When in a state of situational vulnerability such as grieving, lonely, anxious or changes in life situations, our brains become flooded with a potent chemical cocktail: dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol, and adrenaline. These hot states heighten emotional responses and impair critical thinking. When falling in love, the brain’s reward system lights up, making us bond deeply, quickly, and often being less risk averse. Add to that a range of cognitive biases, like optimism bias, confirmation bias, and the sunk cost fallacy, and we begin to blur harmful behaviours, red flags are seen as beige, to protect the hope we’ve invested. In these moments, we don’t question the abuser or fraudster, we question ourselves. And that’s exactly how manipulation takes hold.
Adult Grooming
Adult grooming is a manipulative process where a perpetrator builds trust with an individual to exploit, control, or abuse them. This can occur in romantic relationships, financial fraud, human trafficking, or other abusive situations. Groomers often target vulnerabilities and use psychological tactics to isolate and manipulate their victims.
Love Bombing
Love bombing is a manipulative tactic used to overwhelm someone with excessive affection, attention, and flattery to gain control over them. It is commonly seen in toxic relationships, cults, and scams, where the abuser seeks to create emotional dependency before gradually introducing control, manipulation, or abuse.
Trauma Bonding
Trauma bonding occurs when a victim forms a deep emotional attachment to an abusive partner due to cycles of manipulation, control, and intermittent reinforcement. Despite experiencing harm, the victim feels emotionally tied to the abuser, making it difficult to leave.
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