The term “love bombing” seems to have come into the cultural consciousness in a big way in the past several years, perhaps because of the prevalence of toxic behavior in arena like online dating. Culturally we’re at a point where the term gets tossed around quite casually. A quick Google search on the term brings up cautionary articles from sources as varied as Cosmopolitan to Business Insider and Psychology Today.

Many articles highlight the fact that love bombing is a control tactic, and so go as far to say that it’s generally used used by people on the narcissistic personality disorder spectrum, especially in dating. They point to signs like constant compliments, showers of gifts and things moving quickly in relationships as being potential red flags. But many of these articles seem to miss the mark in terms of diving into how sinister love bombing really is.

Resources discussed or cited in this episode are:

• The support group Betrayal Trauma Recovery.
• Domesticshelters.org, a searchable directory of domestic violence programs and shelters in the U.S. and Canada.
• Ronald N. Loomis' testimony before the Maryland Cult Task Force in 1999.
• Dr. Margaret Singer's book, Cults in Our Midst.
• Dr. Dale Archer's article in Psychology Today.
• Rev. Moon's 1978 speech telling members to perfect their love bombing.
• The movie Ticket to Heaven.
• The book Moonwebs: Journey Into the Mind of a Cult by Josh Freed.
• Narcissistabusesupport.com, which has a list of resources, from therapists to local support groups as well as links to free legal assistance and housing.
• SpiritualAbuseResources.com, which is s service to help people recover from coercive control in spiritual contexts.
• ICSAhome.com also has an extensive list of counseling resources here if you or a loved one is looking for a cult-aware therapist.
• IGotOut.org, an organization dedicated to helping survivors share their stories and end the stigma of having been in a high control group.