Nowadays, a new trend is seen every few days in the world of dating. Sometimes Ghosting, sometimes Breadcrumbing and now the increasingly talked about thing is Puffer-Fishing. Everyone wants love and affection in relationships, but sometimes some people appear very caring and emotional in the beginning and then suddenly start changing.
Sometimes they talk for hours, try to be together all the time, and sometimes they start maintaining distance without any reason. In the world of dating, this confusing behavior has now been named “Puffer-Fishing”.
The name of this trend is taken from “Puffer Fish”. This is a fish which, as soon as it senses danger, inflates itself and makes it thorny so that no one can come close to it. Similarly, some people also start distancing themselves as emotional closeness increases in relationships. They feel vulnerable inside and create distance to protect themselves.
It is not easy to identify such people in the beginning, because in the beginning they appear very affectionate and caring. But gradually their behavior starts changing. These signs may appear:
It is not necessary that the person behaving like this is bad every time. Many times childhood experiences, emotional security or fear of rejection are responsible for this. For those who experienced a lack of emotional support in their childhood, vulnerability in relationships may feel uncomfortable. However, if someone repeatedly runs away from the relationship without any reason, stops talking or keeps the other person in constant anxiety, then the relationship can become unhealthy.
Experts believe that this behavior can be changed with the help of self-awareness, correct and honest conversation and therapy. The most important thing is to recognize your fear and try to understand it instead of running away from every uncomfortable emotion. Taking space in relationships is not considered wrong, but disappearing without informing or ignoring the other person’s feelings can harm the relationship in the long run.
