Can woman and men be just friend

Attraction is not an on-off switch. You might be aware of some attraction toward a person at certain times, but generally have more platonic feelings. In these situations, it can be relatively easy not to act on the romantic feelings – and maintain your platonic relationship. However, when someone is highly attracted to their friend, those feelings might become a force that cannot be ignored or suppressed. Then they have to ask themselves whether being “just friends” is too painful.

When deciding whether your friendship really is or can remain platonic, consider the following warning signs that you might be going over the “just friends” line:

You think about your friend throughout your day – maybe even more than you think about your partner.You have romantic thoughts and feelings about your friend.You think about your “platonic friend” during sex with someone else.You have strong feelings of missing your friend when you are not together.You confide in your friend more than your partner. While you might not be feeling sexual attraction, your emotional intimacy with that friend is interfering with the intimacy in your romantic relationship. This is a serious problem you would do well to address sooner than later.You are single, but would rather spend time with your friend than go on a date. Just as with the previous warning sign, you need to ask yourself if your friendship is interfering with you nurturing a romantic relationship. You might also ask yourself if attraction or even love has snuck up on you – despite what you have been consciously thinking, are you attracted to your friend?

If you find that even one of these warning signs apply to you, it’s time to reconsider that friendship. Think about these questions:

If you are not in another relationship, do you want to try to take the leap from friend to romantic partner?If you know that your friend is not open to a romantic relationship with you, is it wiser for you to maintain such a close relationship or put distance in it?If you are in another relationship, you have some serious decisions to make about how to proceed. Is your “platonic” relationship a threat to your romantic one? Which one do you really want to pursue?

Male-female relationships are complex. (And, just to be clear, the same can be said in same-sex relationships – it’s the platonic versus romantic feelings that can be difficult to manage.) So, to help clarify the situation, be honest with yourself. Think about your platonic relationship and then ask yourself - can we really be “just friends”?