I’m pleased to announce that my new book in the Let’s Make a Contract series is available on Amazon and at my website. Based on real-life situations with my patients, Getting Through Unhappy Romantic Relationships offers insights not often talked about. Some examples include:

• How we get attracted to a potential romantic partner in the first place. Romantic attraction begins with a “chemical love” that is powered by oxytocin, phenylethylamine, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
• Limerence, a “crush,” looks like love, feels like love—but it is not love!
• Few people know what the top ten ways are to maintain a lasting relationship. When one knows from the beginning, one knows how to strive for it.
• What the deal breakers are. A deal breaker is any behavior that suggests that values are not held in common. This is important because potential relationships can seem to hold the same values, but one’s behavior indicates differently.

Just recently, a patient tearfully entered my office. Barbara was bereft because she had learned that her husband of two years was having an affair. As she began her story, she surprised me by asking, “How did I get myself into this situation?” I’ve never had anyone who was dealing with an infidelity “shock” ask me that question. Barbara was more interested in discovering the evolution of her current situation than blaming her husband for his behavior. This was an unusual case. Most who are cheated on want to investigate the how’s and why’s, and may consider divorcing their significant other.

The common belief that about half of all marriages end in divorce is a reasonable approximation. That’s a lot of couples that find themselves trapped in the same self-destructive patterns in their lives. Even if you’re in a happy romantic relationship, you probably know at least one couple that is struggling. Fortunately, there is a way forward.

The worksheets and story examples in my book encourage readers to take a complete inventory of their past and present relationships and discover repeated and unfulfilling patterns that have led to their unhappiness and suffering.

Please feel free to share this with a colleague, a friend in need, or anyone who wants to start fresh.

The fourth book in the Let’s Make a Contract series will be coming out in the fall of 2018. Let’s Make a Contract: Getting Your Teen Past the Opioid Epidemic could not come at a better time. No other book on the market specifically targets the intersection of teenagers and opioids—both of which come with their unique challenges.

For more information about all of Dr. Schiebert’s books in the Let’s Make a Contract series, please visit www.drannschiebert.com