Do you ever feel like you’re in the friend zone? You like this person, and you want them to like you back. You’ve even made it clear to them how you feel about them. But they keep holding you at arm’s length. Maybe they’re even giving you subtle but persistent signals that they don’t want anything romantic. But you’re determined to get over this hurdle. Maybe you’ve even gone so far as to read up on the specifics of the friend zone. But no matter what you do, your efforts seem to be falling on deaf ears. Does this mean you’ll never get your friend back? Fortunately, no. It just means that you need to take things a step at a time. Here’s how you can tell if you’re in the friend zone and how to stop making it so hard for people to be your friend.
You Like This Person
This person might not be interested in you the way you’re interested in them. It might be that your feelings are reciprocated, but they don’t feel a romantic connection to you. Maybe they’re just not interested in getting to know you. Maybe they’re afraid of getting hurt. Whatever the reason, they don’t feel romantic attraction to you. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection between you two. You can still be friends and enjoy each other’s company.
You Want This Person To Like You Back
You might be thinking that if this person doesn’t like you back, then it means there is no way you can get over the friend zone hurdle. But that isn’t true! You might have been thinking about this person in a romantic way, but that doesn’t mean they feel the same way about you as you do about them. If they were interested in getting to know you better, then they would have asked for your number by now. They wouldn’t be giving subtle signals that they don’t want anything more than friendship from you! So if this person is making it difficult for them to like you back, then that means there is something else going on here besides your feelings being reciprocated.
They Give Subtle Signals That They Don’t Want Anything More Than Friends From You
If your feelings are reciprocated, and this person still doesn’t want anything more than friendship from you, then it’s time to take a step back and figure out what’s going on here! Maybe there’s something wrong with the relationship between the two of you? Maybe they’re not interested in getting to know you as a person. Maybe they’re afraid of getting hurt. Whatever the reason, it’s time to take a step back and figure out what’s going on.
You Try To Flirt, But They Don’t Respond
It’s tempting to try flirting with your friend when they reject you. Let’s say you give them a compliment or send them a funny link, but they don’t respond. Don’t take it personally! It could be that your friend is just busy, or maybe he or she doesn’t find you attractive. But there is another possibility: They might not like you back! When someone rejects your flirtation, it doesn’t mean they don’t want anything to do with you. It just means that they don’t feel the same way as you. And in this case, they may not have wanted to hurt your feelings by admitting that they didn’t like what you did or didn’t say.
They Always Respond With “I dunno.”
If you’re in the friend zone, you’ve likely been telling them how you feel about them. And they might have responded with, “I dunno.” If this is what happens every time you tell them how you feel and make an effort to be their friend, then it’s a good sign that they don’t want anything romantic from you. They might just need time to get comfortable with your feelings, or they might need some space from you for a while. But if they do eventually let down their guard and say that they do like you, then there are other signs of the friend zone that will come into play.
They Try To Hold You At Arm’s Length
This is a big one. If your friend is constantly trying to distance themselves from you, then they’re keeping the door open for other people to come in instead of you. They might be doing this because, on some level, they’re not comfortable with their feelings for you and want someone else to fill that slot. It’s worth it to keep note of these signals so that you can find out where your friend really stands.
They’re Not As Open As You Think
You might think that your friend is as open and honest with you as you are with them. But it could be that they’re just keeping their guard up because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Or it could be that they’re not really comfortable sharing their feelings with you, and they don’t want to make a big deal out of it. So they’re not as open as you think.
They Keep Their Distance From You
If your friend keeps their distance from you, then there are other signs of the friend zone that will come into play. They might be too shy or embarrassed to admit how they feel about you, or they might just not know how to act around you. Whatever the reason, if your friend keeps his or her distance from you and doesn’t seem interested in getting closer, then these are signs of them considering you as simply a friend and nothing beyond.
You Want To Be Complimentary Or Kind
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with someone is to be overly complimentary or kind. You might start off your text message by saying “Hi!” because you want them to know how much you care about them, but that’s not going to work. If a person doesn’t like you back the way you like them, then they’re not going to read your text message as a compliment. So you have to be careful with what you say.
They Don’t Respond To Your Text Messages
If your friend doesn’t respond to any of your text messages, then these are signs of the friend zone. They might be too busy or too tired to reply, or they might just not want to talk right now. But if they don’t respond to any of your text messages, then it’s a good sign that they don’t want anything romantic from you and that you should back off for now.
They Always Say They Don’t Want To Get Too Close
If your friend always says that they don’t want to get too close, then it’s a good sign that they’re in the friend zone. They might not be comfortable with how you feel about them and how much you care about them, so they’re just being honest with you. If your friend always says that they don’t want to get too close, then you should respect their wishes and back off for now.
You Want Something More, But This Person Doesn’t
Are you feeling frustrated because the person you’re trying to get a romantic relationship with just won’t acknowledge that you want something more? Maybe they keep flirting with other people but not with you. Or maybe even when they’re giving you signals that they may be interested in a deeper connection, they don’t follow through. What do you do? It’s important to remember that some people are just not ready for something more than friendship. And it’s totally okay if your friend is one of those people. What isn’t okay is keeping them at arm’s length and pining after them when they don’t reciprocate the feelings. You need to accept the fact that this person simply isn’t interested in anything else beyond platonic friendship.
Conclusion
The friend zone is a tricky thing. Most people know exactly what it feels like to be stuck in the friend zone. It can be frustrating, especially when the person you like doesn’t even reciprocate the feelings the same way. But it can also be a good thing. You learn a lot about yourself when you’re in the friend zone. You learn what you want and what you don’t want. And most importantly, you learn that sometimes people just aren’t ready for anything more than friendship.
If you or your friend is in the friend zone, then these are some things that you can do to help them out of it:
Be patient with them and give them time to figure things out.
Tell your friend how much they mean to you.
Be honest about what’s going on with your feelings for them, and tell them how much it hurts when they don’t reciprocate those feelings as well.
Be prepared for the possibility that your friend will not reciprocate your feelings, and be okay with this fact if they don’t want anything more than friendship from you.
