The Love Bomb: What is Love Bombing & Why Does It Matter?

Updated July 12, 2019

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Love can be a great thing, but many use it to manipulate and abuse others. We've all hears stories about abusive partners luring and keeping people in using certain techniques or manipulation tactics, and it's always good to be aware of what they do. Today, we'll be looking at the phenomenon known as love bombing, where certain people will shower you with gifts, only to have an ulterior motive.

What is Love Bombing?

Love bombing is manipulation technique where the person uses excessive adoration in order to influence the person they're sending these gifts to. While it may seem sweet, there is an ulterior motive behind the love bombs.

Examples of love bombing include:

• Sticky notes with messages of love on them. They cover the bathroom, your bedroom, your car, and any other place. A couple messages here and there are fine, but if someone is sticking an excessive amount, they could be love bombing.
• Sending flowers every chance they get. Again, there's nothing wrong with flowers as a gift, but someone who is love bombing will send them all the time, and you may have enough flowers to grow a garden.
• Excessive texts. If this person is sending excessive love texts, especially as soon as you wake up, then it may be a sign of love bombing. A couple should be in communication, but if there's constant communication that never ceases, this may be a bit of a problem.
• They may buy expensive vacations out of the blue. In most relationships, vacations are planned out and budgeted. In a love bomb, the bomber will send you plane tickets without even talking to you about it first.
• A love bomber will pressure you into rushing things. They may talk about moving in, marriage, or any other big step early onto the relationship. This is their way of making you lose your independence.
• They say extremely hyperbolic phrases. They may tell you that you're the best person they've ever met, even though they haven't met you for long. They will tell you that you're the most beautiful person in the world, and a bunch of other phrases. Saying hyperbolic phrases once or twice isn't bad, but someone who says it excessively may be love bombing you.
• This one is a little cliché, but standing in your yard and playing songs for you. It's a common trope in movies, but if someone is doing it to you in real life, then it may be a love bomb.

Why is this a bad thing? Because this is a technique used by narcissists and abusers in order to manipulate you.

Someone love bombing may be doing it for a few reasons:

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• They have nothing to offer personality wise; in fact, their personality is toxic, so they compensate by giving you gifts or excessive praise.
• They are trying to make themselves look richer than possible. Someone who is always buying you gifts must have some money, right? Once you're in, they may make an excuse as to why they're not rich after all, and then you're stuck providing for someone who doesn't want to better themselves.
• They are trying to control you. They get off to controlling other people, and the best way they can do that is by baiting and switching you. First, they bait you through gifts and praise, and when your defenses are down, they become controlling and manipulative.
• They may love bomb as a way to make you forgive them for something, rather than own up to their mistakes.
• Simply put, people love gifts. If you receive a gift from someone, you believe they must be nice. Most people don't spend money on someone else, so they must be a good person, right? This belief is used by a narcissist to trick people into getting into relationships or doing something else.

History of the Phrase

The phrase was believed to be coined by the Unification Church of the United States, and there, the phrase was created to mean expressing concern, interest, friendship, or just a fellowship with other members. However, even this definition was criticized, with some people saying that the phrase was meant to unify members of the church while claiming everyone outside was hostile.

In 1996, Margaret Singer, psychology professor, wrote more about this phenomenon, saying people were love bomb as a way to recruit to join other cults. According to her, it was feigned and not really a sign of love, but instead a manipulation tactic to lure and keep people in the cult.

The phrase then went outside of a cult and described the actions of gang members and pimps that are used to control others. Finally, it moved on to the definition we're looking at today, which is where narcissists use love bombing as a way to get into and maintain an abusive relationship.

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Love Bombing Vs. True Love

You may wonder how you're supposed to tell the difference between someone love bombing you and someone who is genuinely trying to express their love. While it may be difficult for some, there are ways to figure this out, including:

The Excessiveness

The best way to tell the different between a love bomb and someone trying to give you a gift is to look at how excessive their gifts or gestures are. Someone who buys you the occasional gift probably isn't love bombing you. Someone who makes a cute song for you probably isn't love bombing you. A person who buys you a gift every day is probably love bombing you, however.

It Seems Too Good to Be True

If the gifts and gestures seem too good to be true, as if the person is straight out of a fairy tale, then there is a good chance that it is. Oftentimes, the love bombs are there to compensate or mask the person's true intentions. Or, it may be a way to make the person look richer than they are.

There's a Feeling of Being Rushed

Someone who isn't love bombing you won't make you feel like you're being rushed into the relationship. Meanwhile, someone who is loving bombing you will make you feel like you need to be in the relationship right now, or get serious if the two of you are dating. In any relationship, you should never feel like you're being rushed.

It All Goes Away Soon

Once you're together with the person, have moved in with them, and become dependent, then their true colors shine. They become someone who doesn't love you, but instead wants you to be their servant. They will get mad whenever you try to talk to other people or step out of their thin, fine line.

The Love Bombs Resume When You're Upset

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Look, there's nothing wrong with giving your significant lover another gift after the two of you have an argument, but someone who is love bombing you only gives you gifts during the beginning stage, and when you're trying to leave. It's a manipulative, guilt-tripping tactic to get you back, and you should not fall for it.

How to Deal With a Love Bomber

If you feel like someone is love bombing you, here are a few ways to deal with them.

• Politely refuse the gifts, or say you're not interested. A person who isn't love bombing will move on, while someone who does may become nasty, or double down on the gift giving.
• If you get into a relationship, make sure you have people outside the relationship. If the partner doesn't want you talking to anyone, you need to leave the relationship ASAP.
• Cut off all forms of communication with them. If they keep trying to send you stuff, block them, or get a restraining order.

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Seek Help!

If you've dealt with a love bomber, it may be hard to trust people again, and you may mistake genuine gift giving as a manipulation tactic. Finding the balance between fear and healthy skepticism is difficult, and getting back into a relationship after an abusive one is even harder.

Thankfully, there are ways you can recover from the relationship, and one way is to seek therapy. A relationship counselor can help you in a few ways pertaining to love bombing, including:

• Telling you what is love bombing and what is genuine gift giving.
• Teaching you how to spot early signs of abusive.
• Giving you ways to refuse or leave a relationship.
• Letting you practice coping strategies once the relationship ends.

If you feel like you need help with your relationship life, do not be afraid to talk to a therapist. A therapist can help a relationship that has problems, as well. If your partner is a narcissist, it may not be so easy to treat them, but if there is a simple miscommunication, a therapist can fix it.