How To Handle a High Maintenance Friend or Family Member

We’ve all got that one friend or family member that drains our energies regularly. Of course, you want (or need) to maintain that person in your life, but you could do without the constant stress.

While you can’t change a person’s personality, you can do a lot to make a situation less dysfunctional. Here’s how to deal with high-maintenance people, whether you have one or several in your life.

In my life, I’ve dealt with a few of what most of us refer to as “high-maintenance” people, some of whom I managed better than others. It’s always a problematic issue because each person is unique. However, like with any circumstance, specific tactics might be far more effective than others.

I’ve had friends who got mad at me for not checking in on them as frequently as they’d like or answering their calls every time they rang. But, the truth is, we all have lives of our own we are trying to manage, and only so much time and energy we can dedicate to certain things.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been there before or going through it now; nothing you do for this person is ever enough.

The critical thing to keep in mind is that if a friend or family member can not respect your boundaries or make demands on your time, you may need a long break from…