The age of overwhelm

"Whether we are overwhelmed by work or school; our families or communities; engagement in social justice, environmental advocacy, or civil service; or caretaking for others or ourselves, overwhelm impacts our ability to show up and make our way through the world in many ways. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, bestselling author of Trauma Stewardship, takes on the state of overwhelm engulfing so many people in our local and global communities and offers Overwhelmed to provide the guidance we need to sustain ourselves for the long haul. Focusing on what one can do instead of what one can't do is indescribably powerful and dignity preserving. Overwhelmed shows us how to pay attention to what's in our individual control and what's in our collective control and how to tend to both of these realities—practically—in such a way as to mitigate harm, cultivate our ability to be decent and equitable, and act with integrity. Whether our challenges are lots of small, daily struggles or traumas of global proportions, continued exposure to them can eat away at us. If we don't find ways to metabolize this accumulation along the way, we may become saturated. Written with compassion for people short on time, resources, and capacity, Overwhelmed offers a "less is more" framework to help ease the burden of overwhelm, restore our perspective, and give us strength to navigate what is yet to come. Illuminated by scientific findings and spiritual insights and lightened with New Yorker cartoons, this book provides practical applications enabling us to do less of what erodes us and more of what sustains us so that we can continue to show up and do some good"—