ALL ABOUT YOU love
Breadcrumbing
Imagine this: A duck is waddling
through a pond on a bright, sunny day.
A man approaches the pond and begins
feeding the bird bread crumbs. The
duck nibbles on the crumbs and waddles
around the man in the hope of getting
larger chunks, but the man refuses
to feed the duck anything else. The
duck stays, because crumbs are better
than nothing, isn’t it? Being given
attention in bits and pieces is what
defines breadcrumbing.
Dr Shefali Batra, consultant
psychiatrist and relationship therapist,
founder of MINDFRAMES, a mental
health service in Mumbai, andco-founder of InnerHour, a psychological
health platform, explains the emotional
effects of being breadcrumbed. “The
victim ends up with a high degree
of self-doubt. They don't feel in sync
with their emotions, even when logic
prevails. This makes the victim devalue
their own system and it reaches a point
where they start denying their own
needs. People who are raised without
emotional intimacy with parents or
friends might probably find themselves
being victimised, as they yearn to belong.
This ambivalence can lead to long-
term complications like stress, anxiety,
depression, and low self-worth.”Bird-boxing
This dating trend is inspired by Sandra
Bullock’s blockbuster hit, Bird Box. If
you haven’t watched the movie yet, the
plot revolves around Bullock traipsing
through a dystopian world with her
children, blindfolding herself in order
to survive. Mirroring this plot, the trend
can be described as being blind to how
terrible a match your partner is for
you. When you have a crush, you are
imperceptive to their faults. Dr Seema
Hingorany, an independent clinical
psychologist and author, elaborates,
“Being in a toxic relationship can cause
stress, anxiety, and a hoard of medical
problems. Holding on to such
a relationship prevents personal growth,
and it can sometimes turn into an
abusive relationship.”Zombeing
The act of zombeing is to ghost
a person and then trot back into their
life as if nothing happened. There is
no concrete reason for this. It could
be that your ex-partner might want to
simply play with your emotions if he
sees you moving on. “I've encountered
several zombies”, quips Samruddhi
Patwardhan*, a 21-year-old social
activist from Pune, “From men I’ve met
on dating sites to guys I’ve been set up
with, they’ve disappeared from my life
altogether only to show up weeks or
months later for a hook-up, or becauseBeing ghosted can be
a traumatic experiencePEOPLE WHO ARE
RAISED WITHOUT
EMOTIONAL INTIMACY
WITH PARENTS OR
FRIENDS MIGHT
PROBABLY FIND
THEMSELVES BEING
VICTIMISED, AS THEY
YEARN TO BELONGALL ABOUT YOU love
Breadcrumbing
Imagine this: A duck is waddling
through a pond on a bright, sunny day.
A man approaches the pond and begins
feeding the bird bread crumbs. The
duck nibbles on the crumbs and waddles
around the man in the hope of getting
larger chunks, but the man refuses
to feed the duck anything else. The
duck stays, because crumbs are better
than nothing, isn’t it? Being given
attention in bits and pieces is what
defines breadcrumbing.
Dr Shefali Batra, consultant
psychiatrist and relationship therapist,
founder of MINDFRAMES, a mental
health service in Mumbai, andco-founder of InnerHour, a psychological
health platform, explains the emotional
effects of being breadcrumbed. “The
victim ends up with a high degree
of self-doubt. They don't feel in sync
with their emotions, even when logic
prevails. This makes the victim devalue
their own system and it reaches a point
where they start denying their own
needs. People who are raised without
emotional intimacy with parents or
friends might probably find themselves
being victimised, as they yearn to belong.
This ambivalence can lead to long-
term complications like stress, anxiety,
depression, and low self-worth.”Bird-boxing
This dating trend is inspired by Sandra
Bullock’s blockbuster hit, Bird Box. If
you haven’t watched the movie yet, the
plot revolves around Bullock traipsing
through a dystopian world with her
children, blindfolding herself in order
to survive. Mirroring this plot, the trend
can be described as being blind to how
terrible a match your partner is for
you. When you have a crush, you are
imperceptive to their faults. Dr Seema
Hingorany, an independent clinical
psychologist and author, elaborates,
“Being in a toxic relationship can cause
stress, anxiety, and a hoard of medical
problems. Holding on to such
a relationship prevents personal growth,
and it can sometimes turn into an
abusive relationship.”Zombeing
The act of zombeing is to ghost
a person and then trot back into their
life as if nothing happened. There is
no concrete reason for this. It could
be that your ex-partner might want to
simply play with your emotions if he
sees you moving on. “I've encountered
several zombies”, quips Samruddhi
Patwardhan*, a 21-year-old social
activist from Pune, “From men I’ve met
on dating sites to guys I’ve been set up
with, they’ve disappeared from my life
altogether only to show up weeks or
months later for a hook-up, or becauseBeing ghosted can be
a traumatic experiencePEOPLE WHO ARE
RAISED WITHOUT
EMOTIONAL INTIMACY
WITH PARENTS OR
FRIENDS MIGHT
PROBABLY FIND
THEMSELVES BEING
VICTIMISED, AS THEY
YEARN TO BELONG