I don't think the needy people are necessarily in the second group. I have a very good friend who I consider "needy" who literally drains me emotionally on a regular basis. He's the kind who always needs constant reassurance, constant ego building, and goes into deep depressions if any aquaintance he considers a friend opts out of his life (and many do because of his needy nature).

On the other hand, he will do just about anything to help those he considers friends, even those who just consider him an acquaintance.

Through an LJ entry I did a couple weeks ago (here's the link if interested: http://www.livejournal.com/users/oldpanther/48382.html), my coasterbud Catherine suggested he might be the kind of person who draws energy from others, and that I, being a high energy person, draws him to me. This is apparently something the book, The Celestine Prophecy, covers. Catherine has lent me the book, and now that cold weather has settled in, I hope to read it soon.

But there are people who are simply takers...and those are the ones discovered when you fall upon hard times. It can be disappointing to discover people you thought were friends aren't really...at least by MY definition. On the other hand, you become more aware of who your true friends really are, and appreciate them all the more.