The Essential Guide to Burnout: Overcoming Excess Stress

by Andrew Procter, Elizabeth Procter

Increasing numbers of people are enduring huge levels of stress: economic pressures, family concerns, worries about jobs and health--the list goes on and on. For some, the stress gets worse and worse, accumulating until they cannot get out of bed in the morning. Their personality changes, their relationships become strained, and before long, they realize they've gone past their limit. Their mind, body, and spirit simply cannot take any more. Burnout can be a devastating experience, affecting nearly every aspect of your life. The good news is that burnout is both treatable and preventable. The Essential Guide to Burnout covers everything you need to know about how to recover when life gets to be too much, including stress, brownout (the stop on the way to burnout), and, of course, burnout, when you cannot go on. Wherever you are on the slope toward burnout, this book serves as a first step toward a full recovery, providing all the necessary tools to ensure you never go back. Written by a husband and wife team who combine expertise in counselling and psychiatry, and full of interviews with those who have beaten burnout, The Essential Guide to Burnout contains wisdom and advice to help you gain back peace, productivity, and a sense of your best and healthiest self.

191 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2013

Reviews

[Beth Hatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very concise book, sprinkled with case studies of professionals in various fields who experienced burnout and how they recovered. The book offers great solutions from larger concepts, like a career change, to small, making sure to take breaks during the workday. I like that it emphasizes the stages of burnout and when to seek help and who to seek it from, depending on your circumstances, as well as how to develop a plan and routine to minimize your chance of suffering burnout.

[Candice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Facile and oversimplified. There are some gems, but I had to wade through that old annoying saw “spirituality is not the same thing as religion!” (Thou doth protest overmuch) and dogma like “work up to meditating three times daily for 20 minutes each session” (WHY?!? Who came up with this formula and how can it be stated with such authority as a blanket prescription?!?!) and I had to barf in my mouth at the thought of life coaches. Sorry not sorry.

[Falynn - the TyGrammarSaurus Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing particularly new here, but it often helps to read the same ideas in different words and be reminded of the things we already know we should be doing.
The authors write with warm, and you feel that they know their topic from experience as well as training. The interviews are helpful to remind us we're not alone!

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good practical guide.

I purchased this book after a gruelling period both at work and at home. Upon reading it I found it to be full of useful information and good practical exercises. I have not yet acted upon the exercises but I am planning to in the near future. The only problem I had with the book was it was somewhat religious.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book approaches the subject of burnout with sensitivity, empathy and honesty. It suggests practices and approaches to help you recover without being prescriptive. I helps to rekindle your sense of self-worth and hope. Most helpful.