What if Overwhelm Isn't the Enemy?
Discover how to transform intensity from an obstacle into a doorway to continuous flow. Access clarity, build trust, and find resilience when you need it most.
Your Narratives
Are a Doorway
Learn how to move from scattered intensity to purposeful action. Reshape your life into a reality where meaning and momentum align.
The Courage to Care Changes Everything
Stop battling your emotions! Embrace a science-backed path that helps you engage complexity while holding true to what matters most.
How do we navigate a world that feels increasingly overwhelming?
Why do our attempts to control uncertainty often leave us feeling more adrift? What if our greatest source of stress could become our deepest well of creativity?
As we face rising complexity in our personal and professional lives, our need for genuine resilience has never been greater. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and two decades of experience across advertising and venture capital, Dessy Levinson offers a radical reframing of how we relate to intensity.
Through intimate stories of transformation and cutting-edge research, the book introduces CRATE—a framework for building cognitive and emotional resilience in an increasingly complex world. Whether you're a founder navigating startup chaos, a leader trying to build psychological safety for your team, or simply someone seeking to understand why your emotions often feel like they're steering the ship, you'll discover practical tools for charting a new course.
This isn't another manual about controlling stress or managing time. It's an invitation to remember what we've always known but perhaps forgotten: that our struggles become our strengths when we learn to sail with, rather than against, the seas of our nature.
Questions & Insights
This isn't a manual on managing stress or controlling emotions. It's about understanding how your nervous system actually works and using this knowledge to transform your relationship with intensity. By combining neuroscience with practical experience, the book offers both deep insight and concrete tools for lasting change.
The book is designed to be immediately useful on its own. Every concept comes with practical tools you can apply independently. That said, like any meaningful practice, having support can accelerate your growth. The book includes access to the CRATE app and additional resources to help you integrate these practices into your daily life.
You'll likely notice shifts in your relationship with overwhelm within the first few chapters. Real transformation, however, isn't about quick fixes—it's about building new patterns of engagement with yourself and your world. The book guides you through this process step by step, allowing you to move at a pace that works for you.
If you've ever felt that life is coming at you faster than you can process it, this book is for you. While founders, leaders, parents, and coaches will find specific applications for their work, anyone seeking to understand why they feel overwhelmed—and wanting to do something about it—will discover valuable insights and practical tools.
Good. This book grows from a scientific foundation, drawing on neuroscience and evidence-based research. It's for people who want to understand how their minds actually work, not just collect feel-good advice.
You'll notice shifts in how you relate to overwhelm within the first few chapters. Real transformation isn't instant—it happens as you build new patterns of engagement with yourself and your world. The book guides this process step by step, letting you integrate at your own pace.
CRATE emerged from more than a decade of work with founders, leaders, and teams, combined with deep study of psychology and cognitive science. Every tool has been tested and refined through real-world application. The framework continues to evolve through ongoing research and practical implementation.
While personal transformation comes first, the principles in this book scale naturally to teams and organizations. The book shows you how to extend these practices into your leadership, creating environments where both trust and performance can flourish. You can order multiple copies at a discount here or explore facilitated workshops that provide hands-on, tailored implementation for your organization.
BENEFITS
What You'll Discover
PART I
LEARN WHO YOU ARE
Discover how your nervous system actually processes intensity and why this understanding changes everything.
You'll learn:
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The science behind overwhelm and flow
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How your mind predicts and processes reality
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Why emotions are essential signals, not problems
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How to recognize your core patterns
CHOOSE WHO YOU BECOME
PART II
Transform your understanding into practical tools for navigating complexity.
You'll develop:
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The ability to stay clear amidst uncertainty
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Skills for regulating intensity
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Greater agency in decision-making
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Deeper trust in yourself and others
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Sustainable access to creative energy
PAY IT FORWARD
PART III
Learn how personal transformation extends beyond the individual.
You'll find:
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How to measure what truly matters through Key Meaning Indicators
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Ways to align objectives with deeper meaning
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The connection between care and creativity
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How to transform individual resilience into collective strength
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Tools for navigating uncertainty with others
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dessy Levinson
Dessy Levinson is an executive strategy, narrative, and relational integration coach, the creator of the CRATE Framework for cognitive and emotional resilience, the founder of crate.com, and an early-stage investor and advisor. With a career spanning over two decades in advertising, finance, and high-performance coaching, Dessy enables individuals (and their partners, co-founders, and teams) to align their narratives and behavior in order to achieve lasting change.
Dessy lives at the intersection of psychology, creativity, and early-stage startups. In all three spheres, she has witnessed real growth happen at the edges of our comfort zone—which is why she coaches humans to chart a path toward courage, meaning, and resilience.
Previously, Dessy served as Managing Director at 645 Ventures, where she invested in early-stage consumer startups and frontier technologies. Previous to that, she spent a decade as a Creative Director in consumer advertising for Fortune 500 brands.
Dessy studied Critical Theory and psychology at the University of Alberta and has been mentored by David Pezenik, L.C.S.W, and Executive Somatic Coach Rachel Rider. She has completed Level 3 RLT training at the Relational Life Institute with Terry Real and continues to study with Esther Perel and John Vervaeke.
Her popular keynotes include "Do What Scares You," "Immersive Power," and "Thinking in Story."
REVIEWS
Advance Praise
“Dessy Levinson masterfully weaves cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience with insightful wisdom, offering a roadmap to integrate the rational and emotional mind. This deeply engaging work equips readers with effective tools to understand and navigate their emotions while fostering courage and flow. A must-read for anyone seeking inner harmony and resilience.”
Dr. Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D.
Seryl Kushner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University. Bestselling author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life and Good Anxiety
“For people who feel like they’re drowning in a sea of false narratives, From Overwhelm to Flow is a rescue ship. Dessy Levinson shows us how to examine the stories we tell ourselves, identify the ones that hold us back, and write new storylines to free ourselves. This is a wonderful book.”
Ken Hughes
Author of Chasing Shadows and Fatal Politics
"With characteristic precision and care, Dessy guides you through the rough waters of uncertainty to integrate the rational and emotional facets of awareness into actions that fully honor and embrace both. She’s your own, personal beacon, equipping you with the means to engage deeply in every moment—however daunting—with fullness, vibrancy, and flow. Her book is a true testament to leading and living authentically, with discernment and with heart."
Charlie Awbery
Author of Opening Awareness and founder of Evolving Ground
"Reading this book feels just like being in a coaching session with Dessy—compelling, intricate, yet entirely digestible. Her remarkable ability to grasp and articulate the rigorous grind of life shines through every page. The guidance she offers is direct, meaningful, and deeply compassionate, creating space for self-love amidst life’s chaos. Truly inspiring and impactful."
Ricardo Allen
Former NFL player and assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins