Burnout Recovery - by Alicia King Anderson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A neurodivergent-friendly and holistic guide to identifying, recovering, and growing from the stress and burnout cycle

Burnout is a fact of life for most working adults, but many people lack the tools they need to truly recover from it. Even those of us who have tried therapy or self-help guides in the past may continue to cycle in and out of burnout for years, unable to find something that really works.

Burnout Recovery offers a holistic and neurodivergent-friendly approach to burnout. In this practical self-help guide, Alicia King Anderson argues that for many of us, burnout is not just a symptom of a stressful workplace. When reducing our workload slightly or taking a vacation doesn't seem to help, we need to consider the entire network of intersecting stresses in our life: physical, psychological, sensory, social, environmental, and political.

Taking the metaphor of "burnout" literally, Anderson skillfully maps the stages of wildfire burns to the psychological experience of burnout. Drawing from her training in ecopsychology and mythology, she finds profound lessons in the natural cycle of wildfire to help us explore our own potential for healing and growth after a "burn" period. This unique book:

• goes beyond 'work stress' to address all kinds of burnout, including autistic and ADHD burnout, creative burnout, and professional burnout;
  
• introduces grief work as an essential part of burnout recovery, to let go of idealized and unsustainable versions of yourself; and
  
• provides step-by-step guidance to identify where you are in the burnout cycle--and make a plan ahead of time for the next stages ahead.
  

Each chapter includes a variety of practical tools, including self-discovery exercises, activities, rituals, and journal prompts. For those tired of one-size-fits-all burnout advice, Anderson's guidance will help you identify your unique burnout cycle, helping you get beyond short-term recovery and toward a more sustainable, nourishing, and meaningful life.

About the Author

Alicia King Anderson has a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies and Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her dissertation on The Storyteller Archetype explores the responsibilities of storytellers. Her areas of interest include career pivot and transition, trauma, burnout, fairy tales (particularly fairy tale retellings), mythology retellings, as well as archetypal symbols such as the tarot and unicorns. She has scholarly chapters coming in two volumes by Vernon Press in 2024 and is currently editing a collection of essays called Advanced Unicorn Theory which will be published by McFarland Press in Spring 2025. Anderson has presented at the American Folklore Society annual meeting, the London Arts-Based Research Center conference "The Art of Storytelling: Archetypes in Focus," and at the Progressive Connexions conference "Trauma, Shame, and Testimony." She offers workshops, 1:1 coaching, and on-demand online courses on achieving lasting burnout recovery.