Guy friend is always giving, taking care of me and when i made attempts to take care of him or help him, he rarely likes it. He prefers to be the one to take care of me. I told him i’m getting better because i got sick but then he still messages to ask how i am and if I’ve recovered.
I did attempt as well to inquire about his problems but he doesn’t answer them. If he does, he tends to reply late but if I so much as talk about my health or what I’ve been going through, he becomes interested and plays like a doctor. He also becomes extra sweet if I allow him to take care of me or if I depend on him.
It’s as if he likes to be needed and to be praised for it. I’m guilty i’ve been doing this often for the past months but in my defense, i’ve really been suffering. Now that I’m getting better, i see how unhealthy this dynamic can become because he is enabling me to constantly depend on him and he proactively messages me to do the caretaking role. I don’t message him first as much as possible because i dont want to bother him but he always messages me instead asking how’s my health etc.
I do care about him but he’s making it difficult for it to be a balanced relationship and i felt how one-sided it is ( he always giving to me) because he rarely allows me to help him. He only does allow it when he have extreme anxiety but otherwise he seems to like his role as the one helping.
How can I make this a balanced one and why does he seem to gravitate to this role?