The Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue [Paperback]

Mira Kirshenbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

Do you wish you had more energy?
Do you often feel drained, even after a good night’s sleep?
Are there days when you can’t get going...when you just feel blah?

If so, you’re not alone. You’re suffering from emotional fatigue--an all too common outgrowth of our frenetic modern-day lives. But you can regain your emotional energy forever with this groundbreaking book from psychotherapist and bestselling author Mira Kirshenbaum that includes many helpful hints and informative real-life stories.

This book shows you how to tap into the sources of emotional energy that already lie within you. In these remarkable pages, you’ll discover 25 practical, no-nonsense secrets to living the vital, happy, hope-filled life you deserve by building the kind of energy no pills, push-ups, or power bars can provide...the kind of energy that comes to the rescue when your body has reached its limits. It’s called emotional energy. Successful, high-energy people have learned to harness it--and now you can too with their secrets in this powerful, life-enhancing book.

Drawing on nearly three decades of professional experience as a psychotherapist and researcher, Mira Kirshenbaum has developed a bold new program to help you raise your inner energy quotient and keep it high for life. The results are astounding: an aliveness of mind, happiness of heart, and a spirit filled with hope--the fuel that makes all things possible. Now you can reclaim the energy within, the energy that drives and sustains you, as you discover:

• How to diagnose your own emotional fatigue
• The power of active prayer
• Two simple things you can do to turn a pressure situation into one that gives you emotional energy
• Positive Negatives: how to say no to the things you don’t want to do
• How to live your life your way--a giant step to emotional well-being
• The Appointment Book Cure to free up time and get things done
• How to stop buying into someone else’s expectations of you
• The Emotional Energy Diet: how to lose those extra pounds and keep them off
• PLUS many more tips, tools, and techniques for you to get more emotional energy today!

“The single biggest difference between people who get what they want and people who don’t is energy,” states author Mira Kirshenbaum. With energy, everything is possible. This book shows you how to harness it in order to accomplish more, struggle less, feel more energetic, and find the zest--and courage--you need to live the life of your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Emotional energy is "an aliveness of the mind, a happiness of the heart, and a spirit filled with hope"—and unfortunately, it’s not always easy to come by. When we feel grouchy and lethargic, when we drag our heels through life and avoid treating ourselves to things we enjoy, then, writes psychotherapist Kirshenbaum, we’re likely suffering from emotional fatigue. And we’re hardly alone: according to the National Institutes of Health, one individual in eight becomes saddled with a stubborn case of the blahs. In this upbeat and consumer-friendly how-to, the author of Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay strives to shrink that stat. By sharing real-life anecdotes and posing pointed questions—"Do you live in fear of other people’s judgments?"; "Do you frequently compare yourself to others and feel resentful?"—Kirshenbaum helps readers identify the roots of their lethargy, and implement the appropriate strategies for regaining their spunk. Her solutions are straightforward (and perhaps easier said than done): Stop the negative thinking; focus on the positive. Envision yourself with pep; invest in what you can control. Like all self-help books, this volume should not be treated as a magical elixir, and Kirshenbaum is careful to advise readers whose fatigue may be associated with psychological or physical illness to seek professional help. But it may be enough to lift readers out of the doldrums, which makes the going worthwhile.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A lively and highly practical book, full of wisdom and pragmatic solutions.  I will recommend it to both my clients and my friends." 
--Susan Forward, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Toxic Parents and Emotional Blackmail
 
"An eye opening journey into the oft overlooked realm of what separates happy, successful, and fulfilled people from those who seem to struggle through life." 
--Jason Theodosakis, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of The Arthritis Cure
 
“Every woman I know needs the sound, simple, and satisfying advance Mira Kirshenbaum so effectively offers here.  Read this life-changing book, and you’ll not only release the negative emotions that are paralyzing your life–you’ll also reclaim the positive energy necessary to add more joy to your days and vitality to your years.  I highly recommend it!”
--Debra Waterhouse, M.P.H., R.D., author of Outsmarting Female Fatigue
 
"Fascinating!  I think people need to grasp the premise in this book that physical energy amounts to only 30% of total energy.  70% of a person's energy must come from emotional energy.  All this untapped energy and we're not even tuned in.  Everyone should read this book. Thyroid patients could especially be empowered with such knowledge." 
--Kelly R. Hale, President, American Foundation of Thyroid Patients

"Mira Kirshenbaum's latest book addresses the most important and least understood ingredient in maintaining high energy. This practical, easy to understand book takes cutting edge research and puts it in the hands and hearts of everyone who wants the opportunity for a high spirited life. Every patient I see asks me how to increase energy; Mira has provided the answer. Highly recommended". 
--Arthur P.Ciaramicoli, Ed.D., Ph.D., author of The Power of Empathy


"Mira Kirshenbaum's book brims over with emotional energy, providing clear access to the rich resources we all carry within us....I recommend this book to all of us who tend to feel deeply depleted by the demands and stresses of our busy lives." 
--Rabbi Ted Falcon, Ph.D., author of A Journey of Awakening and co-author of Judaism For Dummies

"THE EMOTIONAL ENERGY FACTOR is like a good night's sleep combined with a visit with a good friend--it reached me at a moment in need, and helped immeasurably.  Who among us isn't trying to do too much?  Who doesn't want and need more energy?  This book is a must-read, offering the best answers I've seen anywhere.  It is the true energy source for the 21st century!" 
--Nicole Wise, co-author of The Over-Scheduled Child

"Reading [this book] is like sitting down with a wise, caring, high-energy friend. You come away refreshed, rejuvenated, and inspired by dozens of new ways to re-energize yourself." 
--Mary J. Shomon, author of Living Well With Hypothyroidism and Living Well With Autoimmune Disease

"This book arrived at such a good time for me. I was feeling emotionally drained with family things and so utterly depleted, but just sitting down with Mira's book brought tears to my eyes. It is so filled with kindness and understanding and encourages such self-compassion. What a wonderful, life-affirming book." 
--Sandi Shelton, author of Preschool Confidential
 
“Mira Kirshenbaum cuts to the chase in all her books–and she does so again in THE EMOTIONAL ENERGY FACTOR.  She tells you everything you need to know about increasing emotional energy and using that energy to improve every area of your life–from relationships to career.”
--Susan Bakos, author of Still Sexy

"This book provides millions of Americans with the opportunity to live a productive and meaningful life. By utilizing the revolutionary tools to cultivate emotional energy, Mira Kirshenbaum has provided Baby Boomers with a clear strategy to cultivate self meaning. This is one of the best books on the topic I have read in years! Bravo! An incredible and insightful resource." 
--Christopher L. Hayes, Ph.D., professor of Gerontology & Director, National Center for Women and Retirement Research, Long Island University-Southampton College


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delta (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440509254
• ISBN-13: 978-0440509257
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mira Kirshenbaum is clinical director of the Chestnut Hill Institute, a center for therapy and research in Boston, and has been treating patients in individual and couples therapy for more than thirty years. She is the author of ten other books, including Our Love is Too Good, To Feel So Bad, Everything Happens for a Reason, and When Good People Have Affairs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - I was energized from the first few chapters!!, September 6, 2003

By 

Ms. Kathryn Houseman Lobert (Arlington, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue (Hardcover)

I am not kidding - this book is remarkable. For a variety of circumstances, both physical and emotional, I have been so tired for the last few years that I had come to accept the fatigue as just the way my life is and that I would just have to move on and deal with it. Thanks to Ms. Kirshenbaum's well-written and easily understandable book, I can toss that "acceptance" out the window. The first night I opened this book I read just the first few chapters. The lightbulbs going off in my brain by the end of these pages were like marquees on Broadway! I felt like slapping myself and saying "Duh!" but I was too amazed to do anything but think about ways to apply what I was learning. I am not a person who journals because it is just too hard for me to put things down on paper. When I closed the book the first night, so many things were firing off in my head that I wrote six pages about what I do, why I do it, and what I am going to change - all spurred by this book. I only allowed myself to read two chapters a day so I could absorb all of the information thoroughly. I have given it to two people already and intend to grab it up every time that I find the old fatigue sneaking up on me. Easy to understand, easy to implement and life changing - even if you have a chronic physical illness that leaves you with fatigue, this book can help with the inevitable emotional baggage that goes along. I have to remind myself often of the changes I have made, but what a difference this book has made for me!

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW..., January 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue (Hardcover)

I've never written a review before, and I'm no expert in psychology, but I was so blown away by this sensational book that I just want to tell anyone out there who's undecided that it's totally worth your time and money. I read the whole thing in 2 days, which I never do, and am going to be buying copies for several of my loved ones who I know will get as much out of it as I have. I've learned so much so quickly from reading this book--how to heal the emotional exhaustion that comes from the ruthless demands I've always put on myself and those that go along with my high-profile job. This book is full of practical, real world insight without any cheesy psycho-babble. Mira Kirshenbaum writes with wisdom and compassion. You get the sense of someone just talking to you over coffee--someone nonjudgmental, with sensitivity and a broad perspective.

If you're worn out by these crazy times we live in and the frenetic pace of our world, do yourself an act of kindness and read this book. To the author: thanks a million, Mira! You've got a wonderful gift and I hope you write many more.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book for immediate help and as an ongoing resource, January 29, 2003

By 

M. Glover (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue (Hardcover)

I have never written a review of a book for this or any other site. However, I am doing so now because it's about the best self-help book I've ever read. In fact, it's one of the few I've ever read cover-to-cover. This morning I consulted it again after something particularly upsetting happened, and I got instant help. It really is an ongoing resource, as the author says she intended it to be.

Why did I find it so helpful? Because of chapters like, "The Hell with Other People's Expectations" and "Special Issues" such as "First Aid When Your Emotional Energy Crashes" and "Night Thoughts," which explains why I lie in bed at night worrying and what I can do about it. (I tried her suggestions, and they work.) Her chapter explaining what worry really is (it is not the fear of something bad happening. "It's about not knowing what is going to happen.") really rang true.

I can't thank the author Mira Kirschenbaum enough for writing this. I don't know her from Adam, and I have no financial incentive for recommending this wonderful book, but I have an overwhelming desire to get it into the hands of anyone who is bogged down by life and needs a major lift. The word "empowering" is badly overused, but, in this case at least, it sure fits.