Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-284) The disease to please triangle: the price of nice -- Toxic thoughts -- It's okay not to be nice -- Putting others first -- There's more to you than how much you do -- Nice people can say "no" -- Learning to please: approval addiction -- Why can't you get your parents' approval? -- Love at all costs -- Romantic addiction -- Once more, without feelings -- The fear of anger -- Words can really hurt you -- How far would you go to avoid a confrontation? -- Small steps, big changes -- A user's guide to the 21-day action plan -- Don't say "yes" when you want to say "no" -- The broken record techniques -- The counteroffer -- What to say if you want to say "no": the sandwich technique -- The reverse sandwich technique -- Rewriting the Ten Commandments of people pleasing -- Rewriting the seven deadly shoulds -- Taking care of you -- Taking yourself out of approval addiction -- To do or not to do, that is the question -- Tag, you're it -- It's okay not to be nice -- The anger scale -- The relaxation breath -- Anger-up -- Anger-down -- Time out -- Stress inoculation -- Solve a problem with a friend, not for a friend -- Correcting faulty assumptions -- Celebrate your cure -- Epilogue: some final thoughts