Intermittent reinforcement begins insidiously. The stage of continual positive reinforcement—love bombing—ends. Perhaps a phone call or text message isn't returned or doesn't come at the usual time. A hand that always held ours as we walked down the street is kept in a pocket instead. We witness our partner flirting with someone else, although they deny it. For a week, they aren't in the mood to make love. They subtly or overtly criticize or demean us for our weight, our age, our ideas or opinions, or some quirk they once claimed to love. They compare us unfavorably to someone else. They
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