SystemsCheck™: The Human Operating System for Ambition & Burnout | Podcast on RSS.com

SystemsCheck™: The Human Operating System for Ambition & Burnout

SystemsCheck™: The Human Operating System for Ambition & Burnout

by Naina Rana

Mental Health Tech News

Alyssa Carter, LPC, CCTP on Building Systems Your Brain Will Actually Use

Chronic illness, burnout, and neurodivergence don't just affect your body — they hijack executive function: planning, task initiation, working memory, and attention regulation. In this episode, licensed professional counselor and certified clinical trauma professional Alyssa Carter joins Naina Rana to break down why "just push through it" fails high-achieving, chronically overloaded brains — and what actually works instead. They cover spoon theory as an energy-budgeting framework, the calendar-and-to-do-list combo that cuts decision fatigue, where AI tools genuinely reduce cognitive load versus where they add noise, how to build inclusive trainings and workplaces, and why middle managers with chronic illness are running on empty with nowhere to refill. If you've built the perfect productivity system and still can't stick to it, this episode is your reframe. Alyssa Carter, MA, LPC, NCC, CCTP Therapist (She/Her) STR Behavioral Health – Lancaster 610 Community Way, Lancaster, PA 17603 Email: alyssa.carter@strlancaster.com Web: www.strlancaster.com | www.stepstorecovery.com LinkedIn: Alyssa Carter Upcoming: Presenting on chronic illness and suicidality at the Mental Health America conference, September 13 (in-person).

Destiny Davis, LPC, CRC on Your System Isn't Broken — It's Just Data

There's a version of burnout that nobody talks about — the kind that happens when you're already managing a body that doesn't follow the standard schedule. Destiny Davis, licensed professional counselor and certified rehabilitation counselor, built her entire practice around the people navigating chronic illness alongside high-performing careers. In this conversation, we talk about crip time, values versus goals, ADHD in women, and the one mindset shift that changes everything: your system breaking is not a verdict. It's data. Visit: https://www.thechronicillnesstherapist.com/destiny-davis In-person sessions in Atlanta: 1249 Hartford Ave SW, Atlanta GA 30310 Virtual therapy available throughout: Georgia | Florida | Colorado

Brigid Carney, LPC on When "Handle It" Becomes the Problem

What happens when "I can handle it" becomes the reason you're burning out? In this episode of SystemsCheck, Naina talks with Brigid Carney, LPC—first responder therapist, former health insurance executive, and PhD candidate in first responder mental health—about the hidden costs of the mission-first mindset. Together, they explore why firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other high performers struggle to ask for help, how burnout impacts identity, and what it takes to build sustainable resilience in high-pressure careers. If you've ever felt like your value comes from being the person who always has it together, this conversation is for you. Linkedin: Brigid Carney PhD ABD, MS, LPC, NCC, MBA, LSSMBB, PMP

Naina on: Reclaiming Capacity in an Overclocked World™

There's a version of burnout that hides inside competence. As a licensed clinical social worker and former tech startup insider, I developed the SYSTEMS Framework™ — a 7-part burnout prevention model built from lived experience and clinical practice. This episode breaks down every component and how to actually implement it in your daily life. Instagram: @Peakworks_Counseling_Center Website: peakworkscounseling.com Facebook: Peakworks Counseling Center Tiktok: @peakworkscounseling Linkedin: Naina Rana

Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins on Burned Out in the Middle

If you've ever looked up at the end of a workday and wondered what you actually accomplished — this episode is for you. Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, human skills facilitator at Learnit and former professional bass fisherman turned leadership expert, joins Systems Check to talk about why the middle layer of most organizations is quietly breaking — and what actually fixes it. Mickey hosts the Learnit Lounge Podcast, where she covers the shifts facing learning and development professionals — from data-driven training to the power and pitfalls of AI. Learn more about her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyfitchcollins/

Charity O'Reilly, LPC on The Burnout You Build Yourself

Charity O'Reilly is a trauma therapist, practice owner, and author who specializes in complex PTSD. But what makes her the right guest for this show isn't just her clinical credentials — it's that she burned out badly, rebuilt on her own terms, and now helps other high performers stop recreating the same cycles they thought they'd escaped. We're talking about the version of burnout nobody talks about: the one you build yourself, with the best intentions. Learn more about her work at https://charityoreilly.com and her blog https://charityoreilly.com/blog/

Nischal Rana on Burnout: Stop Optimizing for Your Best Days

What does it really cost to build and maintain the systems that keep public health infrastructure running—and what does that reveal about sustainable performance? In this episode, Nischal Rana, an integrations engineer for the State of Connecticut, breaks down burnout in DevOps culture. We explore the go-go grind mentality that gets normalized from day one, why optimizing for your best days is a fast track to burning out by 35, the communication skills no computer science program teaches you, and why building strong relationships will outlast even the most specialized technical skills. Raw, honest, and from someone who’s lived it on the inside.

Elizabeth Morrison, LPC on Why High Performers Burn Out Silently

Elizabeth Morrison — licensed counselor and neuro inclusive systems designer — breaks down why high-performing tech professionals burn out silently. We get into the structural conditions tech environments accidentally engineer against their own people, what functional depletion looks like before anyone quits, and the one thing any leader can do this week to start building a system that actually holds. This isn't a wellness conversation. It's an operations one. https://www.creativesolutionscoaching.com/

The Human Side of SaaS Sales — Mark Steinbach on Performing Without Burning Out

Selling high-stakes SaaS isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people, habits, and mindset. Mark Steinbach shares lessons from early sales missteps, key signals in complex deals, and mental routines that keep top performers sustainable. Discover how to navigate the pressures of high-stakes software sales without burning out and maintain peak performance in every deal.

Kishan Kunver on Breaking the Urgency Cycle

High-pressure tech environments push high performers into constant urgency—and burnout. In this episode, Kishan Kunver shares how to break the burnout cycle, apply systems thinking to your personal performance, and implement practical strategies for sustainable productivity. Learn how to shift from reactive work to intentional, focused results and take control of your energy and time. Kishan Kunver, an Endpoint Tech Analyst at Pratt & Whitney. Kishan specializes in enterprise IT, digital workplace services, and operational efficiency, with a focus on systems thinking to optimize performance without sacrificing well-being.

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