We grew up with fairy tales that set up unrealistic expectations out of life. They make you buy into love at first sight, getting swept off the feet, regardless of their rarity or practicality.
These concepts have entirely different notions when played out in real life. You simply don’t fall in love with a person in seconds; you need time to establish your relationship and understand your emotions.
Sometimes, the tone of the relationship can be too fast for you. Rather than making you feel special, it overwhelms you. This is known as love bombing, as the person experiencing it get bombarded with emotions that they are not ready to deal with.
Love bombing has grave consequences for one’s wellbeing. It is often used as a ploy to manipulate a person, exploit their emotions, gain upper hand in the relationship. For some people, the impact of love bombing can even jeopardize their mental wellbeing, meriting then an intervention from a Psychologist in Karachi.
Signs of love bombing
To prevent being a victim of love bombing, you first need to identify the signs of it. These include:
Compliments
We all have a weakness for compliments. We like the validation that it serves. Notwithstanding the obvious problem with gaining self-worth from the words from others, when the compliment becomes profuse, it can reek of insincerity then.
When your partner is dousing you with compliments, especially in a very short period of time, then take note of it. While some are fine, naturally they are trying to get in your good books, but you can tell when one is going overboard with them.
Crowd you
A characteristic of love bombing is the lack of space. Your partner needs to go with you all the time, need information on your whereabouts, and if you don’t respond to their text or call, they become aggressive. This crowding can suffocate you.
They may shroud in their expression of love and concern for you, but it is still a form of love bombing.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a phenomenon in which your version of reality is disregarded. There are many ways your partner can gaslight you, making you doubt your memory, your perception of an interaction. This confuses you then, and makes you more vulnerable to abuse.
Gifts
Gifts do play an important role in our social relationships, but there is mostly an ulterior motive in gifting. If someone is showering you with too many lavish gifts, especially when you are not gifting them things in return, then you should be wary of such a system. The pressure and obligation that the gift brings make you vulnerable to manipulation.
Mind game
Another sign of love bombing are the mind games. Your partner may play hot and cold in a short span of time, so to keep you on your toes. When they act good, they go overboard, so that you cannot stand their being angry or critical of you.
These mind games not only disturb your mental piece, but the jabs can also erode at your self-esteem.
Picture perfect
The optics of the relationships are also important. If your partner is into profuse public displays of affection, your hackles should be raised
Similarly, if they are into presenting a completely different and picture-perfect life on the social media, and act exceptionally smitten, especially when you are not comfortable with it, then it may too be sign of love bombing.
When your friends and family see the affection, it may help in swaying their votes in your partner’s favor, so any falling out then becomes your fault. This declaration of love serves to make you weak then.
Getting help
If these signs seem familiar, then perhaps you need to evaluate and get out of that relationship. Some might also need help from the Best Psychologist in Rawalpindi to undo the damage done by their partner.
