<human>: First off, we've been dating exclusively for about 6 months. I consider myself to be pretty introverted and lone-wolfish in general. I'm also probably the more dominant or self-assured of the two of us.

At the beginning of our relationship I "entertained" my SO's touchy-feely nature because it was novel and I thought it would level-out over time. Turns out that did not happen. He always initiates some kind of contact whenever wherever we're together (holding hands, arm around my shoulder, embracing while sleeping, etc) and it's starting to have a negative effect on the way I view him. It's making me feel like he's needy and smothering, but I know my independent streak also has something to do with why I feel this way. 

My aversion to being cuddly all the time is not out of embarrassment  – it honestly has a lot to do with the fact that most of these gestures make me literally uncomfortable after long periods of being entwined (cramp in my neck/back/knuckles). He also likes to have his arm draped around me while we're walking places (sometimes in a hurry) and it significantly slows us down. 

I feel like I'm being hyper-logical and non-romantic, but I really want to figure out a way to constructively bring this topic up. I can tell it will become a peeve for me and I otherwise really care about this guy. However, I can't think of a gentle and tactful way to broach this without hurting his feelings.

Can you succinctly summarize the text in 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: – My SO is too clingy physically. Is there a nice way to tell him to back off a little bit?