u/Emergency_Candy_5970

Can false praise be a form of abuse?

I’m talking about a spouse or in-laws constantly putting you on a pedestal, praising you in ways that are exaggerated, false, or socially trapping, until you start feeling like you are being forced to live inside a made-up version of yourself.

From the outside, it looks like admiration.

From the inside, it can feel like control.

You cannot easily correct it without looking ungrateful. You cannot reject it without seeming rude. You cannot fully accept it without feeling complicit. So you get trapped inside a flattering lie.

Has anyone experienced this? Does this feel like a form of emotional abuse or coercive control to you? And can overpraise from family slowly erode your sense of self the way more obvious manipulation does?

I’ve tried to think this through carefully and wrote about it elsewhere, but I’m not posting the link because I want honest views, not clicks.

I’d really value your perspective.

Can false praise be a form of abuse?

I’m talking about a spouse or in-laws constantly putting you on a pedestal, praising you in ways that are exaggerated, false, or socially trapping, until you start feeling like you are being forced to live inside a made-up version of yourself.

From the outside, it looks like admiration.

From the inside, it can feel like control.

You cannot easily correct it without looking ungrateful. You cannot reject it without seeming rude. You cannot fully accept it without feeling complicit. So you get trapped inside a flattering lie.

Has anyone experienced this? Does this feel like a form of emotional abuse or coercive control to you? And can overpraise from family slowly erode your sense of self the way more obvious manipulation does?

I’ve tried to think this through carefully and wrote about it elsewhere, but I’m not posting the link because I want honest views, not clicks.

I’d really value your perspective.