Sustainable Success: Nervous System Alignment for Burnout-Free Leadership
If you’re capable, thoughtful, and doing everything “right,” but work still leaves you exhausted, wired, or unable to switch off — this podcast is for you. Sustainable Success explores burnout, over-functioning, and decision fatigue through a nervous-system lens. Not as personal failures to fix, but as understandable patterns that develop when you’ve been adapting to pressure, responsibility, and expectation for a long time. I’m Sheridan — a somatic trauma practitioner and yoga therapist with a background in trauma therapy and behavioural psychology. I work with high-functioning professionals who look fine on the outside, but feel depleted, frozen, or stretched thin underneat...
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244: Work drains me more than it should — is it my nervous system?
<p>In this episode, we explore why work can feel disproportionately exhausting — even when you enjoy it and are “doing everything right.”</p><p>You’ll hear about:</p>Why end-of-day exhaustion isn’t always a motivation or discipline problemHow constant adaptation to mismatched environments quietly drains nervous system capacityThe difference between healthy effort and chronic over-exertionA simple nervous-system-based energy audit you can start todayHow to track energy drain through body sensations rather than stories or self-criticismWhat decision fatigue, overthinking, and post-work collapse are actually signallingWhen exhaustion points to deeper patterns like freeze, trauma history, or family rolesWhy some patterns don’t shif...
243: Working WITH hyperfocus: adhd transitions without willpower (burnout & your nervous system)
<p>This is for people who:</p>can focus deeply… sometimes too deeplystruggle to stop once they’re “in it”feel physical resistance or distress when switching taskssuspect adhd, autism, or nervous system sensitivityare tired of productivity advice that ignores physiology<br/><p>This episode is an excerpt from a recent teaching session many of my clients receive. If you're also like to receive in depth support that covers the topics of work, money, the nervous system and how to live in this crazy world as a sensitive human without burnout, you can click here to book a consultation call and lear...
242: Interrupted, dismissed, not appreciated: burnout & your nervous system
<p>“I step up for everyone, but the second I need support, it’s</p><p>‘Well, that’s not my problem.’</p><h4>It makes me feel like my effort doesn’t matter.”</h4><h4><br></h4><h4>This episode goes into the burnout dynamics behind this quote. </h4><h1>What if you're not the problem? Full report. </h1><p>Access the full report here: https://sheridanruth.com/what-if-youre-not-the-problem/</p><h1> </h1><h1>Energy Management Pilot </h1><p>This 5-week program helps thoughtful, sensitive, or neurodivergent professionals understand how their brain and body actually work — so they can rebuild focus, energy, a...
241: I was overfunctioning in every role: a somatic trauma therapist on burnout & your nervous system
<p>For years I believed burnout meant I was doing something wrong — not resilient enough, not organised enough, not disciplined enough. By 2018 I’d already survived a violent relationship, the suicide of an ex-partner, losing my hair to an autoimmune condition, a cPTSD diagnosis, and working myself into the ground running a nonprofit in Colombia.</p><p>From the outside, I looked capable and committed.</p><p><br></p><p>Inside, I was collapsing for days after every big effort.</p><p>I kept changing roles — yoga therapist, somatic trauma practitioner, relationship coach, Ayurvedic wellness coach — thinking, “Maybe the next job will f...
240: “I slept but woke tired”: allostatic load, burnout & your nervous system
<p>Why a good night's sleep or a holiday may not always reset you properly, introducing the concept of allostatic load—the invisible wear and tear from chronic stress. We explain the body's traffic light system with green, yellow, red, and blue states to illustrate different levels of nervous system activation and how they affect your ability to recover. Learn the importance of distinguishing between challenges and threats to manage burnout and maintain clarity at work. Special attention is given to sensitive, neurodivergent, or trauma-aware nervous systems. </p><p>The episode provides steps to: </p><p>- Map your personal ner...
239: Reclaiming discipline after cPTSD, ADHD (nervous system trauma healing for work)
<p>With late-diagnosed adhd (and a lot of history with structure, authority, and power) my relationship with discipline has completely changed.</p><p>Instead of forcing myself into strict routines, I’ve been practicing discipline as devotion and rhythm. When you trace the word back, discipline shares roots with disciple—to be devoted. In this podcast episode I’m inviting you to notice what truly nourishes you, and practice the devotion to meet it consistently.</p><p>Predictable, gentle rhythms regulate the nervous system. They lower stress, soften cortisol spikes, and make emotional ups and downs easier to ride. For those...
238: New “urgent” every day: burnout & your nervous system
<p>Do any of these feel familiar?</p>your calendar keeps changing—no rhythm to your days.the plan changes every week.you’re asked to deliver without a clear definition of success.your income swings from month to month.the algorithms keep changing and your strategy feels outdated by morning.you’re stuck on the content hamster wheel—publishing but never feeling done.launch dates won’t stick, and timelines keep slipping.there’s no real “definition of done,” so nothing ever feels complete.you’re at a career crossroads with no map for what’s next.<br/><p>Today’s episode name...
237: What If You’re Not the Problem? Burnout, AI, WTF is happening & 7 Somatic Experiments.mp3
<h4>The tension between what your body needs to thrive with work and money — and then the constraints of the economy, uncertainty, AI and everything else.</h4><p>I spoke to 40 professionals across tech, design, education and entrepreneurship to explore a simple question:</p><p>How do sensitive, neurodivergent, and trauma-aware professionals navigate the friction between their nervous-system needs and the systemic demands of modern work — and what practices restore alignment between the two?</p><p>You’ll find:</p>Why burnout isn’t your faultWhat the real body-work mismatch looks like7 somatic experiments to try this weekHow nervous-system safety becomes...
236: Boundaries that boost fertility (over 35): Nervous system-friendly work rhythms
<p>In this episode, we delve deeper into the concept of optimizing your body's resources to not just survive, but thrive. We discuss the challenges sensitive individuals face in today's fast-paced life and how subtle patterns can drain energy and hinder growth. The episode highlights the importance of recognizing and shifting these patterns and aligning your body's needs with your goals. Practical tools for managing energy, reducing overthinking, and fostering creativity are shared. We emphasize the need to support the body and brain to function as they are designed, creating conditions for sustained creativity, joy, and fertility, whether in making...
235: Fertility over 35. What your nervous system wants you to know
<p>As much as I can literally feel my body longing to have a baby, I have so much to do first! So many adventures to have! </p><p>But there are two things that are true:</p>Fertility does decline as we age. We have more power than we think to create juicy, fertile bodies ready to create babies and businesses! Protecting that creative energy and flow is not a passive action. It requires education, action, boundaries and integration.<br/><p>It means you’ve got to get strong and start asking yourself the question “how do I protect what my...
