unfortunately, the big issue isn't a relationship one-- it is a sweetie who is feeling totally and completely insecure and frightened because of job-related stressors (accompanied by short-term financial stressors), and who hasn't done a good job of conveying "please take care of me. I'm scared by how fragile I feel right now. And because I feel really fragile and scared, I'm going to poke at you to see if you are going to abandon me, too. And if it seems like you might, I will really freak out."