Dear Abby: Ready to cut off assistance

Dear Abby: I have a long-distance friend I met online 10 years ago. I took pity on her because she was nearly destitute, and I have been helping her pay her bills. She’s visited me a number of times, and I care about her a lot. However, her constant requests for money are starting to make me uncomfortable. (She can’t work for health reasons, and there’s a major scarcity of social services or competent care in her Rust Belt locality.)

I do not want to continue enabling her. I have tried suggesting she move closer to her sister, seek better care, etc., but she doesn’t have the motivation. I have a hard time saying “no” to people. I got married recently, and I don’t want this to negatively affect my relationship with my wife.

In my friend’s emotional state, I’m afraid if I end my friendship with her, she’ll never recover from the trauma. She even tattooed my name on her wrist so she’d see it every time she wanted to cut herself, like she used to do before we met. What should I do? — Tied to Her

Dear Tied: Start researching assertiveness training programs for yourself. You sorely need more help than I can give you in one column. Discuss this with your wife, because you are right — continuing to give your online friend financial help WILL destroy your marriage. After that, tell this needy woman you won’t be sending her more money, and that you do not want her to contact you until she has moved closer to her sister to find the help she needs. Do not feel guilty. You have been extraordinarily generous to have let this go on for a decade.