Q:
How can you stop a man or woman who is clingy and smothering in a relationship?

A:
My inclination is to get out of the relationship ASAP. I don’t want anyone trying to change who I am at the core, and I certainly don’t want the responsibility of trying to change who someone else is. The fact is that we ultimately can’t anyway. Sure, people can get it together and “behave” for a while, but more often than not, they eventually find themselves back where they started, like water seeking its own level. Believing you can change someone else’s insecurities and character defects is a one-way ticket to disaster, a breeding ground of resentment and ultimately pain and dysfunction.

There are some people who enjoy smothering their partners. Their issues deem them perfect candidates for needing what appears to be constant validation, no matter how damaged the source. But my advice to you is, in short, if you can deal, hang in there. If you can’t, bounce. Change them? Not gonna happen.