I have devoured my way through a huge number of books during my adrenal fatigue recovery process. I came to understand from the adrenal fatigue experience and my own personal growth journey that to make a long lasting recovery from adrenal fatigue and burnout I had to approach it holistically.
Understanding what you need physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, creatively and getting in touch with your life purpose, following your own intuition and stepping up and living life from a place of your own personal power are all important aspects that make up the process of healing from burnout and recovering from adrenal fatigue.
I found that there was no one book that helped promote a detailed recovery from adrenal fatigue in a very holistic way (I am writing that book!).
There are however, many wonderful books out there that helped me tremendously in my recovery and each one played an important role in helping me to learn a little more about what I needed and how I could recover. Between them they covered the holistic healing that was necessary.
Please look beyond just doing things that address the physical, for while yes that will definitely help with the repair and restoration of what is going on with your body (and is an essential part of the process), it won’t address why you became so stressed in the first place.
Please don’t feel that you have to read every single one of these books, don’t overwhelm yourself. See this as a resource list to come and pick from and go straight to the books that resonate with you. You will know what you need right now.
The Physical Aspect of Adrenal Fatigue and Some Holistic Approaches
Dr James Wilson
Very well explained in simple terms and Dr Wilson touches on the holistic approach needed. This is a great starting point. Some information feels a little dated but on the whole a very helpful book.
Dr Michael Lam
I found this a really tough read while in the throws of severe adrenal fatigue. However it is a really great reference book to have with very accurate and reliable information. It is extremely detailed and if you are really wondering about a specific symptom you are having, you will find a detailed explanation about it to help you understand what to do. You can also buy this book in smaller sections. You will find a breakdown of this over on the Resources Tab.
Marcelle Pick
This is a really helpful read and simple to follow. Marcelle uses a lot of stories and case studies so you will likely see yourself in the picture. There is also a little more detail on the holistic aspects of what you need to do to recover.
Dr Alan Christianson
There are a few new ideas in this book that I hadn’t come across before (especially the idea of carb cycling) but there was also clarification of what I already knew from other reading and research. Also some very interesting ideas about how to approach your exercise to keep good cortisol levels post adrenal fatigue as well as specific ways of eating while your adrenals are repairing.
Hormone Related Books – including the Stress Hormones such as Cortisol
Marcelle Pick
A more general conversation on hormones but really good information on the stress hormones. You will find a lot of similar information in here that was in “Is It Me or My Adrenals” but also really good information on how all of the hormones fit together and how one being off affects others.
Dr Sara Gottfried
Having read this book and having listened to many interviews with Dr Gottfried, I know that her information and her approach is very sound. She has a deep understanding of how an imbalance with the stress hormones such as cortisol affect the functioning of our whole system. She also understands this first hand as she went through her own struggles with stress related issues.
Dr Sara Gottfried
This book goes into more detail about eating styles for the hormones that you need to reset. As in her other book, a lot of quality information about the stress hormones, especially cortisol. Dr Gottfried has a really sound knowledge on the whole hormonal topic and I highly recommend her work.
The Stress Conversation and Tools To Change This
Davidji
Really great read. This book will give you a very deep understanding of stress and also provide you with a lot of quick tools that you can do anytime to help to “destressify”. This book will help you to fill in the missing gaps of understanding the whole stress conversation. Highly recommend.
Joan Borysenko
Joan addresses the issue of how we feel in the state of burnout and what we can do to start to bring ourselves back to a more balanced state. Very candid writing and very helpful. More of a holistic approach to burnout. This is a good supporting book together with more specific books on adrenal fatigue.
Dr Herbert Benson
Aah this is an old one and written in very dated language but Dr Benson was really onto this in a time when it really wasn’t mainstream. If you can get past the language, you will find some great information and research on the few simple things that are needed to get the body into a receptive, relaxed state where true healing occurs. He is a pioneer. This is a book I definitely want in my collection.
Nick Ortner
I love this technique! This is one of the most helpful techniques that I have learned in helping with stress. I wish I had this in my toolkit when I was heading into burnout a few years back. Tapping (or EFT – emotional freedom technique) helps to avert the stress response and instead create a relaxation response (as talked about in Dr Benson’s book above). This is a technique to help you process through the emotions that you are feeling and the techniques help to restore a greater feeling of calm and ability to deal with life. I highly recommend looking into this. This is a tool I now use almost every day.
Doreen Virtue
The title is a little misleading but Doreen has a lot of great information on the stress response and an indepth conversation about histamine and how this contributes to our stress response. She also addresses in great detail issues related to ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and of course it’s all presented in a very gentle, Doreen type way.
Holistic Health which also address the Stress Conversation
Lissa Rankin M.D.
A fantastic holistic based approach to health and a very indepth study on why we deal with health issues. Dr Rankin used to be a regular gp, then worked as an integrative doctor with clients in Orange County, California who were doing all the “right” things but she still found that many of them were unwell. Great insight into what she learned and how she helped them help themselves with what they really needed.
Lissa Rankin M.D.
A conversation that carries on from “Mind Over Medicine”, getting deeper into the spiritual aspects of our being but also very much addressing the issues of stress and why we are stressed.
Dr Frank Lipman
This is one I’m about to read, but I feel compelled to put it in here. I heard Dr Lipman being interviewed about this book and I just know it is full of gems that will help with the whole stress conversation and the subsequent old and fat issue.
Dr Christiane Northrup
Aah, love this woman. If you are looking for a go to doctor who looks at women’s health from a holistic perspective, I highly encourage you to check out her work. She is very direct, but her understanding of women’s health and what really makes us tick is profound!!! She also has a very compelling call in show on Hay House Radio.
Dr Mark Hyman
This is a conversation dealing with a lot of the “diabesity” epidemic as Dr Hyman refers to it as. Not specifically adrenal fatigue, but addressing his own issues with chronic fatigue, stress and all that he experienced. This man really knows his stuff, a fantastic take on how to understand what we need with our overall health.
How our Thoughts Affect our Emotions and our Health
Dr Joe Dispenza
If you don’t believe that your thoughts have an impact on your life, here is a lot of scientific and metaphysical information on why they do. Dr Dispenza will help you understand this! There are also a lot of practical tools on how to set about changing your thoughts and subsequently improving your health and your life!
Dr Bruce Lipton
This also lets you see the connection from a scientific and metaphysical perspective of how our thoughts and emotions really do affect our health. It is epigenetics (not just genetics) – which includes our whole enironment and our thoughts that really determines our health. The way we think about the stress in our lives is a largely contributing factor to adrenal fatigue. The thoughts, emotions and health conversation needs your attention.
Louise Hay and Dr Mona Lisa Schulz
This is a look at various health conditions and the mind body perspective of what has gone on. There is a small section in the book that addresses adrenal fatigue, its probable mind body causes and what to do about it. Worth getting for that and for a reference book when you need it.
Louise Hay
One of the original books on how your thoughts affect your health. This is one of the original books that helped to change my own life. If you are ready for this, this is a great starting book on this topic.
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Self-Care, Emotions, Creativity
Elaine N. Aron PhD
Dr Aron believes about 20% of the population is highly sensitive. I had a sneaking suspicion that those who were more sensitive had a greater tendency to become burned out. She addresses this in her book and acknowledges that if you are a more sensitive person you will indeed be more prone to burnout. If you consider yourself to be a highly sensitive person this is a must read as it will play a big factor in helping you to live in a more balanced way appropriate for what you need. .
Cheryl Richardson
Back in 2009 I read this book and in fact did a year long course with Cheryl Richardson on the topic. It was life changing! With chapters like “Let Me Disappoint You”, this is a life changing book if you do the exercises and really learn a new way to empower yourself in your life.
Elizabeth Gilbert
If there is one book to read on creativity and how to stop putting pressure on yourself and simply do it, this is the one! You may know Elizabeth Gilbert from “Eat Pray Love” the novel and movie. This woman has such empowering ways to look at your creativity and how to move through that stuckness and create what you know you are meant to create. I loved this book!
Brene Brown
If you haven’t come across Brene Brown yet, she is a total pioneer in helping us all to understand issues such as vulnerability and shame. She talks so openly about these traits and how we can encompass them. She has a whole range of books and audio and youtube presentations which I believe are an essential part of the burnout recovery process as the understanding of these traits help you to come to a much deeper understanding of yourself and your own true nature.
Gretchen Rubin
Such a helpful read this one in understanding the unique person that you are and how to build new habits into your life in a way that is YOU. This too is an essential part of the adrenal fatigue and burnout recovery process, building in new ways of living from day to day that really do serve your life.
Doreen Virtue
One of the mind-body issues related to adrenal fatigue is that of not standing up for what you need, always putting others needs first before your own. While this is supposedly a “noble” act it is often not the best thing for you and others around you. Doreen will gently but persistently teach you skills through this book of living a more assertive life. She is very candid in her writing and really encourages you to step up into a more empowered way of being.
James Altucher
There is definitely no mincing of words in this book and if you are up for it, you will come away from reading this book looking at your life probably in ways that you have never done before. Self-care is at the top of the lessons and there are many tools that James teaches in order to improve this for yourself. One of my top recommendations.
Life Purpose and Leaving a Legacy
Dr John Demartini
This book is not for the faint hearted. However, if you are really ready to go deep into a process of why you are here and what you are meant to be doing with your life, this is the book. I love Dr Demartini’s body of work – it’s deep, profound and you will come to such a great level of clarity about what you are meant to be doing in this world. Highly recommend if you feel ready for this.
Relaxation
Adult Coloring Book for Mindfulness and Relaxation
Lisa Callinan
This one is my own creation to help you relax and calm your nervous system. There are 36 designs to color, to help you reduce stress and activate that all important parasympathetic nervous system.
As I said at the top, don’t overwhelm yourself with feeling like you’ve got to read everything at once. Pick and choose, go with what resonates with you right now.
And if you don’t want to read any, that’s fine too.
My blog and all of my work is a summary of all I have read and researched together with my own personal experience of dealing with severe adrenal fataigue.
I wish you well on your continued journey.
Much love
Lisa xo
