What should I do If a guy says he needs to take a step back?

[Travelingmouse]

So if a guy told me he needs to take a step back because he's just trying to keep his sh*t together does that mean I should just leave him alone completely? We're good friends who've shared a lot about our traumatic childhoods and support each other, but then he started to pull away, finally saying he needed space. So I assumed I should just not reach out anymore even though I used to check in to see how he was doing about once a week. He texted me a photo of a cute animal a few weeks after saying he needed space and likes a lot of my FB posts, but I still don't feel it's safe to contact him. I'm not sure what he wants. What do you guys think?

[XRabbitHeartX]

If a guy really likes you, nothing will stop him from wanting you. Will you tell the love of your life whom you may lose "sorry I can't be with you as I'm trying to get my life together". No, romance doesn't work that way. Romance usually draws a person completely in, making them blind to other factors like "getting their life together". There's NO reason why he can't do that while being with you. I say things like that are just convenient excuses to keep a person there while keeping your options open. I say move on. If he wants you, he will make you a priority.

[Travelingmouse]

Well, we're just friends so we've done nothing romantic ever. We had a different kind of intimacy in that I was the only friend who went through the same kind of trauma that he did as a child and we've been talking about that and trying to support each other through current hard times. I used to text him at least every two weeks to see if he was okay, but now I'm just not contacting him at all since he said he needs to take a step back. I hope I'm not overreacting.

[bluenose1872]

Look and make sure he's not standing on the edge of a drop. Unless you dont like him. Tell him to take an extra one on you

[Travelingmouse]

I see him posting on Facebook and having funny interactions with friends so I assume he's fine.

[bluenose1872]

I was being sarcastic there

[akanetuk]

he needs time, that is what it means

[Travelingmouse]

So it's okay that I'm not checking in with him anymore? We used to support each other through hard times and text at least once every two weeks to see if the other is doing okay. but since he said he needed to take a step back, I just leave him alone. Does that sound like the right thing to do? I want to respect his wishes, but don't want to just diss him either. All I did was respond to that text of a cute animal he sent me a few weeks ago and that's it.