Best Books on Burnout & Recovery

Burnout is marked by chronic stress, a loss of motivation, a sense of failure, and feeling trapped by your job or circumstance. It can be a symptom of depression or other mental health issues and is often indicative of a larger problem. If you’re struggling with burnout from work or other circumstances, then these books on burnout recovery are here to help.

1. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

Burnout is no joke, especially for women. Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s book doesn’t just talk about how burnout seriously affects women, but also offers concrete advice and exercises to combat it. It shows how to get your body out of the stress cycle and into true relaxation in a world determined to tell you you’re not doing enough.

2. Can’t Even: How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation

Whether you’re looking for validation or want more information on the wave of burnout that seems to be sweeping through the nation, this book delivers the cultural discussion and context needed to understand the issue. Buzzfeed columnist Anne Helen Petersen expands upon her viral article on the same topic with clarity and familiarity. Petersen outlines how burnout impacts millennial lives, the generational circumstances that got them there in the first place, and what burnout does to a generation in the long term.

3. 52-Week Mental Health Journal: Guided Prompts and Self-Reflection to Reduce Stress and Improve Wellbeing

This therapist-written guided journal is a solid tool for bettering mental health, including burnout recovery. Quick, guided prompts help you better understand yourself and provide you with tools to reduce your stress. You’ll also learn tips for finding your goals, healthy living, increasing your mental energy, and more.

4. Mindfulness for Stress Management: 50 Ways to Improve Your Mood and Cultivate Calmness

Not adequately managing your stress can lead to burnout. If quitting your job isn’t in the cards at the moment, it may be worthwhile to take a look at other ways to navigate your stress. This workbook specifically focuses on mindfulness to help you cultivate a more content, peaceful life.

5. Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

We live in a world where we are constantly told to do more: More at work, more at home, more with our friends. Our society rarely allows us to do nothing. The very idea usually implies laziness or something inherently wrong with us. Author Celeste Headlee argues these habits aren’t just burning us out—they’re deeply damaging and do more harm than good, and can even lead to depression.

6. The Art Of Saying NO: How To Stand Your Ground, Reclaim Your Time And Energy, And Refuse To Be Taken For Granted

Saying no is a skill many don’t have. This can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety. Learning how to say no to things you don’t care about (and making time for things you do care about) is an important step in your burnout recovery. This book provides tips, tools, and exercises to get you flexing your “no” muscles when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

7. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life

When you’re used to people-pleasing, putting your needs last, or otherwise letting others be more important than you, the idea of establishing boundaries can sound rude and unkind. But setting boundaries is how you ensure your needs are met and that you’re being taken care of first and foremost, before you run up against exhaustion or social fatigue. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend take their years of research on the subject and offer practical advice for anyone attempting to draw more lines in the sand. Christians may find it especially helpful.

8. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Author Greg Mckeown challenges readers to consider exactly what they need in their life to be truly happy. The rest? Let it go.

By forcing readers to consider what is absolutely essential—and letting the rest fall away—there can finally be room for a stress-free life. For those struggling with burnout, this might be exactly what they need to reduce mental and emotional burnout.

9. The Burnout Fix: Overcome Overwhelm, Beat Busy, and Sustain Success in the New World of Work

Psychologist and board-certified leadership coach Dr. Jacinta M. Jiménez provides a step-by-step, concrete guide to overcoming burnout in your career. It focuses on cultivating your personal pulse: the thing that motivates you, gets you out of bed and keeps you going. These pulses, Dr. Jiménez writes, keep you grounded while working and set you up for future success and prevent further burnout.

10. Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge, and Reclaim What Matters

Motivational speaker Eileen McDargh doesn’t just help you identify your burnout type, she provides the framework to recover from it. By better managing your energy, she writes, you become more resilient, which in turn helps combat stress, burnout, and more.

This book outlines how to recharge and refuel in ways that make sense for you while providing you with the tools you need to keep yourself happy and healthy in the face of burnout

11. Overcoming Burnout: Real-life Strategies for Burnout Recovery and Prevention

Overcoming Burnout by David Greenwood tells stories of career burnout from the perspective of people in all industries. It details warning signs, habits to avoid, and tips for prevention. More importantly, Overcoming Burnout describes the best ways to recover from burnout.

Hear from marketing professionals, executives, and people in the customer service industry, among others. They tout the value of boundaries, time management, self-confidence, and getting aligned with your values. Many of them also describe having unidentifiable health issues that were caused by stress and burnout.

12. I’m So Effing Tired: A Proven Plan to Beat Burnout, Boost Your Energy, and Reclaim Your Life

This book is a guide to overcome burnout, manage stress, and increase your energy. Author Amy Shah, MD, wants readers to know that exhaustion isn’t normal. If you feel overworked, overstressed, and overtired, you are not alone. Fortunately, I’m So Effing Tired provides tips to transform your life for the better. To start, Shah recommends paying attention to what you eat, when you eat, and how you manage stress. She says that in two weeks, your energy will increase. In three months, you will feel like a whole new person.

13. Beyond Burnout: What to Do When Your Work Isn’t Working for You

Mental health expert and author Amy O’Hana uses Beyond Burnout as an opportunity to discuss vocational or job burnout vs. depression. From personal experience, she knows that burnout is both physically and emotionally draining, and the stress of it can affect your relationships, sleep, and health. Fortunately, there is hope! O’Hana encourages readers to connect or reconnect with God, or your version of a higher power or spiritual connection. Begin the journey to health, fulfillment, and happiness today!

14. Fixing Burnout: A Proven Plan to Recover From Burnout and Boost Your Energy

If you are mindful of your mental health, Fixing Burnout by Olivia Winter offers a unique perspective on ways to manage stress and burnout. Winter explains the importance of clarifying your purpose, building resilience, and developing focus in addition to taking care of your physical health. Readers will receive advice on how to recognize symptoms of burnout, understand their level of stress and how it’s manifesting, and plan for recovery. Ultimately, whatever is causing your low energy and mental exhaustion, you can beat it with a little guidance from this book.

15. Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion

Pastor and author Wayne Cordeiro’s Leading On Empty offers a message of hope and encouragement for leaders who are running on empty. Though it focuses specifically on people working in ministry, it can be helpful for those working in any industry. When Cordeiro first dealt with job burnout, he felt like he would never feel normal again. After taking a year away from the church to recharge, he discovered new ways to restore balance, re-energize his spirit, and reignite his passion. Leading On Empty is his way of sharing his hard-earned wisdom.

When to See a Therapist for Burnout

While some cases of burnout can be recovered from with a better job or a break, other cases can be quite severe. If you’re struggling with burnout and find yourself depressed, anxious, or otherwise struggling, consider seeing a therapist. They can help you get to the root of your burnout, establish boundaries, and create a self-care plan for you. Find a therapist in your area today.