It&rsquo;s typical for us to get kilig whenever we hear the phrase &ldquo;I love you,&rdquo; especially if it comes from someone important. After all, the weight of the word is only as heavy as the significance of the person who says it.
When you&rsquo;re in love, everywhere you look is filled with the phrase. You can find it hidden between little things&ndash; a knowing smile, a gentle tap, or the question of whether you&rsquo;ve already eaten or not when the clock strikes 12. It&rsquo;s in the constant stream of notification pings whenever you&rsquo;re far away or in the comfortable silence that washes over the two of you after a long day.&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll also find it as is. &ldquo;I love you because I do.&rdquo;
Plain and simple.&nbsp;
However, sometimes, you&rsquo;ll encounter it in a dark room. It&rsquo;s familiar, but not in the same way. Reasons beyond your comprehension accompany it. Reasons that feel... Overbearing. Tyrannical, even. And you know that love is a foundation that amplifies the good, but you never thought it could be an avenue to justify the wrong.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I did it because I love you,&rdquo; you&rsquo;ll hear.&nbsp;
And this time, it&rsquo;s not so plain and simple anymore.
When love turns into an excuse, it becomes weaponized. It can consume your entire being and turn you into a shell of what you once were. A &ldquo;Yes-Man,&rdquo; as they say. You&rsquo;ll find yourself saying that your partner &ldquo;did it for love,&rdquo; so it must&rsquo;ve come from the heart. That should be good, right?
It isn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
Here, we fail to consider that &ldquo;I love you&rdquo; can be used manipulatively. It can be a way to invalidate the other person's feelings by suggesting that love should override your discomfort or boundaries. So, what once fostered a healthy intimacy ultimately becomes a subtle form of emotional domination where affection is conditional, where affection turns into a currency for power.
Recognizing the difference between love and emotional manipulation is crucial. Love builds, supports, and nurtures. But when used as a weapon, it creates walls where there should be bridges.
&ldquo;I love you&rdquo; should be an expression of love, not an overwhelming tool for control.