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19th Aug 2017

‘Love bombing’ has to be the worst dating trend of all

And you thought 'ghosting' was bad

Cathy Donohue

Forget ghosting, ‘love bombing’ is the worst dating trend of them all.

Yes, the latest one is extremely evil, because it’s based on the premise that one person showers the object of their affections with attention before things take a nasty turn.

They act like they couldn’t be more crazy about said person before suddenly, their behaviour changes and they’re acting differently towards their partners.

Dale Archer, a clinical psychologist spoke in-depth about the concept of love-bombing in an interview with Psychology Today.

Archer said that if affection and sweet gestures continue indefinitely, then this guy/girl is in it for the long haul and completely genuine about their intentions with no indication suggesting there’s anything sinister at play.

Love bombing

However, Dale also warned that there is one obvious ‘red flag’ that can suggest that love bombing is in evidence.

“If there’s an abrupt shift in the type of attention, from affectionate and loving to controlling and angry, with the pursuing partner making unreasonable demands, that’s a red flag”.

Other signs include if they start flipping out without any explanation, wanting to be in constant contact with you, know your whereabouts at all times and worst of all, chip away at your confidence.

This is something you may not even be aware of, to begin with, but Archer comments that those who are well practiced at this dating trend target people with low self-esteem and a vicious circle begins.