The Book of Burnout: What it is, why it happens, who gets it, and how to stop it before it stops you!

by Bev Aisbett

Australia's bestselling anxiety and mental health expert, Bev Aisbett, tackles a growing mental health burnout.
Burnout happens when we take on too much, when we think we can do the impossible, at the cost of our wellbeing, our health and even our quality of life. Although the term is often casually tossed about, burnout is no joke – it can impact every area of your life and leave you depleted in every way.

After two years of the pandemic and lockdowns, working from home, homeschooling, widespread stress and being on our computers and devices 24/7 and constantly available, the danger of burnout for so many of us is all too real. It can happen to anyone.

Using humour, straightforward language and her signature illustrations, Bev clearly explains what burnout is, who is at risk, how to recognise the danger signs and, finally, how to step back from the brink, providing insight and techniques to ease burnout and stop yourself going up in smoke.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Psychology, Health

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

In 1991 Bev Aisbett launched a full–time freelance career in cartooning and illustration. Around this time, Bev experienced an ordeal commonly known as anxiety disorder. Out of this experience she developed the character "IT" which led to the successful publication of Living With IT, Living IT Up and Letting IT Go. Bev has also published "Get Real, dealing with body image and eating disorders" and in 2000 the successful "Taming the Black Dog: A guide to depression."

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

{audiobook review} 2.5 ⭐️
There were few nuggets of wisdom in this book and it was largely unhelpful. Very little of this short book was spent on strategies to reduce the likelihood or risk of burnout, let alone get better once you’re there (which surely are the majority of readers picking up this book?) and even then they were superficial such as eat better, sleep more, exercise, and think more positively. Life changing stuff, I know.

The style of writing either did not translate well to audiobook or was read poorly. There were mostly short sentences with quotes, examples, and rhetorical questions thrown in that made it sound really disjointed, and mostly just came across as accusatory and condescending.

The way this book was written makes it sound like burnout can happen in any job or any activity (which started to make me feel better about myself) but then goes on to say that if you’re burnt out you’re the problem…which did not make me feel great.

[Jessica Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book taught me absolutely nothing. And the comics started to grind my gears. It felt like I was being treated as if I was 14. My burnout was NOT helped, I still don’t know exactly how and why this psychologically affects us and I feel little to no improvement in said burnout.

[lemon · Rating 2 out of 5]

SOME good INFO but holy HELL do I HATE the WRITING style. Almost UNREADABLE.

[Lish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was incredibly short, but I can see it being useful for teenagers or anyone wanting a brief introduction to what burnout is all about. In saying that, a single google search could give the equivalent information that this book had

[Sharon]

This book was really informative on what “Burnout” is, the signs of a burnout and how to reduce these stresses before it leads you to actual (slow burn) burnout. I ticked a lot of boxes, especially with my mood swings! Little things would trigger me.

What I loved about this book was the illustrations and snippets of information that are not overwhelming and made it really accessible. Did you know that Burnout was not a recognised medical condition until 2019 by the World Health Organisation (WHO)?

Bev Aisbett talks about the effects of Covid and burnout from the workplace but a lot of the things could be related back to home life too. Whilst some of the solutions are maybe obvious it is important to remind myself of them as they often get lost amongst the hustle and bustle of my mind.

“Live in the present….embrace the truth that all you have is now”

Super quick read and a book I will refer back to when I need that reminder to slow down and accept I can only do so much.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

An audiobook review:
The message in this book is good as we all need to care for ourselves and take time away from certain things in life to prevent and reduce burnout. However, I disliked the way this was written in multiple ways. The short sentences were frustrating, and the wording was accusatory and presumptive. A lot of people who might need to read this book to learn about how to improve their well-being won't be engaged by this style.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

For someone who doesn’t know anything about Burnout this may be a good basic introduction. But there was no biological explanation how burnout happens/manifests in the body in the first place (ancient flight or fight is not a good enough explanation for me) and there were no concrete tips on how to soften symptoms of burnout and how to get out of it. Some basic phrases that we’ve all heard before aren’t actually helpful.

The book does not mention that maybe we actually do need to make systemic changes so people don’t push themselves into burnout instead of blaming people that it’s on them for getting into burnout in the first place.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ⭐️
Pretty self-explanatory… nothing groundbreaking but a good reminder on how to recognise and manage signs of burn out.
The writing style was easy, although sometimes I found it to be a bit negatively viewed. The ending got better!

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for identifying burnout, bad for realistic solutions (“why don’t you cut that out”)

[Miss. Judy Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cartoons were great.

[Gloria Nirmala · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was very informative about burn out, who was more likely to burn out, why we tend to burn out etc. there was some effective strategies to prevent burn out but I wish it focused more on the strategies rather than understanding it. I felt that the strategies discussed was a bit short compared to the rest. The illustrations made it fun and easy read though, which was great

[Sameera Nanayakkara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Ultimately, it’s not the JOB, OBLIGATION or DUTY that is causing you to keep PUSHING – it’s the fear of the VACUUM that stopping brings with it.”

A different self-help book worth reading.

“It is only recently (2019) that W.H.O. acknowledged burnout at ALL, categorising it as ‘a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic WORKPLACE stress that has not been successfully managed’ in the organisation’s diagnostic manual, International Classification of Diseases.”

“The burnout book” is a timely book. We live in a high-stake, fast-moving world with easy access to all sorts of stressors. Following the CoViD 19 pandemic people started to question their career choices, and as a result a lot of professionals, specially in the healthcare sector, gave up their jobs in pursuit of other career paths. As this book clearly says, burnout indeed is a blessing in disguise because it forces us to revise life’s choices for more pleasurable and more psychologically feasible options.

“There are three MAIN SYMPTOMS attributed to BURNOUT: Feelings of ENERGY DEPLETION or EXHAUSTION NEGATIVITY or CYNICISM towards your situation REDUCED EFFICACY.”

The book is short and concise and as a result no reader would experience burnout simply by reading it. Though concise the book by no means is incomplete, it covers all aspects with regard to burnout in straight forward simple language. The author has researched well in compiling the book and her own experiences as a counselor have immensely helped generate a worthy book. The details in the book are very practical and as a result it is easy for the reader to absorb the message more intimately.

“While it is SENSIBLE to make hay while the sun shines to ensure your SURVIVAL, there is a vast difference between gathering what you NEED in the PRESENT and working yourself to DEATH for a FUTURE that, if you keep going at this rate, you MIGHT NOT get to SEE!”

The book has a different but pleasant approach in that it is very graphical, with miniature drawings highlighting important points throughout the book. Grab the book, spare a few hours to read.

“Here is a recap of TECHNIQUES to help you AVOID burnout: Don’t take on TOO MUCH. Learn to TRUST yourself to LOOK AFTER yourself. Ask for HELP when you need it. See life in more POSITIVE terms. It is not meant to be a BATTLE. Take care of your PHYSICAL HEALTH. Adapt to new SITUATIONS rather than RESISTING change. Live in the PRESENT. Don’t feed your STRESS. RESTING is essential to top up the energy you need. Doing NOTHING is actually doing SOMETHING (positive). Importantly, seek PROFESSIONAL HELP if needed. And finally, being WISE enough to know when to QUIT is a STRENGTH – not a sign of FAILURE!”

[Thea Petrichor · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a battle to get through the audiobook version. Visual descriptors of the cartoons would have been useful and inclusive. It reads as a blame game that burnout is the entire fault of the person and not the effects on a human being of systemic, social and economic factors largely beyond their control. It didn’t acknowledge challenges like race, gender or disability. Which made the strategies largely unhelpful. I was hoping to see things like what green flags to look out for in organisations that are supportive of their employees mental health. At least in the nurse/medical world, I’ve heard burnout called moral injury. Which highlights the damage done to healthcare workers, faced with working in a system where people expect everything from you and give you barely anything in return. This book just reinforced how poorly most workplaces value their employees and that a lot of the strategies presented are luxuries many can’t afford, either in time or money or physically.

[Tiana Nairn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a simple layout and accessible language with many cartoons so can be read very quickly - not an easy feat for a complex issue! It contains useful short descriptions of the signs and stages of burn out, some reasons why we may resist changes that could help and approaches that may assist in avoiding burn out. Given its styling it necessarily oversimplifies some issues (eg personality type, at-risk professions, employment opportunity, EQ) while being generally informative. A frustrating fault that detracts from the book and which could have been overcome by some simple rephrasing is the tone left that if you were tougher/different, you wouldn’t burn out - for example titling a chapter ‘If you can’t take the heat …’ with an introduction that references ‘if you have a sensitive or easily stressed nature’. A stronger focus on working with an ongoing, unmanageable workload volume (where no additional resources are available) would have helped. Overall - worth reading to identify signs of moving towards burn out and some avoidance tips.

[Emily Rawlings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why does the AUTHOR choose to WRITE every single SENTENCE in this god forsaken BOOK like this? It is extremely UNNERVING. it makes me feel like I’m READING a Shakespeare SONNET. If it wasn’t for the WRITING style being like THIS I probably would have ENJOYED the CONTENTS

[Smitchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn out. Seems like everyone is talking about it these days and certainly a lot of people felt it during the pandemic. Bev Aisbett is here to tell you all about it. What is Burn out? Why does it happen? And most importantly what can you do about it?
Bev Aisbett is best known for her best-selling mental health book about panic and anxiety "Living With It" and this Book of Burn Out is just as approachable and informative. The best thing about Bev's books is that they are designed for people who are struggling with their mental health and might not have the ability to concentrate on a whole lot of text or densely written pages. There are short chapters that convey the essence of what you need to know without getting bogged in detail. Bev uses humour and comics to make the reading easy, without making light of the struggles of mental illness.
If you or someone you know is struggling The Book of Burn Out is a great place to start.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book 200 pages of common sense. There is absolutely no scientific or research based figures or findings to give back up what Aisbett is writing basically just 200 pages of her opinion of what’s happening in society while we ride out this pandemic. There’s nothing new or groundbreaking in here, but if you’re new to the concept of burnout and the social, psychological, economic, affect of burnout.

Generally is a good book for you if it’s one way, you just want to feel a little less alone and not the only person in this world feeling this way so be a good book for you. Aisbett a good writer. There wasn’t really any point in the book where I learnt anything really. I just don’t know I don’t know how to review this.

The good thing is, it is only a couple hundred pages and it’s a really quick audiobook or epub to the way you wanna read it in a few hours and you’re done skim red.

[Ann T · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, easy to read book on the basics of burnout, what it is, how to recognise it, who it can affect and how to stop it.

It contains valuable information for carers who may not be aware of some the signs to watch out for.

This book is perfect for a reader who has no prior knowledge or understanding of stress. For readers who have prior knowledge this book doesn’t add anything new.

Personally I found the regular capitalised words in do different fonts detracted from the reading experience.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, it was a great book. However, if did focus more on the definition of burnout, who experiences it and how to identify it. My only criticism is that I would have liked more practical tips on how to make the change. As she mentioned, it’s hard to change your life but not impossible. I was hoping for some more steps to help take that leap. With that being said, this book made me feel understood and validated in knowing that I am burnt out and need to make some tough life changes to improve my situation.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice and easy read. I liked how concise the information was, and the drawings were quite cute! However, it was heavier on the 'understanding' side and a bit lighter on the 'how to stop it'. I would have thought the book would cover the two evenly, considering the two topics are in the book title. Overall, it was informative.

[Louise ♡✨✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in Bev Aisbett's signature mix of comic mixed with large font text, this book is designed for easy consumption. I read this within an hour and gleamed some good insight and good reminders. I believe it would be more beneficial to someone who identifies as 'type A' but I still took down some quotes as Aisbett has a way of wording things that just hits right.

Solid read, 3.5 stars.

[Suzie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

In her usual style, Bev writes about another mental health issue (burnout) in a brief, helpful and informative way I like the way she doesn’t elaborate on key points, but makes the book accessible, easy to read, non-intimidating and resourceful.

[Sierra Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really useful information in here. I wish the book focussed more on how to heal and healthy practises for future rather than the science behind burn out. Sometimes I felt that the author over simplified things. But really useful book :)

[madz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 hour audiobook, a good listen. Runs through what burnout is, different types of burnout (workplace, carers) and compassion fatigue. Talks about practical ways to navigate it.

Would recommend to coworkers and clients!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book to flick through- cute cartoons. Didn’t find it all that helpful helping with my burnout though.

Did send the bit about stopping to my newly retired father who really agreed with this.

[Chantelly Low · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presented in a simple, easily consumable fashion, this book is GREAT for people who can't focus, but severely need some easy help to improve their quality of life. I'm passing it on to a few people I know.

[Kylie]

This book mainly covers burnout related to a covid world. It may not be as helpful/easy to relate to if your issues stem from non-covid times.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easiest book on burnout to read and understand.

[Phia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good reminder of what to look out for before burnout. Quick read (took me less than 2 hours) and very easy to understand.

[sliceofmini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the topic , also it’s probably just me but I found the comics distracting from the text ; but I generally am all for drawings in books. Oh well.