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From The

BEST-SELLING AUTHOR

NOMERGENCY

Reclaiming Focus and Calm from False Urgency Culture

 

What if most of the pressure you feel each day isn’t real urgency at all, but a pattern your
mind has been trained to obey?

In Nomergency, psychiatrist Katie Angelova, M.D., names the problem millions quietly battle: the nomergency. Although these tasks feel painfully urgent, they are often inconsequential. With sharp insight, personal stories, and science-backed tools, she exposes how false urgency culture drains our focus, overwhelms our stress response, and keeps our true priorities on the back burner.

Drawing from neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and real-world experience, Dr. Angelova offers a practical roadmap for reclaiming calm. Readers learn how to spot the difference between true emergencies and manufactured pressure, break reactive habits, and rebuild a life of clarity rather than chaos.

Inside, you will learn how to:
• Recognize false urgency in real time
• Pause and regulate your stress response
• Set boundaries without guilt
• Replace “multitasking” with focused, sustainable productivity
• Protect your time, energy, and presence
Nomergency is a guide for high achievers who feel stretched thin and ready for lasting change.
Can life feel truly yours again? This book shows that it can.

 

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Nomergency: Reclaiming Focus and Calm from False Urgency Culture

“This book was such a breath of fresh air! As a physician, I could relate to so much of what the author was discussing with regard to burnout, expectations that are unachievable, and how to parse out what is truly an emergency and what isn’t. I love the term she coined, “nomergency,” and found her scenarios to be relatable. She also sprinkled in some humor that gave the topic levity. I found the inclusion of actionable items and exercises at the end of the chapters to be very helpful. Overall, a well-researched, beneficial, and enjoyable read with a plethora of quality suggestions! Everyone should read this book!”
Jessica Kiarashi, M.D., Neurologist
“In ‘Nomergency,’ Dr. Katie Angelova masterfully deploys her formidable expertise as an academic psychiatrist and patient advocate toward a pervasive modern pandemic: the fever of false urgency. With a compassionate, science-driven lens, she dissects how this pressure hijacks our focus and fuels burnout, persuasively arguing that endless stress is not a badge of honor but a trap. This book feels like a direct, lifeline conversation for overachievers, offering not just a diagnosis but a practical roadmap to reclaim calm and clarity. Incredibly timely and brilliantly executed, it is poised to be a definitive bestseller, empowering readers to break free from subjugation and redefining true priority.”
Omar F. Mirza, DO, Academic Psychiatrist and author of the graphic medicine series, The CL Psychiatrist
“This book speaks directly to the many professionals who quietly carry guilt, urgency, and self-doubt, convinced that everyone else has it figured out. With warmth, humor, and striking honesty, Dr. Angelova exposes a central myth of modern work culture: that caring is devalued and exhaustion mistaken for commitment. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience, she distills complex ideas into vivid, accessible metaphors that reveal how false urgency hijacks our brains and erodes agency, and self-worth. What sets this book apart is its capacity to drive meaningful change. Even as a seasoned clinician, I found that applying its principles clarified patterns of overcommitment, strengthened boundaries, and redirected my focus toward long-term goals. Rather than instructing, this book walks alongside the reader with clarity and reassurance – offering a grounded, sustainable path toward focus, intention, and renewed joy and purpose in how we work and live.”
Seema Quraishi, M.D., FACLP, DipABLM, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist and Lifestyle Medicine Physician

About the Author


Katie Angelova, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist and wellness coach specializing in mental health, chronic stress, and the mind-body connection. Dr. Angelova is a published researcher, medical educator, and national speaker with a special interest in well-being in high-pressure environments. Her clinical and academic work centers on health equity, healthcare leadership, and physician burnout. She lives in New York City with her husband and their corgi, Bellini.

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Nomergency: Reclaiming Focus and Calm from False Urgency Culture

FAQ

1. What inspired you to write this book?

Over the years, I have seen myself and many of my colleagues, all bright and
motivated people, struggle in the chaos of false urgency and toxic productivity both
at work and in our personal lives. We have missed out on rest, joy, social
connections, fulfillment, and purpose due to the glorified myth that “busy means
important.” I wish that someone had shown me how to slow down, prioritize what is
important, and break the toxic cycles that are so heavily reinforced by modern
society (especially in high-achieving spaces such as healthcare and the corporate
world). I want my book to be that “someone” for others. I want to be the coach and
personal cheerleader in the pocket of every burned-out high achiever who is
struggling to give themselves permission to take a day off, to silence their phone, to
eat their lunch, to spend time with their families. I want my book to be a toolkit at the
fingertips of every passionate and dedicated professional who has lost sight of their
true purpose. I want my book to be a lighthouse calling everyone who has given up
hope to come home to the basic comforts of life: rest, peace, connection.

2. What will your readers gain from your book?

NOMERGENCY is a pocket-sized coach and accountability partner that offers
tangible and actionable skills backed by neuroscience and years of experience. It
offers a compassionate yet candid approach to daily stressors and realistic
expectations for self-care. Readers will find that they are not alone and that
sustainable change is possible. Readers will clearly define their priorities and
distinguish these from meaningless distractions, reduce physical and psychological
stress, and regain control of everyday life – all without sacrificing income or success.

3. What was your unique quotient for this project?

Because I am a high achiever with personal experience with burnout and toxic
workplace culture, the stories I tell throughout this book are relatable and validating
to busy professionals who may have been thinking that they are the only ones
struggling with nomergencies. As a physician, I am no stranger to real emergencies
as well as “fake” ones, so I am also uniquely positioned to define the difference. My
professional expertise in neuroscience and mental health allowed me to embark on
the journey of creating this tool with the intention of helping myself, my colleagues,
and high achievers all over the world. For me, this is personal!

4. How did becoming an author help in your brand/business?

Authorship establishes me as an expert in my field on a larger scale and makes my
work more accessible to readers who are searching for solutions. This publication is
the beginning of a series of opportunities for my clients and me, including but not
limited to coaching programs, courses, and online communities designed not only to
disseminate these life-changing skills, but also to build a support system of like-
minded people who are choosing self-improvement and growth.

5. What are your future plans as an author?

NOMERGENCY is much more than a book; it’s a movement. And while the book
offers guidance and tools to the individual reader, we know that culture shifts require
systemic change. My plans are to continue to advocate for the dismantling of false

urgency culture, devise drivers of change on institutional levels to transform
workplaces, and inspire leaders to consider the real recipe for healthy, sustainable
productivity.

6. What will you learn from this book?

1- How to identify and demolish modern-day myths that drive hustle culture, including that “busy equals important” and “rest is laziness.”
2- How to combat urgency bias, set meaningful boundaries, and cultivate
sustainable productivity.
3- Hot to gain clarity on your true values and prioritize these over expectations and “shoulds” that do not align with the life you envision.
4- How to thrive long-term by doing less better.