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The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul
Whether we are overwhelmed by work or school; our families or communities; caretaking for others or ourselves; or engagement in social justice, environmental advocacy, or civil service, just a few subtle shifts can help us sustain. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, bestselling author of Trauma Stewardship, shows us how, offering concrete strategies to help us mitigate harm, cultivate our ability to be decent and equitable, and to act with integrity. The Age of Overwhelm aims to help ease our burden of overwhelm, restore our perspective, and give us strength to navigate what is yet to come.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
228 people are currently reading
2105 people want to read
About the author
Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky
5 books72 followersLaura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others and The Age of Overwhelm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
January 12, 2019
This book was a massive disappointment. I love and frequently return to her previous (excellent) book, Trauma Stewardship, and had looked forward to this second book of hers. It reads more like expanded notes for a PPT presentation (complete with way too many and sometimes seemingly random cartoons and personal anecdotes). I wanted to be able to recommend this book to colleagues, but I cannot.
March 10, 2019
This was a helpful and easy to digest resource explaining different ways overwhelm shows up in our current cultural context and specific research based practices, habits, and tools that can alleviate the impact of overwhelm.
A few specific ideas I really appreciated:
Metabolizing exposure. In other words, how do you process overwhelming contexts and remove barriers to working through them.
Less distraction, more intention. In an age of distractions that can reach us during all waking hours, how do we show up with intention and maintain our perspective?
Less attachment, more curiousity. Notice when rigid expectations for ourself or others are contributing to the overwhelm we experience.
Disconnect less, be present more. Rather than totally unplugging and numbing, focus on being in the moment through gratitude, active lifestyle choices, and time in nature.
Less depletion, more stamina. Notice and reduce the things that bring your energy down, and notice and increase the experiences and habits that sustain you.
Thanks again for the helpful tools and resources. Beneficial read that I would recommend to those facing situations or experiences I’d overwhelm in their own lives.
A few specific ideas I really appreciated:
Metabolizing exposure. In other words, how do you process overwhelming contexts and remove barriers to working through them.
Less distraction, more intention. In an age of distractions that can reach us during all waking hours, how do we show up with intention and maintain our perspective?
Less attachment, more curiousity. Notice when rigid expectations for ourself or others are contributing to the overwhelm we experience.
Disconnect less, be present more. Rather than totally unplugging and numbing, focus on being in the moment through gratitude, active lifestyle choices, and time in nature.
Less depletion, more stamina. Notice and reduce the things that bring your energy down, and notice and increase the experiences and habits that sustain you.
Thanks again for the helpful tools and resources. Beneficial read that I would recommend to those facing situations or experiences I’d overwhelm in their own lives.
Read
June 8, 2021It was a strange experience reading a book about overwhelm written before 2020. It felt like something was missing about overwhelm, central to what we’ve been experiencing in the last year and a half. Though of course that’s no fault of the author, only of time. An updated or expanded version for a pandemic world would be interesting. A lot of the info presented here was the same as many of the staff trainings provided at work (which is where this title was recommended), so not much was new, but again, not the fault of the author. It does offer many ways to improve mental health and help cope with overwhelm, as well as explain how trauma can affect multiple aspects of your life, or the lives of the people around you. The thing I’ll remember and use most is to ask yourself “is this what I want to be good at?” when you feel yourself reacting to something in an uphelpful way.
December 13, 2018
Having read Trauma Stewardship and attended her trainings, I was really excited for this follow-up. However, it was a pretty big letdown. I think this book is meant for non-practitioners or possibly those who are college-aged and looking for direction. She watered down most of her ideas with anecdotes with her husband and kids that make her life sound like a sitcom and then saturated her book with quotes from pretty much anyone. Maybe this worked for some people, but it wasn't meant for me.
Read
March 27, 2019A really good, really important book.
August 31, 2018
From offering strategies for thinking about how to structure one's morning to thinking about ways to protect (and replenish) one's energetic reserves in nature, this was a valuable, quick handbook and reminder. There are strategies that I have as a survivor of difficult things -- hypervigilance is at the top of this list -- that were really helpful as a kid and for a time as a teenager and young adult, but in today's world, are considerably less helpful. The Age of Overwhelm offers a different perspective on our personal assumptions, and asks us to evaluate for ourselves whether we believe it's sustainable to overwhelm ourselves. If we find that the answer is no, what is the reason that we seem addicted to overwhelm anyway?
February 22, 2020
a helpful and useful book, especially for people with access to trauma. Not my favorite writing style but some gems within.
December 2, 2025
Such a good book, Laura is the coolest
July 28, 2019
3.5 stars
February 7, 2022
I wanted to like this book. I attended the author's workshop towards the end of 2019 or early 2020 as part of a training opportunity for work and got the book as a complimentary gift. The training itself was excellent, but the book (which was supposed to cover the same topic but in more detail) fell short. The message itself is valuable, and the outlined strategies for dealing with overwhelming are effective, however, the delivery could be better. Most of the book is a collection of anecdotes and quotes from various people that she has interviewed, often with no real added value to the message. I would have greatly appreciated more quotes from studies and scientific literature, rather than "a 17-year-old student" who seems to have no apparent significance beyond their one-liner that seems to serve no purpose other than re-iterating the author's message. The anecdotes added some humor and interest to the book, but often had marginal relation to the point the author was trying to make. This book could have been shorter, as the same point was repeated throughout the chapter in many different ways when it could have been said just once and backed up with a few real-world examples or scientific evidence.
To be fair, I stopped reading about halfway through, figuring I'll keep the handouts from the training as a summary of the takeaway and move on. I'll update my review if I ever finish the book and my opinion changes.
To be fair, I stopped reading about halfway through, figuring I'll keep the handouts from the training as a summary of the takeaway and move on. I'll update my review if I ever finish the book and my opinion changes.
February 22, 2021
The main reason I didn't give this book a full five stars is because it's a bit anecdote-heavy for my liking. It's important to illustrate a point by describing real-world scenarios, but it seemed overdone here. I would have liked to read a bit more of the theory--and the development of the theories--behind the techniques used to manage stress and overwhelm, with a few strong "case studies," so to speak. The book easily could have been one-third as long and still effective, perhaps even more so. It's still a good read and worth checking out. But I ended up skimming a lot in order to get to the point, which is why I was reading the book in the first place.
November 26, 2018
Wonderful mix of personal insights and universal principles for managing the complexity of human life; bending without breaking.
“As we continue on, individually and collectively, may we all find those moments—big and small—when we yield and proceed, with grace and determination, with discernment about how we can refrain from causing harm, with clarity about how we can contribute wisely, and with some ability to be grateful —for something—along the way.”
“As we continue on, individually and collectively, may we all find those moments—big and small—when we yield and proceed, with grace and determination, with discernment about how we can refrain from causing harm, with clarity about how we can contribute wisely, and with some ability to be grateful —for something—along the way.”
May 5, 2023
Written by a specialist in dealing with trauma, The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul is a slender volume which applies the lessons learned in dealing with unthinkable situations to the systemic feelings of anxiety, depletion, dissatisfaction, fatigue, and restlessness permeating modern society. As with all such volumes, some of the work is descriptive and some of it is prescriptive. It was beneficial to me to read it, but there were many times when I felt it was too general to be useful to me.
That being established, there were many descriptions and observations which gave me insight, comfort, or a necessary challenge. I think part of my discomfort with the book was Laura van Dernoot Lipsky’s tendency to lump larger global and social problems into the mix of personal betterment and healing. She’s right to acknowledge that meeting a small need here and there is a start to a solution just like changing a small behavior here and there is a start to personal development. Yet, it seemed like too much of the book was considering enough of a larger scope that it becomes difficult to target what one earnestly needs to fix individually.
Perhaps, then, the key to overcoming the feeling of being overwhelmed is to create a pause, an interrupt, that enables one to feel even a moment of control where one can identify at least the feeling if not the problem. As our author writes, “Sometimes all it takes is helping someone acknowledge this is what overwhelm looks like.” (p. 18) Even in her introduction, she described how her younger daughter paused a heated conversation by saying, “I just need a minute.” And literally, just by getting everyone to be quiet and to take a chance to think, she was able to recalibrate and turn an emotional exchange into something that could be resolved (p. 7). Toward the end of the book, she expressed it rather succinctly: “If it’s a small break you need to keep on keeping on, give yourself some time and space to Just. Do. Nothing. Step out for a minute.” (p. 144)
Of course, for some people, the question may be why one should even be concerned about being overwhelmed. After all, isn’t it just our natural circumstance? No, it isn’t. As the book quotes Dr. Scott Woodruff, Director of the Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Treatment Program at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, warns: “Excessive worry can lead to fatigue, lack of concentration, and muscle tightness.” (p. 49) The book goes on to explain how even our basic fight or flight response, intended to assist us in emergencies, works against us when the stress, pressure, and too much stimulus keeps us on a razor’s edge or hair trigger for too long (p. 56).
So, what can we do about it? After all, one surely picks up a book like The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul to find some solutions. Frankly, the most helpful advice to me comes both early and late in the book. Early on, the author gives a solution to breaking the “overwhelm” pattern by “metabolizing.” That seemed easier said than done till she explained that metabolizing consists of two parts: 1) Catabolism or breaking apart (ie. Getting perspective on the problem) and 2) Anabolism or building up necessary nutrients for repair and growth (which, in turn, ties into the late advice in the next sentence - p. 54). How do we build up those nutrients? Be open to something new! “It is never too late to start a new practice, merging the reality of insight about who you are – with an understanding of all you’ve got going on – with awareness of the choices you can make to sustain for the long haul. Do something. Every day.” (p. 153)
I loved the emphasis on the gratitude response. “When we feel gratitude, parts of our brain involved in feelings of bonding and connectedness are activated, and we release neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin.” (p. 83) No wonder being thankful makes us feel better. And, though it wasn’t new to me, I liked being reminded that: “Without sleep, the brain is unable to clear out toxins and clean the fluid in neuron channels at the rate necessary to maintain high-functioning, day-to-day activity.” (p. 99) Gratitude is definitely a part of the solution to the negativity bias mentioned earlier in the book: “A human’s nervous system evolved what neuroscientists call a negativity bias, which throughout our day scans for bad news, and then our brain hones in on whatever feels like a perceived threat. While the process did, and still can, help our immediate survival, it is unhelpful for our overall well-being.” (p. 71)
Something I had never actually considered before was the value of humility for emotional well-being. I want to remember: “Humility allows us to be good at something and still be open to all that we have yet to learn. Preserving our willingness and capacity to be corrected or surprised keeps us flexible, lets us experience the satisfaction of learning something new, and helps us avoid the trap of binary thinking.” (p. 111) Of course, that connects nicely with her quotation of a line from Sen. Cory Booker’s commencement address to the Class of 2017 at the University of Pennsylvania: “We can never allow our inability to do everything to undermine our determination to do something.” (p. 114)
The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul wasn’t the book I was expecting, but part of it was the book I needed.
That being established, there were many descriptions and observations which gave me insight, comfort, or a necessary challenge. I think part of my discomfort with the book was Laura van Dernoot Lipsky’s tendency to lump larger global and social problems into the mix of personal betterment and healing. She’s right to acknowledge that meeting a small need here and there is a start to a solution just like changing a small behavior here and there is a start to personal development. Yet, it seemed like too much of the book was considering enough of a larger scope that it becomes difficult to target what one earnestly needs to fix individually.
Perhaps, then, the key to overcoming the feeling of being overwhelmed is to create a pause, an interrupt, that enables one to feel even a moment of control where one can identify at least the feeling if not the problem. As our author writes, “Sometimes all it takes is helping someone acknowledge this is what overwhelm looks like.” (p. 18) Even in her introduction, she described how her younger daughter paused a heated conversation by saying, “I just need a minute.” And literally, just by getting everyone to be quiet and to take a chance to think, she was able to recalibrate and turn an emotional exchange into something that could be resolved (p. 7). Toward the end of the book, she expressed it rather succinctly: “If it’s a small break you need to keep on keeping on, give yourself some time and space to Just. Do. Nothing. Step out for a minute.” (p. 144)
Of course, for some people, the question may be why one should even be concerned about being overwhelmed. After all, isn’t it just our natural circumstance? No, it isn’t. As the book quotes Dr. Scott Woodruff, Director of the Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Treatment Program at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, warns: “Excessive worry can lead to fatigue, lack of concentration, and muscle tightness.” (p. 49) The book goes on to explain how even our basic fight or flight response, intended to assist us in emergencies, works against us when the stress, pressure, and too much stimulus keeps us on a razor’s edge or hair trigger for too long (p. 56).
So, what can we do about it? After all, one surely picks up a book like The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul to find some solutions. Frankly, the most helpful advice to me comes both early and late in the book. Early on, the author gives a solution to breaking the “overwhelm” pattern by “metabolizing.” That seemed easier said than done till she explained that metabolizing consists of two parts: 1) Catabolism or breaking apart (ie. Getting perspective on the problem) and 2) Anabolism or building up necessary nutrients for repair and growth (which, in turn, ties into the late advice in the next sentence - p. 54). How do we build up those nutrients? Be open to something new! “It is never too late to start a new practice, merging the reality of insight about who you are – with an understanding of all you’ve got going on – with awareness of the choices you can make to sustain for the long haul. Do something. Every day.” (p. 153)
I loved the emphasis on the gratitude response. “When we feel gratitude, parts of our brain involved in feelings of bonding and connectedness are activated, and we release neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin.” (p. 83) No wonder being thankful makes us feel better. And, though it wasn’t new to me, I liked being reminded that: “Without sleep, the brain is unable to clear out toxins and clean the fluid in neuron channels at the rate necessary to maintain high-functioning, day-to-day activity.” (p. 99) Gratitude is definitely a part of the solution to the negativity bias mentioned earlier in the book: “A human’s nervous system evolved what neuroscientists call a negativity bias, which throughout our day scans for bad news, and then our brain hones in on whatever feels like a perceived threat. While the process did, and still can, help our immediate survival, it is unhelpful for our overall well-being.” (p. 71)
Something I had never actually considered before was the value of humility for emotional well-being. I want to remember: “Humility allows us to be good at something and still be open to all that we have yet to learn. Preserving our willingness and capacity to be corrected or surprised keeps us flexible, lets us experience the satisfaction of learning something new, and helps us avoid the trap of binary thinking.” (p. 111) Of course, that connects nicely with her quotation of a line from Sen. Cory Booker’s commencement address to the Class of 2017 at the University of Pennsylvania: “We can never allow our inability to do everything to undermine our determination to do something.” (p. 114)
The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul wasn’t the book I was expecting, but part of it was the book I needed.
January 9, 2019
Not much to see here folks. Can close your eyes and pick up a random book that falls into this category and substantially the same regarding reminders of care for self to care for others; they all fit an indistinguishable message fighting for priority. Pretty much an abridged re-release of Trauma Stewardship.
November 28, 2018
The Age of Overwhelm covers ground already tackled by Trauma Stewardship and works by Brene Brown/ whomever is trending on TED this month. However, the book is enjoyable, and the reminders are important. Van Dernoot Lipsky's voice is hopeful and realistic, which I need in daily doses.
March 5, 2019
I think the author was overwhelmed when she wrote this book. She's all over the place and doesn't seem to have a real thesis. The anecdotes get old and she doesn't offer very good advice. Not exactly the book I was hoping for.
April 12, 2024
Easy to engage with but sometimes gets lost in anecdotes and stays at surface level. I read this with a group of coworkers and having discussions to unpack each chapter helped. Overall, I was left wanting more depth and nuance in what ended up feeling like a stereotypical self help book.
February 2, 2019
Important information during for making it through these dark, stressful, overwhelming times. Lots of practical advice, and plenty of great quotes and anecdotes from all walks of life.
September 22, 2021
While other reviews weren’t very promising for this title from Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, I feel like it’s a great companion to Trauma Stewardship. Her breakdown of why so many of us in this day and age anxious, depressed and trying to survive is helpful in seeing your own individual pitfalls. The social media influence in pushing for more work, spending, and remaining continually plugged in to media that beams nightmares into your eyes explains a lot of why our generation is the unhappiest. Tools for stepping back, evaluating, and rest may seem too simple to be effective; but ultimately they are and it’s why we want to fight against them the most.
November 16, 2019
I wish I could give this additional stars - it's very palatable and I took copious notes throughout my time reading it so that I can review the parts that seemed most poignant. I don't know that it is going to be the magic bullet for people with acute or chronic anxiety who need help beyond what a book can offer but I believe it would be excellent reading for anyone who feels like life has become more HAVE TO than WANT TO and for whom that is beginning to be problematic (or maybe it's been a problem but you are just admitting it now). I can't wait to read her Trauma Stewardship book next.
April 2, 2020
I am a huge fan of Van Dernoot Lipsky’s first book Trauma Stewardship and wasn’t sure what to expect from this book or whether it would add anything. But this thin volume gets at the heart of so many issues in just 150 pages and is super accesible. I found myself turning down the corners of so many pages and eagerly wanting to share this not only with other advocates but with most people I know, especially reading this now amidst the coronavirus and knowing that so many are feeling overwhelmed and Hugh levels of anxiety about what’s happening in our world.
June 18, 2020
This book is no book full of secrets. Lipsky even says that too. Everything that is talked about in the book is common knowledge; however Lipsky provided context for different strategies. I enjoyed her anecdotes. It wasn't like other self-help books that are like "oh, recap of the principals...etc". It's a easy read! Especially chapter 3-8! It gets into the true strategies that can help. I would suggest that you reach chapter by chapter and apply certain strategies into your life. This is not a book you should read in one sitting (even though it's so short!)-- you need time to process!
May 19, 2021
A good practical guide which reminds us to slow down, notice our overwhelm, and take steps to prevent, metabolize, and build resilience against stress. Lipsky breaks it down in a very digestible way, even including little comics for relief. However some of the conversation about why we are stressed, in fact, could easily add to the reader's stress load. This being said, the guiding section of the book is both common sense and a great reminder to practice self-care every day in very practical ways.
August 29, 2022
This was like reading a “Five Reasons You Might Be Anxious and Five Ways to Calm Down” internet article that tells you to get enough sleep and go outside once in a while, except expanded into a book. Great stuff, but also pretty common knowledge. I feel like I could have just read the paragraph subtitles and gotten the same message as reading the entire book. So, a good read and you’ll definitely get helpful content there to bring you back to the basic foundations of finding peace, but it can feel a little bland at times with just how basic it is.
March 20, 2023
This book was a free library find during the Covid lockdown. I have had on my shelf since waiting to read.
The nature of high pressure work, a culture of doing your best and assuming the worst have been a constant. The challenge is how to tackle those emotions. This book, while simple, broke down reminders to re approach focus and self-awareness.
1) less is more
2) less distraction, more intention
3) less depletion, more stamina
4) it’s okay to step away, breath
A great keeper on the bookshelf when a reminder to find calm is needed.
The nature of high pressure work, a culture of doing your best and assuming the worst have been a constant. The challenge is how to tackle those emotions. This book, while simple, broke down reminders to re approach focus and self-awareness.
1) less is more
2) less distraction, more intention
3) less depletion, more stamina
4) it’s okay to step away, breath
A great keeper on the bookshelf when a reminder to find calm is needed.
January 2, 2019
This was an absolutely amazing book! It was relatable with many beautiful real-life accounts hidden inside. I found myself getting out a pencil and underlining very important parts for future reference, and each page has at least four underlined phrases on it. This book is gorgeous and I reccomend it to everybody. The narrator is intelligent, understanding, and experienced. It certainly helped me a lot, and now it's helping me get my life back on track.
September 10, 2020
"The legacy of collective overwhelm usually outlasts the collective stamina to pay attention or redress harm."
A wordy anecdotal, less-is-more type compilation of tips - not quite strategies - to identify our own internalized self destructive behavior (or how we cope with capitalism).
Good for speed reading, too liberal for my taste. If you're looking for a blunt read that speaks directly to organizers or activists, try Overcoming Burnout by Nicole Rose.
A wordy anecdotal, less-is-more type compilation of tips - not quite strategies - to identify our own internalized self destructive behavior (or how we cope with capitalism).
Good for speed reading, too liberal for my taste. If you're looking for a blunt read that speaks directly to organizers or activists, try Overcoming Burnout by Nicole Rose.
November 2, 2021
It takes us through the information overload we all experience in different parts of the world, regardless of social or economic status. It also highlights the disadvantages of overload in high stakes decision making that happens, surprisingly frequent, in the lower class. It is a social pandemic that can not be ignored or gunned through with mere "grit". Rather, a healthy strive to inner equilibrium is always in play to keep up sane. Good read.
August 19, 2022
Although this was written pre-pandemic, it really spoke to me especially these days when so many of us are feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes sacrificing a little too much in order to stay informed with the intention of preparedness to protect ourselves and loved ones from racial attacks and the past two years the global pandemic.
Would have liked more exercises for strategies to combat for the long haul though.
Would have liked more exercises for strategies to combat for the long haul though.
December 5, 2022
I loooved Trauma Stewardship so I was excited to pick this up. Lipsky's storytelling and examples are just as great, but I found the overall structure and content less compelling than Trauma Stewardship. That said, this book would be a good one to return to in moments of stress to remind yourself of basic self-care strategies. I also always value how Lipsky situates everything within a structural lens, reminding us that burnout is not a personal failure but a systemic one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews