How to Give Your Boyfriend Space

It’s a bit of a running joke sometimes, about the man in your life needing more “space”, but in reality, it’s no joke at all. Any relationship in which two people behave in an overly dependent manner can feel oppressive or smothering for either party, and indicates a need for one or both people to learn to cope apart as well as together.

A healthy relationship will always benefit from giving each other space, and never more so than when you feel that your boyfriend is champing at the bit to be “released” a little more often to just be by himself or to spend time with his mates. If you’re finding it challenging to let go even though the relationship’s becoming a bit too much to handle, it’s a sign that now more than ever, you do need to learn to give him his space. Here are some suggestions to help you. Give him space enough to miss you but never leave it long enough for him too forget and stop needing you !

STEPS

Reach a decision that it’s alright to give your boyfriend space. The sooner you accept that giving one another space is normal, healthy, and indeed necessary for a flourishing relationship, the better for the both of you. If things have been reaching breakpoint in your relationship, try letting the situation go for a while. Stop wanting to control what he’s doing, and stop worrying and being frustrated about what you’re not getting out of the relationship. Instead, just relax in the present moment. By letting things be, they often have a way of fixing themselves on their own.

  • Realize that your boyfriend is more likely to want to break up with you if you keep breathing down his neck than if you give him the space he craves.
  • Don’t assume the worst when he asks for space;
  • Trust

Ask questions to clarify what’s going on. Without appearing paranoid or overly emotional, be forthright in asking your boyfriend what he sees as being given space, and how much time he’s contemplating. Is he wanting a few days or weeks now, or does he want this to be a permanent arrangement, such as having every Saturday to himself? This can help to reassure you that he has sound reasons for wanting space that don’t involve breaking up with you, and it gives both of you some solid ground to work out the duration or precise times you won’t be turning up in his life.

Sort something out amicably. At this stage, it’s vital that you don’t come across as needy, petulant, or terrified of losing him. Whatever you do, do not walk off in a huff or throw a fit. Both reactions are calculated to have him retreat even further into his shell and feel justified for wanting even more space! Instead, visualize yourself as a person negotiating something that is perfectly reasonable, then go ahead and negotiate it without appearing too down.

  • Don’t look like you need him.
  • Avoid begging for anything.

Shape up your own time. Instead of feeling mopey and clingy, see this as a great opportunity to occupy yourself with a range of things to do and friends to meet up with. Rediscover or uncover a hobby, new or old friends, and activities. Become more involved in your career direction and perhaps think about improving your chances of getting a promotion. Get some purpose back into your life that allows you to grow and exist apart from your boyfriend, and to be able to prove to him that you’re capable on your own, which will reassure him more than anything else that you’re not going to suffocate him.

  • Get outdoors and do some fun activities.
  • If you feel as if you’ve lost yourself when he asks for space, this is a good indication that you need the space as much as he does.
  • Realize and embrace the power of showing that you have a life of your own.

Be patient. If you both want the relationship to succeed at a gradual pace, then love the space for the chances it provides you both. Take time to discover each other and yourselves rather than always trying to please one another or set one another off when things don’t fall into place as you’d like. When you allow your boyfriend the space to think, to do the things he loves, and to be with his mates, he’ll start missing you soon enough and wanting you by his side again.

Respect his choices and his freedom. The more respect and freedom you give your boyfriend, the more he’ll come to you, because you’ll be someone who doesn’t make demands on him. Nobody likes demands, and guys are especially uncomfortable when they feel the pressure of romantic demands. Such pressure can push them away from people pushing the demands on them. On the other hand, if a guy can spend time with someone who loves him for who he is, and just lets him be himself with no conditions or demands placed on him, he’ll absolutely love you. Love unconditionally, which simply means: set no conditions.

Be his best friend. Listen when he talks and don’t comment until he’s done talking. When you do comment, be positive and supportive. Don’t criticize or judge – if you feel you need to do that, think very carefully about why you want to be with him.

Change your own bad habits. If you have any bad habits you know he doesn’t like (like whining, clinging, gossiping, etc.), seek to change them. And prove to him you are changed. He may test you, so give him time – his new trust won’t come fast, so you need to be patient and consistent. Always remember, people do change once they make up their mind to do so, which means so can you.

Don’t give your boyfriend space as a ruse just to manipulate him and then try to seek to control him again. Do it because you want to change the way you approach your relationship together and because you love him and trust that this is the right thing for your relationship at this point. When you approach the space issue with the right mindset of broadening your own life experiences and respecting his time to do the same, you’ll be more confident and independent no matter what the final outcome.

Relax and be the girl he fell in love with. Be happy and carefree, learn to love yourself as much as you love him, and find constructive ways to share time together and apart. Once you’ve got the balance sorted, you’ll never look back.

Comments

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  4. This is exactly what I needed. I’ve been having some uncertainty with my relationship [apparently there are still a lot of things I need to learn about my boyfriend and how he deals with certain situations], but this has definitely helped put my mind at ease. I do love my boyfriend and trust him completely, but when he goes into these phases where he just wants to be left alone, it’s very difficult not to take it personally. Thank you for this. I really enjoyed reading it. Now I can sleep.

  5. I love everything that you posted here. This is exactly what I need at this moment. I think giving him space would improve our relationship and it would also help me deal with my issues in life. thank you=)

  6. Incognito says

    I’ve looked at tons of articles, but this is the first that put it in perfect perspective. When I was with my ex, I was the one retracting when he made me feel like he was “closing in”. Now that I have a boyfriend that I love incredibly, I was having an issue understanding his (what I felt was) distance.

    It wasn’t distance in a bad way, I just didn’t fully get it. My boyfriend has children just like I do, and his kids come first. Mine are older but I always got, and respected, his attentiveness to his kids. It wasn’t crazy, but on the “kids weekend”, they were the focal point. I admire that very much, given how many lame dads there are out there. He also runs his own business so there’s self-sufficience in addition to his ability to support his kids needs. And no, cheating was never a consideration as to why he was distancing.

    This article pointed out what should have been obvious. When I met my boyfriend, I had a billion things on the go. The best reality check was “Shape up your own time”. I hadn’t noticed this was an issue, but it definitely was. I’ve always been independent, and despite being married for far too long, had aways made my own way and chose my own path. In fact, this had been the catalyst for my marriage’s demise, not long before I started dating my boyfriend. Never in my history was I ever “needy”. But between the split from my ex and beginning dating my boyfriend, I had a bunch of familial transitions. It left me without many of the outlets I’d had. That void became an issue.

    It’s been about a month since I first read this article. During that time I’ve started to rediscover “me”. And also since that time, because I’ve been more preoccupied with other things again, my boyfriend doesn’t act occasionally cornered anymore. If I never live with him, I think I’m okay with that now. We’re both mature and kind of set in our ways. We’re fine with vacations in excess of a week but anything more might be too much for two introverts.

    In fact, that’s one thing that might have been overlooked in the article. 25% of us are introverts. We’re fine with others, but often only if we “gear up” to a social situation. I’ve always known I’m an introvert, being quite choosy of who and how I socially interact. My ex had been a social person who got trapped in my inability to do company events and the like. I found them draining, and he felt the need to sympathize. That was a long-running problem for us. He felt I was “embarrassed” to go out in public with him, when really it had nothing at all to do with him.

    In contrast, my boyfriend is far more like me in that respect. He can do the social thing if he chooses, but he tends to over-think those things before, during, and after. As with most introverts, he needs time to “gear up” for an event. I’ve always had that issue, and also need time afterwards by myself to re-adjust myself.

    If others reading your article are also introverts, or worse – extroverts dating introverts – the issue could be much more simple than it appears.

  7. Good post. I will be dealing with some of these issues as
    well..

  8. Good article. I will be facing many of these issues as well..

  9. Thank you for this…I really need this kind of advise…Im feeling down because of the space asking of my boyfriend, its too hard for me to understand but I try my very best to be calm and understand him, I know that his the man of my dream..Were been 7 years this coming November 04, 2013 and Im so afraid what happen,,I told him that Im giving him space but I never give up with our relationship..Please help me..Its too hard for me because we are living together…And I dont want to leave him..And he decide to have his own room, we are living together with separate room,,I dont know how long it takes….I mis him so much..almost two months for asking a space ang 2 weeks separated room,I feel he cares about me…And I know he loves me..I do cooked him a breakfast and make a coffee every morning…Just to remind him I always here for him…Please give me advice..Thank you so much

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