In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Clinton McLemore— a leading expert on interpersonal relationships— gives you a powerful roadmap for promoting healthy and productive relationships. Toxic Relationships draws extensively from psychological research and Christian theology and is filled with practical strategies you can use to create better communication at home and at work. You will learn how to increase appreciation, tenderness, respect, comfort, and understanding in all of your relationships by recognizing the eight basic "default styles" that most of us use to respond to others. By using biblical examples, Dr. McLemore shows how we can change our own destructive behavior and influence the behavior of others by understanding these eight toxic strategies: Controlling Drifting Intruding Freeloading Humiliating Scurrying Victimizing Avoiding Create loving and healthy relationships using these proven methods for transforming toxic interactions with others.

A "Hand Up" for Women Stuck in the Toxic Love Rut Do romantic relationships leave you miserable and confused? Are you tired of getting into a relationship and as soon as the initial buzz is gone you get that sinking feeling that whispers, what am I doing? Did the new wear off as soon as the wedding bells rang? Experts say that we gravitate toward relationships within a ten-point spread of our own IQ. Likewise, in the realm of soul-health, we also attract those with whom we are most emotionally compatible. That can be a good thing, or a bad thing - it depends on how much baggage we carry around! What if there was a way to diagnose your soul-health and create a plan for improvement so you could enjoy more satisfying romantic relationships? Complete with an online Soul-Health Profile that will help you assess your own soul-health and identify areas of weaknesses, Love Junkies is just that - an action plan and detailed guide to help you eliminate toxic behaviors that jeopardize your soul health and keep you stuck in unhealthy relationships. You'll learn how to change your habits and heal your soul and most importantly, break the toxic relationship cycle! FOREWORD: By Shannon Ethridge, bestselling author of the Every Woman's Battle books with Steve Arterburn, and The Sexually Confident Woman.

What do we wish most for our children? Next to being healthy, we want them to be happy, of course! Fortunately, a wide array of scientific studies show that happiness is a learned behavior, a muscle we can help our children build and maintain. Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom to demonstrate do’s and don’ts in action, Christine Carter, Ph.D, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, boils the process down to 10 simple happiness-inducing steps. With great wit, wisdom, and compassion, Carter covers the day-to-day pressure points of parenting—how best to discipline, get kids to school and activities on time, and get dinner on the table—as well as the more elusive issues of helping children build healthy friendships and develop emotional intelligence. In these 10 key steps, she helps you interact confidently and consistently with your kids to foster the skills, habits, and mindsets that will set the stage for positive emotions now and into their adolescence and beyond. Inside you will discover • the best way avoid raising a brat—changing bad habits into good ones • tips on how to change your kids’ attitude into gratitude • the trap of trying to be perfect—and how to stay clear of its pitfalls • the right way to praise kids—and why too much of the wrong kind can be just as bad as not enough • the spirit of kindness—how to raise kind, compassionate, and loving children • strategies for inspiring kids to do boring (but necessary) tasks—and become more self-motivated in the process Complete with a series of “try this” tips, secrets, and strategies, Raising Happiness is a one-of-a-kind resource that will help you instill joy in your kids—and, in the process, become more joyful yourself.

As social creatures, we simply have the need to interact with one another for various reasons. And as you've probably experienced for yourself, not all the people you've had relationships with were ultimately good for you. For example, I imagine that sometime in your past you've known someone who regularly irritated you, another person who belittled you or otherwise diminished your self-esteem, and someone else who was manipulative or dishonest with you. Of course, no relationship is perfect since no individual person is perfect, and occasionally you need to strike a compromise in order to help a relationship develop into its full potential. Believe it or not, with enough effort from both sides, even seemingly hopeless relationships can be salvaged. With all that said, however, it's important to stand your ground when someone (especially someone who's important to you) starts to do more harm than good in your life. Unfortunately, relationships with the wrong people can adversely affect your daily life and even impact how you relate with other people in the future. Therefore, it's critical that you identify a toxic relationship as soon as possible, and make a change before it's too late. This book is designed to provide you with insight and clarity as to the health of your relationship, and it will help you come to terms with the fact that not all relationships are good for you in the long run. I'm also going to show you how to work towards repairing a broken relationship, and if it's beyond repair (or your partner is unwilling), how to prepare to let go. While most of the discussion here is directed toward romantic couples, you can certainly apply the same principles and strategies to relationships with family and close friends as well.

Break Free From Over-Functioning, Over-Delivering, People-Pleasing, and Ignoring Your Own Needs So You Can Finally Live the Life You Deserve! Most of us were never taught how to effectively express our preferences, desires or deal-breakers. Instead, we hide our feelings behind passive-aggressive behavior, deny our own truths, or push our emotions down until we get depressed or so frustrated that we explode, potentially destroying hard-won trust and relationships. The most successful and satisfied people on the planet have one thing in common: the ability to create and communicate clear, healthy boundaries. This ability is, hands down, the biggest game changer when it comes to creating a healthy, happy, self-determined life. In Boundary Boss, psychotherapist Terri Cole reveals a specific set of skills that can help you stop abandoning yourself for the sake of others (without guilt or drama) and get empowered to consciously take control of every aspect of your emotional, spiritual, physical, personal, and professional life. Since becoming a Boundary Boss is a process, Cole also offers actionable strategies, scripts, and techniques that can be used in the moment, whenever you need them. You will learn: • How to recognize when your boundaries have been violated and what to do next • How your unique “Boundary Blueprint” is unconsciously driving your boundary behaviors, and strategies to redesign it • Powerful boundary scripts so in the moment you will know what to say • How to manage “Boundary Destroyers”—including emotional manipulators, narcissists, and other toxic personalities • Where you fall on the spectrum of codependency and how to create healthy, balanced relationships This book is for women who are exhausted from over-giving, overdoing, and even over-feeling. If you’re getting it all done but at the expense of yourself, give yourself the gift of Boundary Boss.

From the psychologist and author of Gaslighting comes a practical recovery plan outlining ten foundational steps to true healing. Surviving and escaping a toxic or abusive relationship can often only be part of the struggle. Long after, survivors often struggle to heal; your self‑esteem may be damaged, you may feel rage and betrayal, and you may punish and/or blame yourself. The author of Gaslighting and specialist in toxic behavior, narcissistic abuse, and personality disorders, Dr. Stephanie Sarkis has seen it all--and she is here to help you understand how to move forward. In Healing from Toxic Relationships, Dr. Sarkis extends compassion and knowledge to survivors, helping you understand the underpinnings of toxic behavior and how to find peace. Highlighting ten essential steps, Dr. Sarkis provides survivors with an accessible framework that can be applied to anyone preparing to heal: 1. Block or Limit Contact 2. Create Your Own Closure 3. Forgive Yourself 4. Establish Boundaries 5. Talk to a Professional 6. Practice Self‑Care 7. Reconnect 8. Grieve 9. Look Outward 10. Prevent: Keeping Toxic People Away Anyone who is in a toxic relationship—whether it's with a romantic partner, colleague, family member, or friend—deserves a way out and a path forward. Dr. Sarkis offers help and hope.