I have a lovely friend who has some problems establishing social boundaries (she's lost other friends before over this and admits to it) but she is trying to improve and genuinely cares. The problem is that she contacts me every single day. It is ok if she understands that I can't reply regularly. However, I don't reply to her in a couple of hours, she gets anxious and asks if I'm angry with her. We're both in our mid thirties. I'm a busy working married mum and she is single.
Last week, I had an operation to deal with a miscarriage and she texted me after my op. Many people also texted me to see how I was but were ok to wait for my response (as I would be resting and not checking my phone). Yet, because I hadn't responded to her in a few hours, she started sending loads of messages to my husband asking him about me. He replied to her but did think it was a bit stressful as he was tending to me. She keeps telling me that I'm her best friend etc. I like her but would like to tell her to give me some space. I don't want to upset her as she is sensitive and has suffered from depression and anxiety. How should I go about letting her know that she doesn't need to contact me everyday to see if I'm 'ok'?