I’m looking for a book about… Stress and Burnout

With the holidays fast approaching, it’s no wonder folks are feeling stressed. But burnout isn’t limited to the holidays, nor to finding a decent work/life balance. If you’re looking to take a different approach to stress management in the new year, one of these books might be for you!

I’m super stressed, burnt out, over-worked/under-paid…

Over the last few years, burnout has become a much more prevalent challenge I’ve seen popping up among my clients. While burnout is most commonly associated with work/career-related concerns, it can also stem from other areas, such as parenting and caregiving.

• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, Phd and Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, Phd and Amelia Nagoski, DMA

  • Strengths: This book does a great job of describing the science behind modern vs evolutionary stress and provides some tangible strategies to help manage stress and burnout.

  • Considerations: It’s written with women & AFAB folks in mind, I think there’s still a lot of great stuff here for anyone.

Part of me really struggles with the fact that I’m struggling in the first place. Maybe I could or should be doing more, or better?

You might be asking yourself what self-compassion has to do with stress and burnout, which would be a good question. High self-compassion is a protective factor in coping with stress, meaning that if you are strong in it, it can act as a buffer to help you manage stress and burnout. If, on the other hand, you struggle with self-criticism and self-judgement, I think it can be much harder to manage these challenges.

• Fierce Self-Compassion: How to Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Your Power, and Thrive

  • Strengths: This book does a great job explaining where folks can get stuck with self-compassion, and gives tangible exercises to help you try a different approach.

  • Considerations: This is another one written with women and AFAB folks in mind, but again, I still think it could be applicable to any reader.

While I’ve read both of the books on the list, I tend to have a “take what fits and leave the rest” mentality when it comes to reading (and learning in general). My endorsement of these books doesn’t mean that I agree with everything expressed in each of them; I merely find them a great place to start if you’re interested in the topic!