Even if being clingy and affectionate might manifest the same way sometimes, there are quite a few important differences between those two.
But for many people, it is hard to draw a line between being clingy and affectionate with your partner, so a few clear differences will help a lot.
In this article, I will list all the differences between a clingy and an affectionate partner for you to know what to pay attention to when you label someone as “clingy”. We tend to believe affectionate people are clingy, which is not always true. That, or we don’t know exactly what clingy means.
What does a clingy partner mean?
A clingy partner is someone who is overly attached to you, want to spend time with you, and needs a lot of attention from you, emotionally and psychically. A clingy person is usually annoying and overwhelming because they are dependent on the person they are clingy with.
What does affectionate means?
Being affectionate with your partner means showing them your love/affection with a gesture/word or gift. So being affectionate is more like having the power to express your feelings for your partner.
In the differences below, we will get into more details about what being clingy and affectionate means. It is easier to understand them compared to each other.
5 Differences between being clingy and affectionate
Here are all five differences between being a clingy and an affectionate partner that come to my mind, there might be more, but I hope those five will be enough to help you identify which one it is in your case.
We all have different limits and boundaries, but the next difference should help you understand the differences between those two, no matter what.
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1. The purpose
When someone is clingy, the whole purpose of it is to be possessive with their partner or the person we are talking about since clinginess is not exclusive in relationships, it can happen in friendships or with family members as well.
On the other hand, the purpose of being affectionate is just that, to show your love/affection and to make the other person happy and have a good time together.
For me, the purpose you have in mind when you make a gesture or you say something is the most important thing that separates being affectionate from being clingy.
I talked about the purpose behind a gesture in other articles like bragging vs sharing, venting vs gossiping, and gossiping vs sharing information. This is very important for me, I always try to understand why someone has said or done something, no matter how it came out. An action’s intent is often more important than the action itself.
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2. Where it came from
This one is kind of related to the first one, but the difference is that this time it shows what makes you clingy or affectionate rather than what you want to obtain.
Affectionate is the same, it comes from love and affection for the other person; however, clinginess comes from insecurity most of the time.
2. When and where
If you are being affectionate, you don’t care if someone else is seeing you, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to show your attention in front of others, you can do it if you are not too annoying.
If your purpose is to make sure your partner doesn’t interact with other people or show them that you”own” your partner, then you are clingy.
While both can happen in public, clinginess is more obvious and annoying in those circumstances.
3. How much
Yes, you might be in love, but that doesn’t mean you must suffocate your partner.
So not having a healthy limit on how much attention you need it will make you clingy. This limit should not be a fixed one like, I spend two hours a day with my partner because it is different from one relationship to another, from person to person, and even from one day to another.
But you should definitely not be attached to your partner all day long, even when you hang out with other people, or you have other things to do, like work, gym, hobbies, and so on.
4. Being considerate of your partner’s needs.
If you don’t take into account the fact that you might bother your partner, it’s easy to be clingy and not affectionate.
If you consider that they should answer your texts immediately or be there for you whenever you need them, you are probably clingy. Even if they are your partner, they still have their life, and they might be busy with other things that are not related to your relationship.
So even if it’s your partner, words like”sorry for bothering you” or”only if you can” still have to be present for a healthy relationship.
5. You don’t know when it is time to be serious
There are moments when you have to do something serious, and it is not a proper time to show your affection and love, so you might be able to identify when it is time to be serious.
My wife and I work together from home, same room, but we both know that when we are working, we don’t bother each other. Yea, we take breaks for a snack or a meal.
To be honest, there are moments when we both realize that we don’t have inspiration for work and we are losing time instead of working, so we might end up spending that time together instead of working(we are not robots), but it is not so often.
We are also glad that we can have that luxury, at the same time, I can see how that can go in the wrong direction if we are not careful.
Read Also: How Often Should You Compliment Your Partner?
Conclusion
There are several differences between being clingy and being affectionate, but some of them are not visible, they are behind the actions and words we use to show what we feel.
To make sure you are not clingy, you have to ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing and make sure your intentions and feelings are healthy.
You must also ask your partner this if you are unsure what you feel about their behavior.
