Healthy friendships can have a positive impact on your life in so many different ways but what do you do when you find yourself trapped within the confines of an unhealthy or toxic friendship? For many victims the answer is...nothing. Why? They don't know the difference between a healthy friendship and a toxic one; therefore, they just accept their friend's awful way of being a friend even if it causes them to experience an onslaught of negative feelings and emotions. But if you have the slightest inkling that something isn't right with a particular friend and you can't quite put your finger on it, chances are, your friend is toxic and it would be in your best interest to learn all that you can about toxic friendships. Toxic Friends: A Practical Guide to Recognizing and Dealing with an Unhealthy Friendship will help you recognize what a toxic friendship is, introduce you to over sixty different types of toxic friends, encourage you to face the reality of it all, and ultimately guide you on your tumultuous journey to either end the friendship or develop effective ways of dealing/coping with it. Most importantly, Toxic Friends will provide you with confirmation that you are not alone in your battle with a toxic friend. The numerous anecdotes and confessions from real victims and survivors from across the globe will surely provide you with inspiration and comfort in knowing that you do not have to suffer in silence as so many victims do.

An eminent philosopher reflects on the nature of friendship, past and present Friends are a constant feature of our lives, yet friendship itself is difficult to define. Even Michel de Montaigne, author of the seminal essay "Of Friendship," found it nearly impossible to account for the great friendship of his life. Why is something so commonplace and universal so hard to grasp? What is it about the nature of friendship that proves so elusive? In On Friendship, the acclaimed philosopher Alexander Nehamas launches an original and far-ranging investigation of friendship. Exploring the long history of philosophical thinking on the subject, from Aristotle to Emerson and beyond, and drawing on examples from literature, art, drama, and his own life, Nehamas shows that for centuries, friendship was as much a public relationship as it was a private one-inseparable from politics and commerce, favors and perks. Now that it is more firmly in the private realm, Nehamas holds, close friendship is central to the good life. Profound and affecting, On Friendship sheds light on why we love our friends-and how they determine who we are, and who we might become.

This essential go-to guide reveals how women can enhance their lives by creating valuable friendships in today’s busy, mobile world, from nationally recognized friendship expert and CEO of GirlFriendCircles.com. Every woman is searching for a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life. Many realize the significant role that an intimate, tightly knit circle of friends plays in creating a more fulfilling life, but with hectic schedules, frequent moves, and life changes, it’s more important than ever for women to establish natural, meaningful friendships that will contribute to their overall wellbeing. In Friendships Don’t Just Happen!, Shasta Nelson, friendship expert and CEO of GirlFriendCircles.com, reveals the most important proven steps, processes, and secrets vital to establishing the five different levels of friendships, or Circles of Connectedness, that women—no matter their age or relationship status—are longing for in today’s stressful and mobile culture. This revolutionary, engaging guide will also benefit women who already feel rooted to fabulous friends, with insightful principles that will help them maintain and enhance their current friendships. Full of practical how-to tips, fun activities, guiding questions, and step-by-step instructions, Friendships Don’t Just Happen! highlights several areas of developing lasting friendships, teaching women how to: Evaluate their current circle of friends Recognize what types of friends they are seeking based on career, interests, location, and relationship status Create a prioritized friendship action plan Find extraordinary friends—where to look and how to approach them Take initiative to jumpstart friendships and face fears of rejection Establish “frientimacy,” trust, and happiness through conversation and activities Maintain meaningful friendships and determine which ones are worthwhile Excerpt from Friendships Don't Just Happen: There is a lie out there that real friendship just happens. When I was new to San Francisco eight years ago, I remember standing at a café window on Polk Street watching a group of women inside, huddled around a table laughing. Like the puppy dog at the pound, I looked through the glass, wishing someone would pick me to be theirs. I had a phone full of far-flung friends’ phone numbers, but I didn’t yet know anyone I could just sit and laugh with in a café. It hit me how very hard the friendship process is. I’m an outgoing, socially comfortable woman with a long line of good friendships behind me. And yet I stood there feeling very lonely. And insecure. And exhausted at just the idea of how far I was from that reality. I knew I couldn’t just walk in there and introduce myself to them. “Hi! You look like fun women, can I join you?” I would have been met with stares of pity. No one wants to seem desperate, even if we are. We don’t have platonic pick-up lines memorized. Flirting for friends seems creepy. Asking for her phone number like we’re going to call her up for a Saturday night date is just plain weird. All the batting of my eyelashes wasn’t going to send the right signals. And so I turned away from the scene of laughter and walked away. No, unfortunately, friendships don’t just happen. We Value Belonging Friendships may not happen automatically, but what we crave about them sure seems to! We all want to belong—that need to be connected to others is an inherent desire. We live our entire lives trying to fit in, be known, attract acceptance, and experience intimacy. We desperately want to have others care about us. This book is about that hunger. And more pointedly, it is about listening to it and learning how to fulfill it.

Beware of Bad Company is an eye-opening and practical book for people of all ages. It offers vibrant, sensible teaching on the importance of evaluating relationships. With the gentle heart of a pastor and the wisdom of a sage, Shawn McBride promotes the value of choosing healthy friends, while warning readers of the dangers of becoming connected to toxic friends. Shawn relates to the reader through real life illustrations, personal testimonies, and timely tweets, all while asking thought-provoking questions that help readers evaluate their current friendships.

For trauma survivors struggling with intense memories and emotions, it often feels like life won't ever be "normal" again. Effective treatments are out there, but the needs of family members are often overlooked. Will the person you love ever get better? What can you do to promote healing? Where can you turn when you just can't cope? From experienced trauma specialists Drs. Claudia Zayfert and Jason C. DeViva, this compassionate guide is packed with information, support, vivid stories, and specific advice. Learn to navigate the rough spots day by day and help your loved one find a brighter tomorrow. Mental health professionals, see also the related treatment manual, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for PTSD. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dr. Susan Forward's Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them. When you were a child... Did your parents tell you were bad or worthless? Did your parents use physical pain to discipline you? Did you have to take care of your parents because of their problems? Were you frightened of your parents? Did your parents do anything to you that had to be kept secret? Now that you are an adult... Do your parents still treat you as if you were a child? Do you have intense emotional or physical reactions after spending time with your parents? Do your parents control you with threats or guilt? Do they manipulate you with money? Do you feel that no matter what you do, it's never good enough for your parents? In this remarkable self-help guide, Dr. Susan Forward drawn on case histories and the real-life voices of adult children of toxic parents to help you free yourself from the frustrating patterns of your relationship with your parents -- and discover an exciting new world of self-confidence, inner strength, and emotional independence.

Not all relationships are made to last forever. Sometimes what starts as a beautiful friendship or productive partnership turns toxic, or one-sided, or unhealthy-and the best solution for both parties is to end it. In How to Break Up With Anyone, relationship expert Jamye Waxman has written a much-needed guide to every step of a non-romantic breakup. Drawing from her own experiences, Jamye provides strategies for disengaging from a friend, family member, community, or even former version of oneself, addressing both practical and emotional concerns. While ending a relationship can be painful, Jamye’s positive message focuses on the ultimately liberating aspects of putting unhealthy relationships to rest. Chapters include: Breaking Up Versus Taking a Break, Best Friends Forever No More, Breaking Up With Family, Kissing Community Goodby, eRelabeling Your Sexuality and Gender, Breaking Up With Your Career, Breaking Up With Anyone Else, Being Broken Up With. How to Break Up With Anyone provides the tools for anyone to initiate a breakup, the encouragement to get through it, and the wisdom to recognize that they don’t have to settle for anything less than productive, healthy relationships. Covering a variety of relationships, How to Break Up With Anyone is a timeless resource for people of all ages.