Can you imagine someone running an entire marathon at sprint pace? No, they would likely crash to the ground after a few hundred meters, or the more enduring ones after a few kilometers. Despite the enormous effort, they would not finish first—or even among the first.
Why do we try to function like this in our everyday lives? Long to-do lists and impossible deadlines that push us into insane levels of performance are not sustainable in the long run. It is sprint pace, and even the very best runner cannot keep it up.
In the end, burnout syndrome is often the result, which some describe as a "heart attack of the soul." This publication is so that burnout syndrome and mental health are no longer taboo.
About the book
The book presents 21 real stories of people who burned out but managed to find a new spark in their lives. That is why we symbolically call them “Nevyhorení.” The idea of writing a book that would help make mental health no longer taboo in Slovakia came from the personal experience of one of the authors. Altogether, the book has 216 pages and nine chapters, and it includes many statistics and scientific insights about burnout in different professions.
A part of the book is devoted to burnout in helping professions—psychiatrist Martin Ondrejkovič, LGBTI rights activist Romana Schlesinger, and Catholic priest Martin Harčár each shared their burnout story.
The book also includes a chapter about burnout among helping professions, featuring, for example, the story of Oxford graduate and Google Switzerland researcher Mária Friedmannová. The chapter dedicated to the mental health struggles of artists and creatives opens with the story of singer Celeste Buckingham.
Further, the book is dedicated to burnout among company founders. For example, Simon Šicko, co-founder and CEO of the game studio Pixel Federation, winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award, openly talks in the book about his battle with anxiety and burnout.
The book also touches on burnout in professional athletes, which is often not discussed. Former professional tennis player Karol Kučera, former professional footballer Tomáš Medveď, and freediver Katarína Linczényiová share their experiences.
One chapter is also dedicated to burnout among millennials, and the experience is shared, for example, by former president’s advisor Vladimíra Marcinková.
At the end of the book, we include an interview with psychologist Matúš Bakyt on whether burnout is a syndrome of our era.
Nevyhorení is an authorial project by Lucia Okša and Zuzana Matuščáková that originated at Forbes magazine. The book is published by Barecz & Conrad Media s.r.o. - the book division barecz & conrad books as its first publication on the Slovak market.
Contents
How I burned out (the author’s personal experience) The psychologist who started it (history and theory) When the urge to save the world hurts Helping professions My path - Martin Harčár (Catholic priest) On the barricades - Romana Schlesinger (LGBTI activist) With the wind in the race - Gabriela Kmeťová (nurse) Love will save us - Martin Ondrejkovič (psychiatrist) I do, therefore I am - Stanislava Gajdošová (teacher and education manager) When the system is the problem Corporate employees By the river current - Mária Friedmannová (researcher) The golden rule of the corporation - Jana Cimbala (manager) Money is not freedom - Tomáš Kromka (insurance director) Don’t turn your back on the world - Zuzana Reľovská (consultant) When it is about performance Athletes In one breath - Katarína Linczényiová (freediver) In the skin of the world top six - Karol Kučera (former professional tennis player) Who will prepare you for life? - Tomáš Medveď (former professional footballer) When building your dream Company founders It is not game over - Šimon Šicko (co-founder and CEO of Pixel Federation) Shattered mirror - Mirka Rusnoková (founder of Minitech MBA, a women’s IT school)
When the creative soul hurts Artists Find your meaning - Celeste Buckingham (singer) Restart the computer - Tomáš Ulej (aphorist) A story without an end - Oliver Lippo (former creative director of a marketing agency, currently an assembly worker) When a generation burns out Millennials The monk who laughs - Dominika Žiaková (head of investor relations at an investment company) What truly matters? - Lucia Luptáková (student) The head sprints and the body crawls - Vladimíra Marcinková (advisor to the former president) Burnout as a syndrome of the era (interview with psychologist Matúš Bakyt) Note: Each chapter ends with a practical exercise that helps the reader reflect on their life and work even in the context of the stories read in the book. At the end of the book there are blank pages where readers can write what comes to mind while reading—for example, if they decide to let go of something that no longer serves them, or, conversely, feel inspired by something they would like to add.
About the authors
Lucia Okša and Zuzana Matuščáková are journalists, colleagues from the Forbes editorial office, and friends who, over the past year, conducted dozens of interviews with people who went through burnout and with experts who work on its diagnosis, treatment, or prevention, including in workplaces. Tens of hours of recordings and interviews were first transformed into the online project www.nevyhoreni.forbes.sk and later into the desire to look at burnout more comprehensively. In that way, the intention to write a book emerged, one that would bring real stories of Slovak women and men who have been through burnout syndrome.
.JPG)
Links: https://www.facebook.com/nevyhoreni https://www.instagram.com/nevyhoreni/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3w5_ZFwJzaleMZA3gXvx_g
Title: Nevyhorení Written by: Lucia Okša, Zuzana Matuščáková
The stories recorded in the book were authored based on interviews with respondents.
Cover design and calligraphy: Rudolf Letko Font on the cover: DokoSans, font designer: Ondrej Jób Illustrations: Tina Minor Graphic design and layout: Veronika Bošková Literary coaching: Soňa Adamčík Borušovičová – Literárny dom Language editing: Gabriela Uhlárová
First edition. ISBN: 978-80-973459-0-7 Paper: Munken 100 g Printed by: Neografia, a.s. based in Martin
The book was published by Barecz & Conrad Media s.r.o. - the book division barecz & conrad books as its first publication in Slovakia in 2019.