What Does It Mean To Be Needy In Relationships? - Psych Central

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Psych CentralSubscribe‘Needy’ in Relationships? Signs, Causes, and How to Heal

Medically reviewed by Janet Brito, Ph.D., LCSW, CST-S — Written by Hope Gillette — Updated on March 18, 2022

What does it mean to be needy?
What isn't needy?
What causes ‘neediness’?
How to help needy behavior
How to heal from being needy
Recap

We often desire affection and assurance from our partners, but at what point does seeking attention become a red flag?

It’s natural to feel the need for your partner to demonstrate how much they care about you. It can be the little gestures of affection in relationships that make you feel valued, appreciated, and loved.

Increasingly demanding and urging for more than your partner is already giving, however, can sometimes be referred to as being needy in a relationship.

But what does it really mean to be needy and how can you approach the situation without judgment?

What is a needy person?

Labeling someone as “needy” can be subjective. It can depend on your personality, culture, and background, as much as it can depend on theirs.

What you may assess as needy, may be the standard for someone else. It’s important, then, to try to approach this topic without judgment and with compassion.

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.

Everyone has different emotional and relationship needs.

Needing constant reassurance or avoiding a breakup at all costs, even when the relationship doesn’t work, may be a sign that something else is happening, though.

Some of the behaviors that could be labeled as needy in a relationship, but in reality point to something else, include:

a push for continuous conversation (texting, calling, emailing, social media posting)
persistently asking for reaffirmations of love
seeking out compliments
wanting to spend every moment together
difficulty making decisions alone
anger or sadness when partner spends time with other people
pessimism toward the relationship or cycling pessimism and optimism
sensitivity to criticism, even when delivered gently
need for reassurance, not just in the relationship, but often in other areas of life
acting jealous without evident cause

What is needy and what is not?

If you’re reading this wondering, “Am I needy?” you may benefit from looking beyond your current relationship and at your history as a whole.

Are you seeing the same behavioral patterns in all your relationships, or is it unique to this situation?
Have you had a recent loss or a significant change in your life that’s making you feel insecure or in need of extra support?
Is your partner persistently detached or unexpressive?
Have you experienced infidelity or manipulation in this relationship?

Differences in attachment styles and relationship expectations, as well as core personality components, can also create a dynamic that may lead to a false sense of someone being needy.

If your partner, for example, isn’t used to communicating when or where they’ll be, you might find you’re checking up on them more regularly than you typically would.

Or, you may be with a partner who isn’t as emotionally available. To them, your emotional needs may feel overwhelming.

This doesn’t mean you’re needy. It might be that you both experience romantic relationships differently, or that the relationship itself needs a closer look.

What causes someone to act in a ‘needy’ way?

“Needy” is not a clinical diagnosis. It’s a general term used to describe behaviors often viewed as clingy or attention-seeking. But again, this can depend on culture, background, or relationship goals.

Behaviors labeled as needy often have deeper psychological roots. Some of these may be explained through researcher Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory.

While the theory has undergone critique and modification since its introduction in 1943, the core construct remains: Human needs arise from a perceived deficiency in important aspects of your life.

These needs include:

physiological (survival needs)
safety
love and belongingness
esteem and ego
self-actualization (the drive to seek self-fulfillment and growth)

Some of your experiences may lead you to feel voids in certain aspects of your life, which in turn could make you develop unhealthy relationship patterns.

Reasons for someone to exhibit needy behaviors include:

fear of abandonment
dependent personality disorder
borderline personality disorder
codependency
emotional dependence
childhood trauma
insecure attachment styles
history of domestic violence
trust concerns
low self-esteem
impulsivity
witnessing the same behaviors during childhood
anxiety disorders

Only a trained mental health professional can explore the root cause of someone’s behavior in a relationship. If you feel you or your partner may have faced challenges that are impacting your bond, talking with a therapist can help.

How to help your partner if they act needy

It’s natural to have a reaction when someone else’s relationship style is significantly different from yours.

Openly talking about your individual emotional needs can help establish clear expectations for both of you.

Understanding that what some people may label as needy behaviors often come from unresolved emotional wounds may help you focus on empathy and support.

If you feel you or your partner may be facing other personal challenges, talking about it can also help. It may also be a good idea to avoid judgment and to seek professional help.

A mental health professional can help you explore the root cause of some of these behaviors as well as how to set boundaries in your relationship. You and your partner can both learn what unmet needs are driving these behaviors.

When you have a better understanding of the dynamics at place, you can work together on a way to move forward and strengthen your bond.

How to cope and heal if you feel you might be needy

When you understand where needy behaviors come from, you can start to work toward ways to satisfy those unmet needs. A mental health professional can help.

This process may involve managing an underlying mental health condition or reassessing limiting core beliefs. Working on coping skills to heal trauma may also help.

You may also benefit from self-building strategies such as:

practicing self-compassion
learning to be assertive
setting personal boundaries (being comfortable saying “no”)
acknowledging your positives and strengths
doing activities that are empowering
tackling challenges on your own
speaking to yourself in positive and loving language
learning skills that help you feel self-sufficient
helping others succeed
surrounding yourself with positive, supportive relationships
identifying relationship behaviors you shouldn’t tolerate

Let’s recap

Labeling someone as needy is a judgment call that may hurt more than help. What some people may label needy, other people might consider healthy romantic behavior.

In some cases, though, needing constant reassurance and being afraid of not being loved may signal deeper emotional wounds.

These emotional wounds and unmet needs may lead you or your partner to act in ways that could be difficult to manage.

Speaking with a mental health professional can help you discover the causes of neediness. It could also help you work on your relationship from a place of compassion and understanding.

Healing emotional wounds is possible and often leads to stronger and more stable relationships.

5 sourcescollapsed

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
Aruma EO, et al. (2017). Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and assessment of needs in community development.https://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Abraham-Maslow%E2%80%99s-Hierarchy-of-Needs-and-Assessment-of-Needs-in-Community-Development.pdf
Estevez A, et al. (2017). Emotional dependency in dating relationship and psychological consequences of internet and mobile abuse.https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/167/16750533007.pdf
Estevez A, et al. (2018). The role of emotional dependence in the relationship between attachment and impulsive behavior.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327175334_The_role_of_emotional_dependence_in_the_relationship_between_attachment_and_impulsive_behavior
Sola L. (2019). No self-love- from emotional dependence to codependence. Spain: Punto Rojo Libros.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IvujDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=emotional+dependence+causes&ots=rfMRQqJ4RK&sig=5-Ggi8GMV3uBlgTI0Uy5regsjZo#v=onepage&q=emotional%20dependence%20causes&f=false

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Medically reviewed by Janet Brito, Ph.D., LCSW, CST-S — Written by Hope Gillette — Updated on March 18, 2022

What Does It Mean To Be Needy In Relationships? - Psych Central

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What is a needy person?

What is needy and what is not?

What causes someone to act in a ‘needy’ way?

How to help your partner if they act needy

How to cope and heal if you feel you might be needy

Let’s recap

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