Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

This book is filled with good messages. It's curious how we disconnect ourselves from our bodies and ignore signs of stress and burnout. I loved the idea of “ending the stress cycle” and learning the differences between the stressors and the stress itself. Exercise (aka moving our bodies) is one of the best ways to discharge and close the stress cycle. With this book I realized how and why exercise is essential to my well-being. I always knew but I never linked it directly to the stress cycle.

Also, it was interesting to learn about the “human-giver syndrome”: specially common in women where you think you have to sacrifice yourself for the well-being of others. It's the opposite of “putting your mask on first before assisting others”. So, rest and sleep are extremely important. It seems obvious but in the middle of our “business” we forget the basics. This was a good reminder to go back to daily soothing routines. We need buffers to recharge.
The audio version is excellent!

I tend to find the sort of review I'm about to write attention-seeking and reeking of ‘I'm not like other girls'. Unfortunately, this book does not apply to me, and I figured that this review, wanky as it may be, might help you decide if it is for you.

Recommended by a dear friend who thought it might be of help to me (a person who routinely suffers from major burnout) I was determined to give it a fair go. However, it failed to move me in the first half and I don't think I will make it to the second. I didn't feel that the proposed societal pressures on how to look and what kind of woman I ought to be really translated to my life, and I found the suggestion of ‘human giver syndrome' somewhat obvious and reductive. Overwhelmingly, I didn't find much actionable advice.

I generally work 10-14 hour days, and this year I have really pushed it. I love my job and that keeps me going, but right now I'm a bit burned out. Listening to a chapter about how the ‘bikini industry' is lying to women, I decided to give this book a rest. There's a large amount of pop feminism interspersed with basic self-help stress management, and for me, I think I would have found a less targeted book less irritating. I am a feminist myself, but I find the sort of rhetoric found here very 2015, basic, and unhelpful.