Have you heard the term “love bombing”? It refers to showering a partner with attention and affection. While that may feel gratifying at first, excessive love bombing is frequently linked to manipulative behavior.

What Is Love Bombing?

Coined in the 1970s, love bombing means overwhelming someone with lavish attention and both physical and verbal affection. A love bomber may flood you with messages, gifts, and praise. This surge of affection often starts from the very beginning of a relationship.

It’s normal in healthy relationships to show care and warmth. Thoughtful attention can strengthen trust and reduce insecurity and distrust between partners.

But when the affection is relentless and excessive early on, so much that it makes you uncomfortable, this can signal an unhealthy dynamic. As time goes on, your partner may become controlling, positioning you to be overly compliant while slowly isolating you from friends and family.

In short, love bombing can be a tactic to elevate a partner before tearing them down. Signs that point to love bombing in a relationship include:

• Receiving numerous gifts right from the start of the relationship.

• Being drenched in compliments while you’re still getting to know each other.

• Your partner demanding your constant, undivided attention.

• Frequent calls and requests for detailed updates about your activities.

• Disregard for reasonable boundaries within the relationship.

If your relationship shows these patterns and you feel uneasy, there's a possibility that you may be experiencing love bombing.

Why Love Bombing Is Dangerous

We’ve all heard the phrase “too good to be true.” Experts warn that love bombing can be tied to emotional abuse.

There’s nothing wrong with giving affection. However, love bombing is often driven by unhealthy motives. They intensenly trying to charm you during courtship as a design to secure your attachment and sympathy.

Once you’re charmed by them and got into a relationship together, the same tactics can make it easier for your partner to direct your choices and control your routines.

Love bombing can happen in marriage as well. After a major argument, a partner may suddenly pour on affection and gifts. Those gestures can make forgiveness easier. They can also leave you feeling momentarily cherished.

There’s no harm in offering a second chance, but be cautious if apologies come with put-downs, hollow promises, or over-the-top presents. Such patterns warrant concern.

Be especially alert if the underlying behavior never changes and the same harms repeat. Love bombing can foster guilt when you push back, increasing dependence and making independent decisions harder.

Giving attention, compliments, and gifts is normal. When it becomes excessive and is used to establish power over a partner, it crosses into emotional abuse.

Love bombing may leave you feeling ungrateful for setting limits or disagreeing. Over time, that pressure can push you to comply with whatever your partner wants.

To address this, discuss clear boundaries in your relationship with your partner, what’s acceptable and what isn’t. If you realize you’ve been targeted by love bombing and you’re struggling to recover, consult a psychologist for support.

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