5 Warning Signs of Love Bombing in a New Relationship

Photo by Shaira Dela Peña on Unsplash

The beginning of a new relationship is always exciting. It feels good to be showered with attention and affection from someone you are into and excited to get to know better. While it’s natural for new romances to be intense, there’s a fine line between genuine affection and emotionally manipulative behavior, better known as love bombing.

Love bombing is a toxic psychological abuse tactic used to gain control and heavily influence someone in a relationship by overwhelming them with excessive attention, admiration, and affection. It can easily become part of an abusive cycle so the earlier you can identify signs of love bombing, the easier you can avoid potential heartache and evade an unhealthy relationship pattern and/or person.

Here are five warning signs to watch out for:

1. Overwhelming Affection and Gifts

In the early stages of dating, exchanging thoughtful gestures and tokens of appreciation is common. However, love bombers take this to an extreme level. They might shower you with extravagant gifts, constant compliments, and relentless messages, making it hard for you to process and reciprocate their affection naturally. If you feel smothered by grandiose displays of love that seem disproportionate to the length of time you’ve known each other…