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11 Signs of Love Bombing to Watch Out For
While love bombing may seem like a dream come true at first, it can quickly become a nightmare. Fret not, learn its warning signs to notice the red flags from the start!
Love is unquestionably a complex emotion and can be slightly difficult to understand, especially when your relationship is new. It is common for you to feel excited and swept off your feet by your new romantic partner. However, lovey-dovey it may seem, you should always stay mindful of the signs of unhealthy behaviors. One such behavior is love bombing. It is basically a manipulative approach that narcissistic or manipulative people use to control or dominate their romantic partners. It involves showering someone with affection, attention, and gifts in order to quickly gain their trust and admiration.
Contrary to popular belief, showing excessive love is not a genuine expression of affection but rather a tactic. Although it may feel flattering at first, over time love bombing can become a form of emotional abuse. Which, in turn, can hurt your emotions, pride, and happiness. In this article, we will explore the love bombing meaning and 11 love bombing signs to watch out for. You can recognize these warning signs and protect yourself from falling prey to this toxic behavior.
What Is Love Bombing?
In simple words, love bombing refers to the grand displays of affection and attention showered by someone on their romantic partner at the beginning of a relationship. Although it is a common occurrence, it usually is a bigger problem. Find below love bombing signs to look out for, so that you can pinpoint them in your relationship and take a step back to guard yourself.
Love Bombing Examples
- Excessive compliments
- Lavish gifts
- Non-stop conversation over texts, calls, or video calls
- Expressing severe emotions (such as calling you their soulmate)
- Using intense statements like "Only you understand me.", or "I cannot see a life without you."
- Showing irrational jealousy
- Isolating you from your friends
11 Warning Signs of Love Bombing to Look Out For
1. They Constantly Shower You with Compliments And Affection
Not only will a love bomber like listening to your compliments, but they will also make sure to bombard you with affection. Although compliments will make you feel good, they will not stop at normal praise. Instead, they will always go overboard with extreme statements like "I have never met someone more exquisite," "My life was incomplete before I met you," or "My heart started beating the moment I saw you." All of these compliments may feel flattering initially, but they will soon make you realize how hollow those words are.
2. They Are Constantly Giving You Gifts
When you are in a relationship, you may like gifting each other meaningful gifts. But it is not a habitual thing. You wait for certain occasions to surprise your partner with a gift. However, when your partner is love-bombing you, they will buy you a gift almost every other day. These gifts can either be a present, paid spa day, vacation tickets, or fancy jewelry. In other words, they will try to bombard your feelings with over-expensive gifts so that you become bound to be with them even when things are not smooth.
3. They Bug You with Loads of Questions
Being in a relationship urges you to know everything about your partner. But there is pace and correct timing to reveal personal information. For example, couples usually start with light-hearted questions like favorites, likes, dislikes, embarrassing moments, etc. Then turn to tell their fears, insecurities, secrets, etc. However, if your partner wants to know every single detail about you right that second or consistently bugs you to tell them more about yourself, it is a strong sign of love bombing. So, if you find yourself in such a situation, we suggest not succumbing to their pressure. Take your time and communicate to them that you are not too comfortable this soon.
3. They Overshare Too Soon
Love bombing does not only mean that your partner wants to know everything about you immediately. It also means that they do not know when and where to stop while revealing their personal information. In short, you will find yourself listening to their childhood traumas and other emotional baggage even when you do not wish to. Moreover, if you will show that you are not too comfortable, they may turn things on you that you are unwilling to open up to or are not serious about the relationship.
5. They Are Constantly Seeking Validation
Every once in a while, you or your partner may want a little reassurance. This is especially true if either of you or your relationship is going through a tough phase. However, if your partner is consistently wanting confirmation even in the starting phase of your relationship, it is a sign of love bombing. It is so because such love bombers either need to feel too great about them constantly or are deeply insecure from within and hence seek validation. So, you can compliment them as much as you can but it will never be enough for them. This, in turn, will leave you drained after a while.
6. Your Relationship Feels Too Intense
Love bombing can sometimes come across as romantic or even loving, but it is not true. You may have felt some attraction and started dating. But love does not happen overnight. At the beginning of your relationship, you tend to keep things simple, light, and fun as you are still getting to know each other. However, if your partner starts saying the "L" word from day 1, it is a subtle love bombing sign. Moreover, they may even urge you to meet their parents, talk about marriage, call you their soulmate, and propose to you for a live-in relationship. All these are major red flags. So, it is crucial to remember how you feel for them. If you are even slightly uncomfortable with their ideas, have an honest conversation and explain your point of view.
7. They Are Constantly Craving Attention
Craving your partner's attention is sweet until it goes out of hand. You have a life, friends, family, and responsibilities. However, if your partner craves attention all day, every day, without thinking about how it affects your schedule, consider it a serious sign of love bombing. The reason is simple: they wish to be worshipped, recognized, and make others feel jealous. The more attention they get from you, the more authoritative they will become. So, take some time to think about the scenario and try setting up some boundaries.
8. They Push You to Commit
Commitment in a relationship only comes with time. You cannot expect your partner to commit the moment both of you start dating or get into a relationship. However, no matter how exciting the idea of making things "official" or announcing that you are exclusive on Instagram may sound, remember it is often a sign of love bombing. Your partner simply wishes to label you and the relationship, so that they can bind you into certain commitments and expectations. If you feel overwhelmed by your partner's constant pressure to commit, sternly hit the brakes. Reflect on your feelings and the situation, and come up with a plan to tackle it without making things ugly.
9. They Say Exactly What You Want to Hear
Have you wondered how your partner knows the "right" things to say despite the situation? It is because they have always been love bombers and know what word works where. Initially, you may feel ecstatic by their words or feel grateful that they were able to get you out of a bad situation, but with time you will realize that those words are mostly superfluous. This sign of love bombing is basically a manipulative tactic that they use to gain your trust. From trying to win your heart and making you believe how reliable they are to proving that they will always protect you — they will gradually make you dependent on them.
10. They Are Very Clingy And Territorial
Yes, it is absolutely fine to want to spend quality time with each other when you are in a relationship. But to be together every second of the day — a big no! Being clingy and territorial is yet another big sign of love bombing which stems out of insecurity. Not only will your partner stick to you, but they will also try to isolate you from your friends and family, claiming that you belong with them. In the beginning, this possessiveness may seem cute. However, with time you will realize that they are simply acting out of obsession, jealousy, and fear and want to control you rather than care about spending time with you. In short, such love bombers cannot see their partners with anyone else.
11. They Do Not Respect Your Boundaries
Be it a fresh relationship or years of commitment — boundaries play a significant role in maintaining the balance between a couple. While setting boundaries allows you to process your emotions, it can trigger the other person into believing that you are creating distance. Which, in turn, makes them revolt. So, the love bomber will become hot and cold, blackmail you emotionally, send you on a guilt trip, or may even give you the silent treatment. Basically, they will use manipulative tactics to make sure you do not set any boundaries in the relationship so that they can get ultimate control.
Conclusion
Love bombing is a term that has recently gained attention due to its prevalence in toxic relationships. It is basically an unhealthy behavior that toxic people use to win the affection of their partners. From showering their partners with love, affection, and attention to giving them lavish gifts and taking them on expensive dates and holidays, the love bombing cycle often becomes extreme and overwhelming. While it may seem like a series of incredibly sweet and romantic gestures in the initial days of the relationship, love bombing signs are actually red flags for abusive behavior. In most cases, the signs of affection flicker out once you agree to be in an exclusive relationship with them. So, it is crucial to understand these warning signs in your relationship to take a step back at the right time and save yourself from emotional abuse.
ALSO READ: 4 Signs that your relationship is being ?love bombed?
