Stop!: You're Driving Me Crazy

Rating:
Summary: Every couple involved in a relationship should own a copy
Review: ...then this is the book for you.

People have a tendency to hide their true wants and feelings in order to be nice and get along better with others. When this is done in a close relationship, it can cause an extremely frustrating pattern that drives you both crazy.

This book clearly illustrates how this communication pattern works, what it is, and what you can do about it. The book is full of examples. When you read them, you'll instantly recognize the situations, because we are all the victims of crazymaking throughout our lives. But when you learn what motivates the crazymaking tactics, you're in a much better position to find your way to sanity.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful for Couples Who Want to Improve their Communication
Review: For years I have observed the characteristics of successful, long-term relationships. The one trait that seems to cut across all of these was the ability to tell a partner your feelings and desires, whether trivial or radical, in a clear and nonthreatening way.

Despite the fact that I've been told professionally that I am an excellent communicator, this book helped me realize that in intimate relationships I still play the "crazymaking" game of confusing coded and conflicting messages.

The book's examples showed how confusing coded and double messages exist in most relationships, why they are there, and what to do about them. It's especially relevant for couples in which one partner is passive-aggressive, though useful for nearly any couple who wants to improve their effectiveness at talking to one another.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 *s is because there are several places where the authors wander off into theoretical space that won't mean a lot to anyone without a psychology degree. If you skip over those parts to the next example, you'll find this book fast and easy reading.

Rating:
Summary: Every couple involved in a relationship should own a copy
Review: If you want to find out why you make the statement" he/she is driving me crazy", then read this book and you will have the understanding necessary to finally figure out what is really going on. It truly is an amazing book and gives you what you need to once and for all put a stop to some of the crazy-making going on in your relationship. A must reading for everyone, not just someone in a relationship. It helps you to understand why you do the things you do.

Rating:
Summary: How to untangle the communication mess you're in.
Review: This is the clearest description of how people (especially couples) get into the tangled web of resentments and withholds so common in a marriage and how to get out of the tangle. It is profusely sprinkled with examples of dialog, which not only makes the book easier to read, but makes the principles crystal clear.

The first part of the book clarifies exactly what the problem is. The second part of the book spells out what you can do about it. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and much of what I've learned that really matters about communication can be traced back to this book. It is a shame it is out of print, but if you can find a copy, buy it!