When you feel someone slipping away, everything in you wants to hold on tighter. The person you love seems distant or just… unavailable in ways they weren’t before.

Wanting more of their time and attention is perfectly normal. And there are healthy ways to ask for more time with them. But some people don’t really ask at all – they demand.

When the demanding type gets a “no,” there may be consequences: guilt trips, silent treatment, or that look that says, ‘you’re disappointing me.’

In this article, I’m going to break down why the manipulative or demanding approach pushes people further away, and how you can ask for more time with a loved one in a way that actually brings you closer together.