Experts explained the tactics of "love bombing" and the ways of legal protection

Love bombardment is an intense phase of idealization at the beginning of a relationship, in which the partner excessively praises and surrounds with care, forming a psychological dependence on the victim. Polina Yurkova, a practicing psychologist and trauma therapist, and Andrey Sergeev, managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association, told Izvestia about this on June 8.

The mechanism of the psychological trap

Love bombardment is an intense idealization phase at the beginning of a relationship. According to Yurkova, the aggressor surrounds the victim with excessive care, praise and flattery, which causes a powerful release of dopamine in a person. This creates a neurophysiological dependence comparable to drug addiction, which makes it extremely difficult to abandon such relationships even after the appearance of aggression.

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Vulnerability to these tactics has often affected people with negative childhood experiences or feelings of inferiority. The victim hopes for the return of the "sugar period" and tries to earn the love of a partner who devalues. Such cycles can lead to depressive and anxiety disorders.

Signs of a dangerous relationship

Yurkova calls the abnormally high speed of events and the rapture of feelings the main stop signal. Declarations of love a week after meeting, intrusive gifts and constant monitoring are considered "red flags". As soon as the victim shows reciprocal sympathy, the manipulator begins to violate boundaries, ignore the partner, or show undue interest in the details of his communication with friends.

To check the reality, the psychologist advises to observe the partner's reaction to refusals or the lack of an instant response to messages. In a healthy relationship, refusal to meet is perceived as normal, whereas the abuser begins to demand location reports and criticize the victim's environment.

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Legal protection mechanisms

There is no term love bombing in Russian law, but Sergeev explained that you can protect your rights through evidence of systematic pressure. The key tool here is a forensic psychological or psychiatric examination. It allows you to record the clinical signs of post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety in the affected party.

Within the framework of family law, proven psychological violence can become the basis for restricting parental rights or increasing the share of the injured spouse in the division of property. The courts take into account notarized threatening correspondence, witness statements, and medical documents confirming the psychosomatic effects of manipulation. In the criminal law sphere, the aggressor's actions may be qualified under articles on threats or torture.