8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness

24 December 2013

Description

Guidance for dealing with this common and frustrating form of behavior.

Many people often say “yes” to something when they’d rather say “no.” They offer cooperation through words but follow up with how they really feel—in actions that contradict their words. That’s passive-aggression. At its heart, passive-aggression is about being untrue to oneself, which makes it impossible to have a clean relationship with others. Passive-aggression as a communication method doesn’t make someone “bad.” It is simply a strategy learned in childhood as a coping mechanism, a hard-to-break habit. Changing passive-aggressive behavior requires knowledge, tools, and practice, as outlined here.

The book offers effective methods for transforming passive-aggression into healthy assertiveness to communicate in constructive ways through eight keys: Recognize Your Hidden Anger; Reconnect Your Emotions to Your Thoughts; Listen to Your Body; Set Healthy Boundaries; Communicate Assertively; Interact Using Mindfulness; Disable the Enabler; and Problem-Solve for Better Outcomes. Hands-on exercises are featured, enabling readers to better understand themselves.

Reviews

"Brandt offers easy-to-follow explanations and workable methods to combat [passive-aggressiveness] . . . I now feel more equipped to recognize it in myself and in those around me and to replace it with more positive forms of expression." — PsychCentral

"Brandt has created a fluid narrative using expertly drafted anecdotes taken from her clinical experience and practical exercises to illuminate concepts. . . . The key strength of this book is the anecdotal stories that line the pages. . . . General readers will gain intimate knowledge of their own behavior and suggestions for eliminating passive-aggressiveness. Likewise, practicing psychotherapists will be exposed to relevant exercises that can immediately incorporated in the clinical setting." — International Journal of Psychotherapy

"Andrea Brandt’s 8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness is a fabulous book. . . . [F]or starters, it’s fabulous because, in language all of us can understand, it explains this common behavior. . . . Brandt, who is a psychotherapist and anger management specialist, makes it clear that we all do at least occasionally commit passive-aggression." — Parenting Press Newsletter

"A clear and practical guide to tackling the enormously frustrating problem of passive-aggressive behavior, an issue that plagues both personal and business relationships. The 8 keys are powerful tools designed to end the reflexive suppression of anger, which later shows up as an infuriating ‘Huh? Me? What did I do?’ Dr. Brandt has done a masterful job providing strategies for dealing with the malignant passive-aggressive behaviors that secretly lie at the root of entrenched, perpetual problems. I wholeheartedly recommend this guide." — Diana Shulman, JD, PhD, Certified Gottman Couples Therapist,?Los Angeles, CA

Also By: Andrea Brandt

Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedom
Andrea Brandt
Hardback, 2014
How to release anger and reconnect to yourself using mindfulness techniques.
Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedom
Andrea Brandt
E Book, 2014
How to release anger and reconnect to yourself using mindfulness techniques.