I have a problem. I’ve actually had a problem for quite a while, several years in fact. The problem is that I tend to attract certain needy people, who first become friends with me and then don’t know where the limit goes. They want more and more of me, they require my attention constantly and it is getting so very tiring and consuming. I’m like a human magnet for these demanding people. They clutch onto me and don’t let go. They’re bordering on being stalkers. And when I sometimes manage to shake one off, another one takes their place. That seems to be the pattern.

The other side of this problem is that I never want to hurt anyone, so telling these people to back off or completely stop is very difficult for me. I don’t want to hurt their feelings by telling them to leave me alone. They consider me as a friend, after all. But the thing is, I usually don’t see myself as such a big friend of theirs as they in turn see me. I don’t understand how they put me on such a high pedestal, and it always happens so quickly. It’s like a one-way street and I’m facing the dead end.
Oh, should I also mention that all of these individuals are and always have been of the male gender? I guess that’s part of the effect and problem, too.

I’ve been trying to ignore these people to the best of my abilities, but since I consider ongoing ignoring to be quite rude as well, I don’t really know what to do anymore. And they still keep contacting me all the time.
I’ve finally started to think that maybe it would be the best thing for everyone – and mainly for me, because I do have to look out for myself the most – that I confronted these people, said what I thought in an honest, direct manner and then said good-bye to them. I feel like they are really weighing me down and I really don’t need that in my life. Not now, not ever. Very often these individuals are also quite negative, some have problems with depression etc. Maybe they see me as some sort of a salvation? I don’t know. But I can’t take it, it’s too much for me. Of course I would like to help them, but I have my limitations as well. I can’t shepherd all of this world’s lost little sheep, to put it dramatically. sigh

I need to rid myself and my life of these people. I just need to find the strength and courage to do that.