Family life is challenging and all the more so when a particular family member makes you “crazy.” “My mother drives me crazy!” “My son makes me insane!” “My wife drives me nuts!” What do all these people mean? How do their loved ones drive them over the brink?
How to Alienate Your Loved Ones
There are actually some very popular communication tools that have the effect of inducing neurosis in family members. The purpose of this article is not to teach you these tools so that you can use them at home against your loved ones (sorry). Rather the goal is to help you identify when these tools are being used on you. By recognizing what’s going on you’ll be able to better maintain your sanity. You’ll also be less likely to fall into the trap of arguing and fighting. In a few cases you’ll even be able to get the crazy-maker to stop doing what he or she is doing.
In addition you may also recognize that you yourself use crazy-making communications on occasion. Some people use only one or two of these destructive techniques while others use many. Some people use them rarely while others use them constantly.
Many people use these techniques accidentally having picked them up in their own childhood homes. Some have developed them as protective interpersonal strategies along the way. However since their short-term benefit is far overshadowed by their destructive effects they are worth identifying — and losing — as soon as possible.
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