Hope and Healing

Not all abuse is physical. The wounds of emotional abuse may not be visible, but they still leave scars. Whether a stabbing comment or constant putdowns, most people face emotional abuse at some point in their lives, so how can you learn to detect it and stop the cycle of abuse? How can you heal after enduring it? This practical and handy guidebook examines the different descriptions of emotional abuse, and includes stories from people who have found healing in Christ. Unmasking Emotional Abuse, by notable author and mental health professional Dr. Gregory Jantz, helps readers who have been victims of emotional abuse heal and move forward in God's truth. It also includes 10 concrete steps to healing. Emotional abuse limits your choices, your value, and your worth. Healing from emotional abuse opens you up to regaining that full life. This book will help get you there, and offers 10 biblically-based steps for healing. 10 Bible-Based Steps to Healing • Stepping Out of Blame • Granting Forgiveness • Reclaiming Personal Power • Avoiding Conflicts • Addressing Hurts • Maintaining Healthy Relationships • Healthy Communication • Discovering Gifts and Talents • Solving Problems • Recognizing Progress As a child of God, you were created to have emotional freedom, a strong sense of self, and a peace that surpasses understanding. Emotional abuse and its false messages keep you from finding and understanding the truth of who you are. The good news is that what others may have sabotaged, God is able to rebuild. Jesus said knowing truth has the power to set you free, and Dr. Gregory Jantz helps you recognize emotional abuse and its effects. Paperback, 4.5 x 6.5 inches, 112 pages, ISBN 9781628628203. 4 Key Features: Quickly Find the Information You Need for Overcoming Emotional Abuse Using real-life stories, biblically based suggestions, proven tips, and practical steps that you can take today, Dr. Gregory Jantz will help you detect and heal from emotional abuse. Enjoy having these key features: • Simple summaries and easy-to-understand explanations • Practical steps backed by science and by scripture • Charts that show key information at a glance • Relatable stories that show you how to apply its truth to your life Perfect for: • Group and individual use • Church library • To hand to a friend • Biblical & pastoral counseling • And more About the Author: Dr. Gregory L. Jantz is the author of over 30 books, the host of a national radio program, and a regular contributor to Psychology Today. Recognized as a leading authority on family relationships and much more, he appears as an expert on media such as CNN, FOX, ABC, and NBC. Under Dr. Jantz's leadership, "The Center: A Place of HOPE" has been voted in the top 10 facilities for the treatment of depression in the United States.

Children spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day on digital media, plugged in and glued to screens, according to recent studies. That's 5.5 hours over the recommended limit, often leading to poor school performance, behavioral problems, neck pain, and much more. With Dr. Gregory Jantz's Ten Tips for Parenting the Smartphone Generation, learn to avoid the negative consequences and enjoy watching your child gain the most out of technology. Smartphones. Computers. Tablets. One of the biggest challenges for parents is balancing the advantages of cutting-edge technology and endless information with the dangers of unlimited exposure. From practical tips on setting good examples for your child to ways of wisely monitoring what they see and do with technology, Dr. Gregory Jantz packs Bible-based ideas and solid research into this guide to help you protect your children as they learn to interact with media and technology. In this easy-to-understand guide, you will gain the confidence to- • Set a good example in regulating screen time, increasing quality family time; • Establish positive and educational uses of technology; • Set boundaries and parent controls to protect your children from bad habits, cyber-bullies, and online predators.

Practical advice, trusted research, plus definitions, causes, and solutions to helping a loved one recover from addiction. You can be free of the harmful effects of a loved one's addiction! Dr. Gregory Jantz believes every person can find a unique pathway through powerlessness, fear, guilt, shame, and despair back into the light and fresh air of freedom because God is the Great Healer, for whom anything is possible. Discover ways to: • Recognize the difference between compassion and codependence • Identify signs and symptoms of addictions, as well as types of addictions • Make your own health and wellbeing a priority • Stop enabling your loved one's addiction • Set boundaries and stick to them • Hold a positive, productive intervention • Find the right kind of treatment program • Support your loved one in treatment and beyond By grounding yourself in a clear understanding of what addiction is, how and why it takes hold in someone's life, and how to protect yourself while maintaining your love for them, you'll be far better equipped to offer appropriate help. This book will help you gain the awareness you need to move forward in truth and grace, to succeed at what you can do: love the addict unconditionally and be a positive presence in their life, guided by healthy boundaries that protect everyone. Key Features: • Trustworthy: Filled with up-to-date research, this solid resource provides trusted facts and proven advice to help a loved one with addiction • Relevant: Whether your loved one is dealing with a substance, emotional, or behavior addiction, this resource includes advice broad enough to help with most addictions and specific enough to tackle root causes effectively • Easy to Read: Packed with summaries, checklists, and bullet lists, it's never been easier to digest practical and informative research • Practical: Includes practical courses of action to take when helping a friend or family member along the recovery process • Easy to Carry: Compact, lightweight, and easily fits in your hand, purse, and bag.

Proven, practical steps, definitions, causes, and solutions to manage the risks and make the technology work for you-not the other way around. Growing research shows that we as a society have a social media dilemma: social media use has a dark side, including elevated risk of depression and anxiety. But avoiding negative outcomes is not the only reason to educate ourselves about the pitfalls and learn to avoid them. Preserving the benefits of responsible social media engagement is also payoff worth pursuing. Learn to: • Assess your own vulnerabilities to social media use • Learn to recognize when apps begin to take a toll on your mental health • Choose best practices to minimize risks • And much more! This incredible resource book is packed with statistics, definitions, risks, and practical advice that you can apply to your life immediately. Arm yourself with the awareness to keep your mind and spirit healthy despite the addictive quality of various apps and sites. Discover: • The latest research on social media and mental health • Dangers posed by excessive or imbalanced use of social media • 12 negative consequences to public health and wellbeing • 20 questions to self-assess whether social media is problematic for you • 7 signs to check your mental health • 7 tips for a technology detox • 9 strategies for healthy use of social mediaKey Features: • Trustworthy: Filled with up-to-date research, this solid resource provides the most recent case studies on social media use • Easy to Read: Packed with summaries, checklists, and bullet lists, it's never been easier to digest practical and informative research • Practical: Includes tips to make social media work for you rather than work against you • Easy to Carry: Compact, lightweight, and easily fits in your hand, purse, and bag

Experience the freedom, joy, and peace that come from letting go of anxiety and grasping the freedom you have in Christ Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the country, affecting 40 million adults in the United States, according to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health. Using real-life stories, biblical suggestions, proven tips, and practical steps that you can take today, Dr. Gregory Jantz will help you shut down oncoming anxiety before it starts. Unlike popular methods, which tell you to just "manage" or medicate your anxiety, Dr. Jantz's Seven Answers for Anxiety helps you identify the root cause of anxiety-so you can overcome and break free from the nagging and anxious thoughts that leave you exhausted. He explains seven trusted and practical steps that can be, used by anyone and everyone to be free from anxiety or panic attacks. When anxiety strikes, everything feels out of control. You can't help but to "sweat the small stuff." Anxiety twists the truth into chaos, affecting your daily decisions, relationships, and even your faith. In those moments, you need practical steps to walk in God's freedom and truth. In this step-by-step guide, you will discover how to • Let go of anxiety and apply God's truth to your life • Put panic attacks and anxiety to an end • Face stressful and anxious situations (driving, shopping, social interaction, etc.) • Start healthy habits to reduce anxiety • Stop anxious thoughts in their tracks and start feeling like yourself again

Have you experienced a romantic partner, friend, coworker, or family member suddenly ending your relationship without communicating why? Ghosting is a relatively recent term for an old problem made much more prevalent in the age of social media. Ghosting involves cutting off contact and ending a relationship, leaving the other person feeling shunned and perplexed. Whether the context is dating, social media, the workplace, families, friendships, or church, ghosting is an insensitive act at best and purposefully damaging at worst. In Here Today, Ghosted Tomorrow, Dr. Gregory Jantz explores what ghosting is and why it matters; why people ghost; the damaging effects of ghosting; what to do if you've been ghosted; and how to heal in the aftermath. God intends for all of us to enjoy honoring, respectful, and joy-filled relationships. Dr. Jantz understands the hurt and betrayal that ghosting causes and draws on 35 years of clinical experience to provide perspective and practical steps to move forward. By the end of the brief healing journey of this book, readers will be well along the path to renewed strength and confidence. Dr. Gregory L. Jantz is the author of over forty-five books, the host of the national Hope & Possibility podcast, a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a popular keynote speaker. He is a leader in holistic treatment. Under Dr. Jantz's leadership, "The Center: A Place of HOPE" is among the top ten facilities in the United States for the treatment of depression.

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things you may ever have to face. But it's also one of the most important and rewarding things you can do. Author and health educator, Debbie Barr, explains the high price we pay to our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing when we cling to resentment, bitterness, and thoughts of revenge. Writing with compassion and understanding, she shares her own experience with forgiveness and stories from others who have made the choice to forgive. She shows how forgiveness can bring peace of mind, self-respect, and the kind of wellbeing that God wants us to have. Forgiving others is what God requires of us-and the more atrocious the offense, the more we need his help to do the hard work of forgiveness. This book will help you understand what forgiveness really is, and what it's not, and how to know when you've truly forgiven someone. Making the brave choice to forgive can benefit us in amazing ways-in fact, it sets us free!

Loneliness and isolation are serious problems with real and often devastating consequences-including increased suicide risk. Their ramifications deeply affect everyone in our society. In The Power of Connection, explore why connection matters so much, what the absence of connection means for the world, and how to create more of it in our lives. Dr. Gregory Jantz believes the payoff for pursuing human connection is well worth the investment, with the rewards being greater health, well-being, resilience, purpose, spirituality, and enjoyment of life. He inspires us to be genuinely better together, and more available to each other. Accept this invitation to nurture relationships in which ideal qualities can truly shine: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. Find strategies for genuine connection to heal wounds, find comfort in each other, and build a healthier future for our society. In this book, you will learn: • Steps toward more authentic relationships • Conditions for connection • Strategies for deeper connections • Ways to be a great friend

Having a strong, healthy relationship with God is foundational to enjoying every aspect of life. In Kenza Haddock's work as a trauma and pastoral counselor, she discovered that her clients' anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders were often the result of a distorted view of God's character. They had developed an insecure attachment to God. In clinical psychology, attachment theory focuses on how the emotional bonds we form in childhood influence how we approach our relationships with others. Secure takes a look at how this theory applies to our relationship with God. When God created us, he intended that he would be our primary attachment above all else. It is only after we have established a secure relationship with him that we can cultivate healthy relationships with others. In this book, readers will learn to recognize the signs of an unhealthy attachment with God. As they study foundational truths about God and their identity in Christ, they will gain essential tools for maintaining a secure attachment with God. The outcome will be a life characterized by hope, healing, and fulfilling relationships. Ultimately, a secure attachment with God can lead us to our own "ministry of reconciliation" as we proclaim what God has done for us and wants to do for others.

When family members see a loved one exhibiting symptoms of mental illness, it can be shocking, disorienting, and even traumatizing. Most families are overwhelmed and have no idea where to find support. And when they do reach out, their friends and churches often aren't sure what to do, what to say, or how to help. Author and speaker Amy Simpson knows this difficult journey well. She has spent years walking alongside a family member with a mental illness. She now educates churches, families, and people helpers about the best ways to provide support for those facing a mental health crisis. In this book, she clears up common misconceptions about mental illness with a biblical understanding of God's heart for those who struggle. You'll find resources and practical suggestions for how to help effectively and safely. You'll learn how to care for a loved one with both compassion and healthy boundaries.

Do you have too many tasks on your to-do list but not enough bandwidth to complete them? When we are stressed-out and running on empty, we are driven by what's urgent instead of what's really important. Life robs us of joy and keeps us from the good works that God prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10). Are you ready to discover your true purpose and trade overwhelm for peace? In “Overwhelmed”, author Debbie Barr empathizes with readers who are suffering from an overload of information, stuff, and complexity. She unpacks the physical and emotional effects of "too much" and offers smart strategies that can interrupt, overwhelm and prevent it from happening in the future. Barr encourages us to cast our cares upon the Lord while taking well-structured, practical steps, including: • Establishing priorities • Pondering what to offload • Practicing monotasking techniques • Allowing for unstructured time • And much more!

Why does God make us wait? Why, when it would be so easy for God to just say "yes" to our prayers, does he instead so often say "wait"? The Bible tells us that waiting is a part of God's plan for our lives. But why? It can all feel like a bit of a mystery. In “The Mystery of Waiting”, author Debbie Barr helps you see the bigger picture in your season of waiting. Drawing from biblical teachings, she provides tools to help you discover what God might be teaching you about his timing and his plan for your life. You'll see how the experience of waiting upon the Lord can be a catalyst for amazing growth and healing. Whenever you are in a period of waiting, know that God is still working in you and your circumstances. This book will take you through practical steps to learn how to wait wisely, prayerfully, hopefully, and confidently. Your heavenly Father is good and his best for your life is worth the wait.

Everyone experiences deep and painful loss at some point: the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, the sting of betrayal, the collapse of a dream, the perils of financial calamity. In the aftermath, we can feel mired in our pain with little hope for brighter days ahead. In Healing after Loss, Dr. Gregory Jantz proclaims there is hope as we choose to process our grief, build resilience, and cling to an all-powerful God. Readers will glean from twelve practical steps and targeted exercises for regaining strength and stamina, as well as important strategies for soul-care as they work through loss. Also included are impactful stories of everyday folks who have grappled with grief. They learned that through patience and acceptance, unexpected life lessons can emerge from their loss. With compassion and empathy, Dr. Jantz instills a heroic determination to break through burnout and never relinquish the treasure of recovery.

Caregiving is a journey of compassion, walking alongside someone coping with illness or disability or the effects of aging. Even though it's one of the most important jobs anyone can ever do, caregiving often takes a surprising toll on the caregiver's body, mind, and spirit. If you're a caregiver feeling confused, overwhelmed, or stressed out to the point of burnout or bailout, you're not alone. Many caregivers experience grief, anxiety, guilt, and anger-and get stuck in those feelings. But here's the great news: the caregiving experience doesn't have to be like that. When caregiving tasks are shared and caregivers understand how to take good care of themselves too, the whole experience can be much brighter for everyone. Award-winning author and speaker, Debbie Barr, writes with compassion and understanding, taking an honest look at the ups and downs of caregiving. She shares the real-life experiences of caregivers and the things they've learned along their journeys. This book will help caregivers like you know how to gather a team to help shoulder the caregiving load. You will be able to identify when you're getting close to burnout, and what to do about it-because caregiving is never just about the person needing the care; it's about the caregiver too. You will come away from this book encouraged and equipped to face the caregiving journey with hopefulness and peace of mind.

Is there an area of your life you want healing in? Do you find yourself struggling to stay positive? Everyone struggles with a challenge that can lead to hopelessness. Chances are there is an obstacle in your life you desperately want to overcome and you are tired of it weighing you down and holding you back. But how can you move forward? How can you heal? Instead of solely addressing the healing of emotions or spiritual life, Dr. Gregory Jantz's proven and effective method encourages the focus on healing the whole person with 5 keys: • Harness Your Thoughts • Heal Your Emotions • Nurture Your Relationships • Nourish Your Body • Deepen Your Spirit Dr. Gregory Jantz explains the most important tools from his years of helping people overcome challenges in life. His biblically based advice will give you courage and tenacity as you take the first steps on the path toward wholeness and wellbeing, sustained and strengthened by a foundation of hope. Learn to: • Nurture helpful, healing thoughts while banishing the ones that bring you down and cause you doubt. • Discover your purpose: the one unique thing each of us has to offer the world. • Live with purpose and conviction as you learn to recognize God's calling for your life and the way he equipped you to fulfill it. • Cultivate gratitude, which strengthens hope. Dr. Gregory Jantz knows hopefulness is not wishful thinking, unfounded optimism, or pie-in-the-sky idealism. It is a choice we make to believe in our own capacity to overcome any challenge and, more so, to believe in a loving God who watches over us and always wants the best for us. Discover: • 7 stress-management strategies to practice • 8 ways to experience inner peace • 10 traits of healthy relationships • 6 ways to strengthen your relationships • 9 strategies for eating to enrich your body and lift your mood • 6 steps toward a better lifestyle • And much more! 4 Key Features: Quickly Find the Information You Need for Healing and Health Using real-life stories, biblical suggestions, proven tips, and practical steps that you can take today, Dr. Gregory Jantz will help you find healing and health. Enjoy having these key features: • Simple summaries and easy-to-understand explanations • Practical steps backed by science and by scripture • Charts that show key information at a glance • Relatable stories that show you how to apply its truth to your life Perfect for: • Group and individual use • Church library • To hand to a friend • Biblical & pastoral counseling • And more

As young children, we begin our indoctrination into one of the foundational beliefs of Western civilization: Failure is bad-very bad. As we get older, the stakes can include unfortunate experiences like unemployment, bankruptcy, divorce, and the wounding of our self-worth. Over time, we might stop thinking we've failed at something in particular and start believing that we are failures. But the truth is, if we're willing to venture anything at all, we're going to fail. The question is, how will we view our failures-and what will we do with them? Why Failure Is Never Final explores the path of putting our failures in perspective-and becoming better because of them. Dr. Gregory Jantz reminds us that God's definition of success has more to do with who we are than what we do. Misinterpreting failures can impose obstacles to our dreams, but the good news is that we can take preemptive action. Dr. Jantz discusses several strategies for reframing our blunders, including: • resolving to move forward, not backward • coming clean about our mistakes • forgiving ourselves • avoiding self-sabotaging behavior Throughout the book, Dr. Jantz emphasizes that (1) failure is part of being human, and (2) the key to success lies in our determination to learn from our mistakes. The ultimate antidote to failure, Jantz concludes, is the rich gift of God's grace. Failure is never final... because God's love for us is forever.

Have you determined your unique "why" for existing on planet earth? Instead of coasting along, hoping everything will somehow work out, it's time to take control and actively participate in the course of your life. When we envision a joyful, gratifying, hope-filled future, we can better flesh out our purpose and allow it to shape our goals, inspire us to service, and guide our daily decisions. Find Your Purpose in Life helps readers understand the power of purpose and the many pathways of purpose, then guides them to pursue their passions with purpose. Dr. Gregory Jantz believes that our most essential purpose is to honor and enjoy God each day. With this principle as our True North, our unique vocational, family, creative, and social purposes become clear. He emphasizes that our purpose is rooted not only in what we're good at but also in our true desires. It's important to examine how past obstacles may have dampened our deepest longings, then commit to freely pursue them. Throughout the book, Dr. Jantz weaves in probing questions and helpful exercises for clarifying the why and how of our unique purpose. Packed with encouragement to forge a new path ahead, Find Your Purpose in Life inspires and motivates readers to reconnect with their passions and embrace their God-given calling.

Stress. Everyone has it. But what can you do about it? Maybe you feel like you're ready to blow up, check out, or simply resign yourself to the idea that nothing will ever change. Dr. Gregory Jantz shows you a better way. You can't avoid all stressors in your life, but you can change how you deal with them. This book will show you how to manage your stress in a way that breathes life and joy back into your daily routines. "75 percent of Americans report experiencing at least one symptom of stress in the past month" in the United States, according to the American Psychological Association. Whether the cause of stress is money, work, the economy, family, or personal health, easily get simple and effective tips to reduce stress that are improving lives of people everywhere! In this step-by-step guide, you will gain the tools to- • Start healthy habits to reduce stress • Get a full night's sleep and wake up refreshed • Enrich your relationship with the Lord and others like never before • Simplify and organize your life to cut down on stress and focus on what really mattersStress is natural and even helpful in emergencies, causing us to react quickly in need, but being in stress mode regularly is dangerous to our health. Using real-life stories, biblically sound advice, proven tips, and practical steps, equip yourself to recognize the signs of stress and take action to reduce stress today. There are thousands of books on stress. But oftentimes they give very general recommendations that don't apply to everyone and ignore the spiritual aspects of a person.

"Boys will be boys..." From how they learn and talk to how they interact with others, it's no secret that boys are wired very differently than girls. This empowering 112-page book is a roadmap that will give you the strength and confidence to raise an extraordinary son using practical advice and tools. Today boys and young men face unique challenges and pressures that can be troubling to parents. With the internet and advances in technology and media, the pressure on mothers and fathers to raise their sons in godly ways can feel like a huge burden. Enjoy having practical tools, biblical advice, and decades of time-tested research and experience on raising your son from at your fingertips! Take the first step to a deeper understanding of parenting with Dr. Gregory Jantz's Five Keys to Raising Boys. In this easy-to-understand guide, you will discover how to- • Understand basic scientifically-researched differences between the way boys and girls think and behave • Guide a boy's behavior based on the way God designed him • Understand and nurture your son's emotions • Talk to your son about puberty and sex • and more!

Loss of interest. Drastic changes in appetite. Deep sadness. Feeling constantly tired. Thoughts of death or suicide. The symptoms and signs of depression vary over a wide range and affect every part of our lives, so why shouldn't our treatment be just as complete? Five Keys to Dealing with Depression focuses on the whole person for whole healing. It contains practical tips, valuable biblical insight, and shame-free help. People are not one-dimensional and neither should be the help given to them. A person is made up of five key aspects, and this book makes it easy to understand not only how depression affects each area but also how to get healthy in each of these areas: • Emotional • Intellectual • Relational • Physical • SpiritualFeaturing helpful checklists and research in an easy-to-read format, Jantz's Five Keys to Dealing with Depression doesn't just manage symptoms. It equips you with the tools and God's truth to care for the whole person.

Practical advice for healing and repairing broken trust and relationships. A best friend who undermines you. A partner's infidelity. A coworker that sabotages you or your workplace. A relative who steals from your family. Intimate betrayal strikes at the core of our capacity to trust and love, crushing the fundamental expectation that gives us the courage to connect deeply-the belief that the person we love wouldn't hurt us. Whether the betrayal is through infidelity, emotional abuse, verbal aggression, or domestic violence, the psychological wound that cuts deepest is the perception that, ultimately, the person we love doesn't care about our well-being. So how can we heal from these wounds and even rebuild trust after betrayal? God provides the strength, guidance, and peace to overcome your current heartache and regain joy. And, this handbook can help you do the hard work to walk on that path to healing. Quickly Find the Information You Need on Repairing Relationships In this handbook, you will learn: • What to do when someone has betrayed your trust, or when you have betrayed the trust of someone else • How to decide whether or not to repair the relationship and 10 daily steps to do so 3 essential elements of reconciliation • And more4 Key Features of This Christian Counseling Book on Healing Broken Trust Using real-life stories, biblical suggestions, proven tips, and practical steps that you can take today, Dr. Gregory Jantz will help you heal from broken trust or relationships. Enjoy having these key features: • Simple summaries and easy-to-understand explanations • Practical steps backed by science and by scripture • Charts that show key information at a glance • Relatable stories that show you how to apply its truth to your lifeDr. Gregory Jantz takes you step by step through how to rebuild trust after betrayal. The same healing grace that knits broken bones and restores us to strength after illness is well able to reconcile wounded hearts and renew love for one another. Trust God to guide you through the work of rebuilding trust and you will not only survive, but will go on to thrive.

Packed with real-life stories, biblical suggestions, proven tips, and practical steps, Dr. Gregory Jantz's handbook will give you courage and tenacity as you take the first steps on the path toward wholeness and wellbeing. With boundaries, problem-solving, and mutual respect, find the tools to turn strained relationships into ones that are enjoyable, supportive and rewarding. In this practical counseling book, you will learn: • The tell-tale signs of a toxic person • The roots of toxic behavior • How to evaluate whether you should hang in or move on • Effective ways to deal with criticism • How to focus on healthy problem-solving • How to set and hold boundaries, and reclaim your life! The Deceiver. The Gaslighter. The Guilter. The Control Freak. And, the Put-down Artist. They are toxic people, and they create turmoil in nearly every setting: work, home, church, school, and relationships of all kinds. Toxic people keep you off-balance, they poison relationships, they stir up discord, making you feel that you are the dysfunctional one. How to Deal with Toxic People offers practical guidance from one of today's favorite Christian authors. 4 Key Features of This Christian Counseling Book on Dealing with Toxic Behaviors In How to Deal with Toxic People, Dr. Gregory Jantz examines the kind of behavior that defines a toxic person, the common origins of toxic traits, the ways in which a toxic person impacts the lives of others, and-most importantly-what you can do to protect yourself from toxic people. Enjoy having these key features: • Simple summaries and easy-to-understand explanations • Practical steps to protect yourself from toxic people, backed by science and by scripture • Charts that show key information at a glance • Relatable stories that show you how to apply biblical truths to your lifeDr. Jantz shows you that it is possible to free yourself from the effects of toxic people in your life. In fact, it's vital that you do so to protect and promote your own well-being. You can learn to choose healthy, fulfilling, mutually rewarding, and uplifting relationships-and to drastically limit or end those that don't measure up. You deserve to be, treated by others with respect, honor, and dignity at all times. God wants you to be free!

We all want to feel energized, optimistic, and fulfilled each day, thankful for the meaningful people and activities in our lives. Yet many people lack this kind of joy and vitality. Why? One major reason is they have not made peace with their past. Often people carry pain from past troubled relationships into their current relationships. They are weighed down by shame that toxic people once tried to put on them. Or they hold on to mistakes and failures, never able to forgive themselves. Either way, they struggle to find the freedom that God offers. Make Peace with Your Past offers essential principles and practical steps for moving beyond these painful experiences. Dr. Gregory Jantz takes readers from hurt to healing by exploring the power of forgiving others and themselves, accurately seeing themselves as God does, living fully in the moment with him, and allowing "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" to define their future (Philippians 3:14, ESV). The past may have been disappointing or it may have been disastrous-but when we make peace with those circumstances, our present and future can be better than we ever imagined. Dr. Gregory L. Jantz is the author of over forty-five books, the host of the national Hope & Possibility podcast, a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a popular keynote speaker. He is a leader in holistic treatment. Under Dr. Jantz's leadership, "The Center: A Place of HOPE" is among the top ten facilities in the United States for the treatment of depression.