Stop trying to change him

How would you like it if your guy was always giving you little tips and suggestions on how you should dress like this, talk like that, be friends with them, blah blah blah. You'd want to punch him, right? Well, think about this the next time you boss your boyfriend around and demand he spend every spare second of his time with you instead of with his mates. It gets old, very quickly.

Leave jealousy to the green-eyed monster

Jealousy really is a curse and the first step to freeing yourself from this potentially fatal relationship sin is to suss out why you're feeling so jealous in the first place. Does your boy go out of his way to flirt with other girls in front of you? If he does, then you're better off without him. But if your jealousy is coming from a place of self-doubt, and like Bella Swan you just don't think you're worthy of your guy's attention, then it's time to snap out of it. To be truly happy in a relationship, you have to love and believe in yourself first, before anyone else can.

Ditch the cling wrap act

Wanting to hang out with your boy is fair enough - you are a couple, after all. But morphing into his shadow and becoming permanently attached to his hip is soooo not okay. If you find yourself replacing time with friends and fam with hours of gazing into your boyfriend's peepers, a wake-up call is in order. The only way to grow as an individual is by spending quality alone and friend time doing all the things you love. It'll make you a more interesting person and the time you do spend with your boy will be more special.

Quit the irrational, OTT behaviour

The minute you find yourself snooping in your boyfriend's schoolbag, calling his mum to congratulate her on what a beautiful son she's raised or getting your big sis to follow your guy to the beach, just in case any random girls appear on the scene, you need to really think about the type of person you've become. Paranoid? Yes. Obsessed? A tad. Crazy? Bordering. Remember: your boyfriend is going out with you because he actually likes you, so there's no need to feel insecure or to second-guess your 'ship. Trust is key. Scary stalker style tactics will only encourage your BF to keep his distance... and then dump you.

Have you ever?

• Deliberately left a random selection of your things (clothes, books, makeup) at your BF's house, so he would think of you when you're not there?
  Sent your BF more than 10 texts in one day, for no reason other than because you want him to know how much you LOOOOOVE him?
  Cried uncontrollably or chucked a tantrum coz your BF cancelled his plans with you at the last minute?
  Demanded that your guy stop hanging with his mates coz you think they're a bad influence?
  Stuck the heads of you and your BF onto a celebrity wedding picture, just to see what your own wedding photos would look like?
  Randomly sat out the front of your boyfriend's house, peering into his bedroom with a pair of binoculars and a listening device?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above, then you're in danger of becoming the girlfriend from hell. But fear not. There's still time to amend your crazy behaviour and be the kind of girlfriend that guys want to hold onto, not hide from. Here's how:

Be the best GF you can be by...

• Staying true to yourself.
  Not losing your own identity and independence just because you're in a couple.
  Respecting your BF and his need to hang with his friends and have his own interests.
  Realising that whilst being in a relationship can be great; there's more to life.