If a guy recently told you that he needs space, this post will show you possible reasons why and what would make each of them more likely.
So, what does it mean when a guy says that he needs space? Likely reasons why a guy will say that he needs space are that he is annoyed with you, he wants to see other people, he is not looking for a relationship or that he simply wants to be alone for a while.
There are actually many possible reasons why a guy will say that he needs space. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main reason.
What does it mean when a guy says he needs space?
Below are likely causes and what would make each of them more likely.
He is annoyed with you
It might be the case that he wants space because he is annoyed with you.
This would be more likely if he said it after something happened that could have caused you to be annoyed with him.
If he was annoyed with you then he might have shown it by doing things such as:
- Squinting
- Facing away from you
- Smiling with a closed mouth
- Tightening his lips
- Distancing himself
- Avoiding eye contact
He is seeing other people
Another possible cause could be that he is seeing other people. This would be more likely if you have seen him around other women, if he is hesitant to agree to dates in advance and if he often cancels dates late on.
He is not looking for a relationship
The cause could also be that he is not looking for a relationship. This would be more likely if he said that he needs space when you started pushing for a relationship or hinting at it.
He just wants to be alone for a while
The cause might also simply be that he wants to be alone for a while. This would be more likely if he has been behaving normally around you and he has not suddenly started acting distant.
Consider the way that he reacts to seeing you
When trying to understand why he said that he needs space, it would help to consider how he reacts upon seeing you.
If he, noticeably, changes his body language and behavior, when he sees you, then it would make it more likely that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you.
If he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:
- Adjusting his appearance
- Adjusting his posture
- Facing towards you (especially with his feet)
- Holding eye contact with you
- Moving closer to you
- Having more dilated pupils
Then it would make it more likely that he does have positive feelings towards you but he just wants to be alone for a while.
Whereas, if he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:
- Squinting
- Facing away from you
- Smiling with a closed mouth
- Tightening his lips
- Distancing himself
- Avoiding eye contact
Then it would be more likely that he has negative feelings towards you in some way.
Consider how he interacts with other people
It would also help to compare the way that he interacts with you with how he interacts with other people.
If he shows the same body language around you as he does with his friends then it would make it more likely that he acts that way naturally.
Whereas, if he only seems to be acting distant with you and his body language is different with you then it would make it more likely that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you depending on the body language he shows.
Consider multiple body language signs
When trying to understand what his body language might be showing it would help to consider multiple aspects of it at the same time.
The reason for this is that a single body language sign will often have many different possible meanings. This can cause body language signs to be less reliable when they are shown on their own.
On the other hand, if someone shows a cluster of body language signs that all suggest the same thing then it would be more likely that they are showing them for that specific reason.
If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.