A good book but not really for the layman. I found the book gave a lot of examples for why people feel the way they do and it used a lot of anecdotes mainly pertaining to those who are firm members of the over-stressed working world. 

This book is probably geared more towards life coaches and psychology students because it packed in a lot of research.

Overall, I give this book a firm 4/5 stars. It revealed a lot and touched on many subjects but it has a narrow audience. It's well thought out and runs in a logical order but if I was feeling stressed at the time, I would find this extremely difficult to digest. It reads more like a textbook than the run-of-the-mill self-help book.

Realistically, I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase this book.  Instead, I'm more likely to  loan it from the library as and when needed if it was for a subject I was studying.

i dont read many non fiction books but im glad i read this. I read over several weeks and it was a real eye opener. I found it very useful and have seen the benefits from it in my day to day life. I sometimes find with self help books that the advice can be patronizing but this was a breathe of fresh air.

An excellent self-development book with a toolkit of practical and useful tips.

The most incredible self-help book I've ever read was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and although I dabble every now and then into reading a self-help or self-development book, I tend to find that the advice sometimes comes across a bit patronising or doesn't go into enough depth. This book is a glorious exception. 

Focusing on something that is important now more than ever, simply finding time for yourself, is the focus of Time to Breathe and it does an astounding job. Translating case studies, research and real life experiences into great advice, tips and practical exercises to be more mindful and make the most of our time. I found it incredibly useful and dipped in and out over the course of a few weeks. I treated it almost like a course and I've already seen the benefits in my day-to-day life. 

Time to Breathe is perfect for the busy, the tired and those who really need time to breathe the most.

Time to Breath, Navigating life and work for energy, success and happiness 
Written by Dr Bill Mitchell
Green Tree, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020, ISBN 978-1-4729-9

Not Just In The Mind
Review by Gunnel Minett

The phrase ‘It is just in the mind’ has come to mean some form of hypochondria: in other words, a person is somehow just imagining that they are unwell rather than being physically ill. This can of course be true in some cases, but for most of us, ‘just in the mind’ also means that the body is literally struggling to stay healthy. 

This is what this book is about. It goes through a number of common situations which we all face at some time in our lives. It can be; stress at work, a relationship breakup, bereavement, having young children, or unforeseen changes of circumstance we have no control over, such as we are  all experience right now with the Covid pandemic. In other words, situations that require extra inner strength to cope with. This is where we need navigation skills in order to get us through the difficult situation and back to, a more sustainable life style, which does not overload us, mentally and physically.

Although we may fully understand the problem which is causing our overload we may still find the situation too much to deal with. If we are lucky we might get help from friends and relatives. Without this we can end up burned-out. This is where this book comes in. To start with it goes through how and why stress and psychological overload can have a physical impact. The notion that body and mind are separate entities has been proven wrong by modern science. Thoughts and feelings are reflected in the body’s chemistry. Positive and negative thoughts create different internal environments. Stress in all forms puts pressure on our inner defence systems. The body’s fight/flight reaction is designed to deal with immediate stress situations within clear time frames. The ongoing stress we tend to experience in today’s society does not have this limited time frame. Consequently, it has a negative impact on our overall wellbeing. It is as if we are trying to live our lives in overdrive mode all the time. The end result is that the body starts to break down.

To get out of such stress situations may literally require a ‘road map’. The book offers a number of such road maps. Step by step guidance as to how to deal with different situations in order to regain control and make changes that will lead to a more balanced and sustainable life situation. 

Interestingly the book was written during the current pandemic which has caused a massive stress increase for many people. For the majority of us a global pandemic with subsequent lockdown for months on end, is not anything for which we were mentally prepared. As so often, when we suddenly face a crisis, we realise how unprepared we are. Our customary way of life which has been sufficient under normal circumstances, is no longer adequate. One such example is the way our health care system deals with anxiety, stress, sleepless, etc.: the tendency is simply to prescribe sleeping pills and other drugs which artificially try to balance up the body’s stress reaction. But, as the author describes, drugs are usually only helpful for short term acute situations. To give happy pills to large numbers of people for long periods is not the answer. People need guidance to change the way they live. Or, as the subtitle of this book says - ways to navigating life and work for energy, success and happiness.

I needed this book! I found it incredibly helpful for my anxiety and have recommended it to family members who are also struggling.

I thought this was a really interesting read, and especially useful in the current pandemic where everyone is experiencing different thing. Lots of statistics and figures, which I like. 

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

At first, I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this book. Yet another self-help book. Sleep more. Drink more. Do mindfulness. Eat and drink better. What could it tell me that I didn't know?

The book speaks about all the above, but it does it in a very holistic way. Taking examples mainly of people in the UK working white-collar jobs, it shows how they came to the moment of crisis, and how they, with help, responded to it.

The book's repeated refrain is that we need 'time to breathe' and this isn't meant literally, but that the pace of life, of work, of email, leaves us without that space. Modern life is complicated, and this book asks us to recognise that, and be realistic in how to approach it. It needs to be approached with skill, and that's what this book tries to do.

The text begins by asking us to recognise that moment when we start to get overwhelmed when our relationships, sleep, and health begin to suffer. The cutting back of activities which improve our lives (relationships, exercise, relaxation) according to this book is a warning sign on the path which leads to depression and worse. 

The book is conversational, full of anecdotes; little facts dropped lightly in. It's not a book that beats you around the head, nor is it preachy about how we should live (which is what I was expecting).  It provides gentle guidance and suggestions such as - the impact of exercise on depression; how to manage difficulties in a relationship; the importance of friendship on mental health; time management in an overwhelming world;  viewing the pitfalls of life as a challenge, not a threat; the dangers of perfectionism; the importance of gratitude; living with uncertainty. 

There is a penultimate chapter on the importance of all these traits when raising children, which I found interesting. 

This book took me a few stages to read. It was a bit much to read it through all at once. I began rather underwhelmed, but my interest increased as I progressed. I would heartily commend it.

Found the tips in this book very helpful, its given me skills to help cope with my anxiety and bring a little calmness into my life.

An engaging read with great tips, it really felt like advice rather than being preached at. I’m usually very sceptical of books like this and tend to steer clear but there was something about this one that really hit the spot. I typically work a 75 hours work week and I am in a field where this is quite normal. It was wonderful to hear sometime tell me it’s not and put it all into perspective. When we eventually come out of this lockdown and pandemic I’m excited to put some of these ideas into practice.

Oh I just loved this.

What a time to read something more apt. It gives you food for thought, and i was hooked from the first page.

It is a truly inspiring read and I am so grateful.

Time to Breathe looks at ways to manage a good work life balance and not push yourself to burnout. It is full of the reasoning behind why different strategies work, and gives helpful tips for looking at problems with a new perspective. Personally I felt the book focussed a little too much on work being the cause of additional stress. Sometimes it can be the tip of the iceberg with home worries causing stress that spills over to work and needs to be considered differently. I had wished for more recent research to be considered when discussing friends as a measure of support. The research is ten years old now and social media pressures for young adults should be considered as a source of stress in this area. The relationship between number of friends and mortality rate is unlikely to be as linear as explained.

My reading experience started off with a nonsense as I confused the Breathe in this book title with the one called Breath and so my expectations started off a little skewed. That aside, I did find this book to be an interesting read, even though, to my eye, everything came out as if it is a perfect world that we live in. Managers were either fully supportive or castigated but everything worked out for the best in the end.

If only reality always had the happy ending that this book implies. No mention of how to deal with a truly impossible job situation where there are never enough staff to allow anyone to do their job properly and without always feeling under pressure. No mention of how to deal with a situation where you know you are under pressure to fail and know that you have to soldier on to the best of your ability as you know there is no way you can afford to leave this job and find another one because there are too many people also looking for your sort of job.

I am fortunate enough to be out of the job market but am very well aware of many people still there who feel that they have to go the extra ten miles as the extra mile of the old saying is just not enough. When asked why they inflict this sort of burden on themselves and their family, the answer is basically the same - the job expects it of me.

For me there was one ray of sunshine in the book and that was the chapter on children. Teaching them about what to expect in their eventual workplace and sharing with them the ups and downs of the work day and work place so that they can understand why their parent(s) are irritable, annoyed, grumpy or happy. It also teaches those children to share those same feelings based on their own day to day experiences.

I was grateful to receive a copy of this book, just at a time of my life when I needed it most.  The pandemic has affected so many people in so many different ways and this book provides the tools to help get you through.

It's written in an engaging way, often with real life case studies of people who are experiencing burn out and stress in their lives, due to the impact of work, home and beyond.  

The book provides tips and techniques to help you balance pressure, delivered in a practical way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dr Bill Mitchel gives you the best tools to manage your to-be-depression and anxiety. I am happy that I came across this book in a certain stage of my life where I already started to notice the first symptoms of burn-out. This is a book, and it will never replace a professional doctor, but it is the best help you can get for what its worth and if you don't have access to a professional.

I love that the whole narration of the book goes through the stories of different people, the clients of Dr Mitchell. You can relate ant this gives you an understanding that what you are going through is OK and you are not alone. In this book, the author gives you practical exercises and techniques that will help you cope with your anxiety.

I love that everything that Dr Mitchell says is supported by the most recent research on the topic and gives you the numbers and consequences of not changing something in your life.

Usually, I am very sceptical with books about work-life balance, depression and anxiety, but this book literally changed the way I look on my life and my boundaries.

Dr Mitchell's book, which was finished off during the recent pandemic lockdown, is a timely reminder to all of us about how to balance our work and home lives. Using examples from his own work with patients, the book covers a variety of recommendations, from the physical (diet, exercise, sleep) to the more metaphysical (thought processes, positivity) for improving balance in your life, and then relating it to your work too. There are some useful reminders in here about what should be considered a non-negotiable for keeping yourself sane in a time when lines between work and leisure time are becoming more and more confused. My only concern was that there seemed to be an implicit acceptance of the culture of working overtime, which I felt could have been addressed more; but I appreciate this was not necessarily part of the book's scope. All in all, an insightful look at help for those of us who struggle with boundaries and/or with workplaces that do not understand those boundaries.

This book was an eye opener to how our current busy lives effects all parts of our work and family time. Boundaries between work and home have become less visible through our own arrive to achieve. 
Some great advice and a wake up call to those of us just about staying afloat and balancing the pressures of modern day life - especially during the world's current pandemic.

Although I do not currently have children nor a demanding job and the same sort of issues and stress that accompany them, I am currently in university and deal with stress and other issues of my own. I found the book incredibly informative and learned a great deal from stories Dr Mitchell told of some of the people he's seen, and  about myself, from reading about their experiences. It has also given me a new perspective on life, and I've already started implementing some of the changes Mitchell discussed with those he's mentioned, and helped *them* implement. Through this book, I've also learned a great deal about the brain, along with the different hormones and such that it can release depending on the different situations we find ourselves in; elements of the brain, that I don't remember learning in my biology classes at school.

With experience as a clinical psychologist, Dr Bill Mitchell brings an up-to-date perspective and helpful advice on how to navigate life in a world where work and our non-work lives are more integrated and how to maintain a balanced system (eat well, sleep well, exercise, spend time in nature). The book is filled with informative facts yet written in an easy readable style, and the use of case studies are relatable and engaging to illustrate how we can, for example, feel burnt out from not setting boundaries with increasing work demands and hours. Each chapter also includes helpful tips and techniques, and questions to reflect on to assess mental and physical well being, as well as ways in which to regain work-life balance. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to rebalance their lives to reduce stress and anxiety, and reinvigorate energy and happiness.  A book to keep and reread if and when things get too much.

No Time To Breathe is a practical book, designed for our busy lives. Through numerous case studies, Mitchell presents the reason as to why so many of us finding ourselves with little energy and so often feel dissatisfied with our lives.
The author is succinct in his writing and offers his own clinical experience to explain the concepts to us in a way that any non-scientist can begin to understand. It has clearly been well-researched with numerous references to studies, case studies, and his own experiences in working in this field.
Our lives, as explained in this book, have become increasingly over complicated and demands now weigh much greater. In turn this leads to more and more of us developing poor mental health as our lives are now designed for burn-out and overwhelming exhaustion on top of the physical impact it has upon our bodies. 
I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who ever experiences self-doubt, anxiety or any unbalance of an emotional state. This book holds no judgement on how a person has got themselves to this state but offers advice on how to change it around or at the very least, through Mitchell’s experiences as a clinical psychologist, we learn that we are not alone. To feel this way is quite common. This in itself may provide great comfort to those who are struggling. No Time To Breathe offers us the grounding that so many of us will need in our hectic and chaotic lives.
Thank you to NetGalley and Green Tree for the Advanced Reader Copy.

A timely reminder of taking back space in the world, using such simple things as diet, exercise and relationships to do so. This is an amazing book, that outlines just how powerful such interventions are. I would recommend the book to all people, particularly ones that experience the effects of stress, such as burnout, anxiety and depression, and to others who want to avoid going there. Definitely a five star book.