The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome: What to Do If Someone in Your Life Has a Dual Personality - or If You Do

While every person has a dark side, some people experience unpredictable or abusive mood swings that are more dramatic than average: the spouse or parent who is loving one minute and totally enraged the next, the friend whose personality changes dramatically after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, or the person who lives a double life, appearing to be the pinnacle of virtue in public while leading an entirely different existence—even maintaining a separate identity—in private. People like these suffer from what the internationally acclaimed therapist and emotional abuse expert Beverly Engel calls the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. If you or someone you know is a Jekyll and Hyde, you know the distress, fear, confusion, and chaos that living with this behavior can cause.

In The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome, Engel explains for the first time what the syndrome is and how to cope with the Jekyll and Hydes in your life. Engel identifies the seven types of Jekyll and Hydes and discusses the specific psychological conditions and childhood experiences that can create Jekyll and Hyde personalities. She explores the damage the syndrome can inflict on those who are close to a sufferer, such as lost self-esteem, confusion and disorientation, and the stress of "walking on eggshells" to avoid conflict. With the help of questionnaires and real stories from her life and psychotherapy practice, she gives specific information and techniques to help you recognize and deal with someone with a Jekyll and Hyde personality, including how to:

• Know whether you are in a relationship with a Jekyll and Hyde

• Overcome your tendencies toward denial, self-blame, and isolation from others

• Trust your perceptions and identify and confront Jekyll and Hyde behavior

• Determine whether the Jekyll and Hyde in your life has a personality disorder

• Decide whether to continue your relationship with a Jekyll and Hyde

• Identify Jekyll and Hyde behavior in yourself and take steps for change

There is no need to suffer silently from Jekyll and Hyde behavior. With Engel's eye-opening insights on dual personalities and her powerful prescriptions, you can begin to bring the healing benefits of understanding, empowerment, and change to your relationships with others and with yourself.

Praise for Beverly Engel The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome

"Living with a Jekyll and Hyde, forever walking on eggshells, is no way to live. It takes its toll physically and mentally, whether the person's problem is Borderline Personality Disorder or something else. In this exciting new book, Engel gives hope to millions by showing them how to get off the emotional roller coaster no matter what their situation is."
—Randi Kreger, coauthor of Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder and founder of BPDCentral.com

"Beverly Engel traverses a wide spectrum as she explicates The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome. She boils down the common essences of various psychiatric disorders such as Borderline and Narcissistic Personality Disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to describe the conflicted bipolar Shadows of those whose expressions to the world vary so widely. Easy-to-understand explanations and advice in dealing with individuals with changeable personalities allow The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome to describe the Yin and Yang of those engaged in this monumental human struggle."
—Jerold J. Kreisman, m.d. coauthor of Sometimes I Act Crazy: Living with Borderline Personality Disorder and I Hate You, Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality The Emotionally Abusive Relationship

"Beverly Engel clearly and with caring offers step-by-step strategies to stop emotional abuse . . . helping both victims and abusers to identify the patterns of this painful and traumatic type of abuse."
—Marti Tamm Loring, Ph.D., author of Emotional Abuse: The Trauma and the Treatment Loving Him without Losing You

"A powerful and practical guide to relationships that every woman should read."
—Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D., author of Secrets about Life Every Woman Should Know and How Did I Get Here?