel desperate to latch onto their friend or partner and depend on them for constant check-ins, updates, and responsiveness to all needs.
The clingy behavior is coming from somewhere. Your partner may have deep-seated insecurities about himself/herself or the relationship as a whole. Maybe your partner has trust issues from past relationships or traumatic experiences. Perhaps there is a history of infidelity that makes your partner mistrusting.
The definition of clingy boyfriends is boyfriends who always have to be close to you in an overly needy way. A clingy boyfriend gets anxious or upset if he can't be with you all the time. He wants to be in physical contact at all times, even when you are doing something that requires your attention elsewhere.
While there are some common red flags (think: jealousy, clinginess and mismatched relationship goals), others may vary from person to person.
Examples of Clinginess in Relationships
Calling your partner several times a day. Repeatedly messaging them throughout the day. Working yourself into a panic when they don't respond. Constantly stalking your partner's activities on social media.
They wait several days to text you back
If they wait several days to answer you back, then you're texting too much. Whatever their reason for the delayed response, being overly anxious and continuing to text when it isn't reciprocated makes you appear needy and desperate. If they wait, then you wait too.
What is a clingy girlfriend? A clingy girlfriend will struggle to give you space to be an independent person outside of the relationship. She'll constantly seek your attention, and the amount of it she gets from you will have a profound impact on her mood, happiness, and state of mind.
“Clinginess can begin to cross the line from healthy to unhealthy when the relationship begins to take too much time and attention away from other aspects of your life,” explains Sullivan. “This can include neglecting friends and family and spending too much time in constant communication with your partner.
Excessive Texting
For instance, texting non-stop could indicate that one partner is clingy and needy and feeling insecure in the relationship. While this is usually only harmful to the person doing the excessive texting, it can be smothering to the person on the receiving end.
Clinginess can take a turn toward controlling behavior if power and wanting to gain the upper hand enters the picture. You may want your partner to fulfill specific expectations, and if they don't, it can intensify thoughts that they aren't doing what you need because they don't love you enough.
Being clingy makes you more dependent on someone, making it harder to break away from them. You don't want to attribute your happiness to one person (unless, of course, that person is yourself). One of the most difficult things to work on is being less clingy, especially if you are already an extremely clingy person.
When it came to how many consecutive texts were considered "needy," both people in long-distance relationships and not in long-distance relationships said that about six texts hit the mark. That number was about the same for the women and men surveyed.
If you're unaccustomed to regular displays of affection, for example, someone's need for physical and verbal expressions of love could feel excessive to you. Wanting to be in touch throughout the day, when you're used to checking in only once a day, can also read as needy behavior.
After all, when your little one is feeling unsettled, it makes sense they turn to you, their caregiver, for comfort. Clinginess can last for a while, but your tot should have an easier time by the time they turn 2, Hovington says, adding that most kids fully outgrow it by 3 years old.
Six dealbreaker factors emerged in a sample of American college students (N = 285, 115 men). We called these factors Gross, Addicted, Clingy, Promiscuous, Apathetic, and Unmotivated. Women, and those having more mate value and less interest in casual sex rated dealbreakers less desirable.
Physical, emotional, or mental abuse
Physical, emotional, and mental abuse are undeniable red flags in any relationship. Physical abuse is easier to pick up. But emotional and mental abuse can be just as damaging in the long run. And just like physical abuse, mental and emotional abuse can cause PTSD.
Clingy, needy people of both sexes are a turnoff to most people, except people who capitalize on that dependence (and you want to stay away from those people). People in relationships should be balanced and self-actualized.
One of the signs of immaturity in a woman (or anyone) is when they feel like they need to be in the spotlight everywhere they go. Another sign of an immature person is being clingy.
Appearing emotionally attached but lacking empathy: An emotionally needy person can be very selfish because they only cling to others or appear to need them to make themselves feel better. Clinginess is not flattering. It is unstable and needy behavior.
Studies have shown that after 4 hours, you're more likely to get a response if you text again. That gives you enough time to restart the conversation and makes you sound less clingy.
Text him when you genuinely have something to ask or share. Avoid simply texting "hey". Text him sparingly. Give him a chance to respond to your texts, and don't text him immediately after you've seen him.
Absolutely nothing is “normal.” Some couples text a million times a day, while others save it for pillow talk. Sometimes, on super busy workdays, there might be no communication at all. And that's totally fine. Try to figure out your limits so you can draw up the communication blueprint for your relationship.