Includes index.

Difficult people can make life hard, but a select few can make it hell. The boss with nonsensical demands. The spouse who explodes at nothing. The overly emotional coworker, hostile neighbor, or friend who frequently bursts into tears. Marriages, families, friendships, careers, businesses--crazy people drag them all down with their manipulation, volatility, and inability to see the world rationally. You can't win by just ignoring the craziness or trying to reason with it. But you can stop it cold. Top-ranked psychiatrist and communication expert Mark Goulston shows you exactly how to do that in this life-changing book for everyone trapped in personal or workplace relationships that feel confusing, stressful, or downright hopeless. Goulston unlocks the mysteries of the irrational mind, and explains how faulty thinking patterns develop. His keen insights are matched by a set of counterintuitive strategies proven to defuse crazy behavior, along with scripts, examples, and exercises that teach you how to use them.--Adapted from book jacket.