Beyond Burnout: What Our Nervous Systems Are Trying to Tell Us at Work
Most leaders I meet don’t struggle because they lack skill or commitment. They struggle because their nervous systems are running on empty.
We call it burnout. But burnout isn’t just exhaustion or overwhelm. It’s what happens when our bodies stay in survival mode long after the moment of threat has passed.
The truth is—our leadership often mirrors our nervous system state. When we’re anxious, we over-function. When we’re depleted, we withdraw. When we’re constantly in “fix it” mode, we mistake urgency for impact.
These patterns aren’t personal flaws; they’re physiological responses. And they’re deeply shaped by the systems we work within.
Burnout Is Cumulative Nervous System Debt
We tend to talk about burnout as an individual problem to solve with self-care, time off, or resilience training. But the deeper truth is that burnout is collective and structural.
In the From Burnout to Balance framework, I define burnout as cumulative nervous system debt—the cost of constant output without enough rhythm, recovery, or relational safety built into the system.
Our bodies are designed to move fluidly between states of activation and rest. But modern workplaces—especially those shaped by urgency culture and systemic inequity—keep us locked in survival mode.
As leadership scholar Dr. Emily Nagoski reminds us,
“Stress isn’t the problem. The problem is that the strategies that deal with stressors have almost no relationship to the strategies that deal with our body’s physiological reactions to those stressors. Stress is not bad for you; being stuck is bad for you.”
That’s what burnout really is: being stuck.
The Three Systems We Lead From
In my trainings, I often walk teams through the three main nervous system states adapted from polyvagal theory (Dr. Stephen Porges; Dr. Deb Dana):
System of Connection (Ventral Vagal) – This is the state of balance. We feel grounded, curious, engaged, creative. Leaders here can connect, delegate, and regulate with others.
System of Action (Sympathetic) – This is the state of mobilization. It’s useful when we need to meet a deadline or respond to urgency—but it becomes unsustainable when it’s constant.
System of Shutdown (Dorsal Vagal) – This is the state of collapse. When the system has been under pressure too long, energy drains. We disengage, go numb, or lose hope.
None of these states are “bad.” They’re adaptive. But when leaders or organizations get stuck in one—especially the Action or Shutdown states—the system burns out.
The body suffers, and so does the workplace.
How Stress Becomes a Leadership Pattern
You can tell a lot about a workplace by its nervous system.
Chronic urgency often signals collective sympathetic activation.
Avoidance, overthinking, or fatigue often reflect dorsal shutdown.
Moments of creativity and trust are signs of ventral regulation—where connection is possible.
In other words, culture is nervous system behavior at scale.
When leaders operate from dysregulation—pushing through exhaustion, reacting instead of reflecting, performing calm instead of practicing it—the whole team feels it.
That’s why burnout prevention isn’t just about wellness; it’s about leadership regulation.
The goal isn’t to avoid stress altogether. It’s to develop rhythm: the ability to move fluidly between action, rest, and reconnection.
From Burnout to Balance
Dr. Bruce Perry once said, “rhythm is regulating.” All cultures—except the dominant culture—have had ritualized, patterned, rhythmic practices for healing, grieving, and community restoration.
Leadership isn’t different. Recovery begins when we bring rhythm, pacing, and predictability into how we lead.
I teach leaders to start noticing four rhythm-based practices:
Pacing: Slowing down decisions that don’t require speed.
Transitions: Acknowledging the space between tasks or meetings.
Delegation: Sharing work and trust to reduce over-functioning.
Rituals: Creating consistent cues of safety and belonging.
These aren’t just management techniques—they’re nervous system interventions.
They create the conditions for people to exhale, to trust, and to stay engaged long enough to do meaningful work.
A Reflection for Leaders
Burnout is not a personal failure—it’s a sign that the system needs repair. Our nervous systems—and our organizations—are asking for rhythm, not more resilience.
So before you reach for another productivity tool, try this instead: Pause. Take a full breath. Ask yourself: What rhythm does my body—and my team—need right now?
That’s where recovery begins.
Author’s Note: I help leaders and organizations build rhythm, regulation, and relational safety into how they work—transforming urgency culture into environments of trust and balance. If your team is ready to move beyond burnout and into rhythm, I’d love to connect.
Amanda Singh Bans MA, MSW, LCSW
She/Her
Managing Director @ Resonance LLC | DEIB Strategies | Culturally Responsive Mental Health Services | Moving workplace cultures from survival and burnout to resilience and trust using the science and soul of connection.
