What Is Nervous System Dysregulation & Why It Might Be Behind Your Burnout

Stress ManagementNervous System
Written By Cemile Armas

Feeling anxious, depleted, or emotionally flat? It may not just be stress, it could be nervous system dysregulation!

You’re doing your best. You eat well, try to stay active, and maybe even practice some mindfulness. Yet somehow, you still feel exhausted, anxious, or emotionally flat. If this resonates, it may be more than just stress, your nervous system could be dysregulated. Nervous system dysregulation is one of the most overlooked root causes of burnout, fatigue, and emotional overwhelm. In this post, we’ll break down what it is, how it relates to your health, and why it's especially relevant for fast-paced city life in Hong Kong. Plus, we’ll share simple, evidence-based practices you can begin using today to support nervous system regulation and long-term resilience.

What Is Nervous System Dysregulation?

The nervous system is your body’s command centre, responsible for regulating everything from your heartbeat and digestion to your sense of emotional safety. It includes two major branches:

  • Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): This is your "fight or flight" mode. It activates when you're under stress, helping you respond to immediate threats

  • Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): Known as the "rest and digest" mode, this branch helps calm the body and restore balance.

In a healthy nervous system, we naturally shift between these states throughout the day. But when we experience chronic stress, trauma, or prolonged overwhelm, our nervous system can get stuck in survival mode. This is called nervous system dysregulation.

According to the Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, our body constantly scans for cues of safety or danger. When we lose the ability to shift out of survival states, it affects everything—our mood, energy, digestion, sleep, and capacity to connect with others (Porges, 2007).

Why It Matters: The Hidden Link to Burnout

In busy urban environments like Hong Kong, nervous system dysregulation can fly under the radar. High-rise living, constant noise, overstimulation, packed schedules, and lack of rest time can overload the body’s stress-response system (McEwen, 2007). Signs of nervous system dysregulation include:

  • Chronic fatigue or burnout

  • Anxiety or panic attacks

  • Trouble sleeping or waking up tired

  • Feeling emotionally numb, disconnected, or "shut down"

  • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

  • Digestive issues (IBS, bloating, appetite changes)

  • Heightened reactivity to noise, smells, or stress

Many of these symptoms are treated in isolation, but at the root is often an overtaxed nervous system that has lost its ability to regulate effectively (Thayer & Lane, 2000).

Nervous System States: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn

A helpful way to understand dysregulation is through the lens of the four common nervous system responses:

  • Fight: Irritability, anger, hyper-controlling, clenched jaw or fists

  • Flight: Restlessness, anxiety, overthinking, perfectionism, excessive activity

  • Freeze: Numbness, dissociation, procrastination, low energy

  • Fawn: People-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, prioritising others to avoid conflict

These patterns are not personality traits—they are protective responses your body has learned to keep you safe. And the good news is: they can be unlearned.

Self Check-In: Is Your Nervous System Stuck?

Ask yourself the following:

  • Do I feel overwhelmed by small tasks or decisions?

  • Do I go from anxious to shut down within the same day?

  • Do I crave rest but feel guilty or unable to relax?

  • Do I rely on caffeine or screen time to feel alert or regulated?

If you answered yes to more than one, your nervous system may be signalling that it needs support.

Integrative Health Support to Nervous System Regulation

You don’t need an expensive retreat or complex routine to begin regulating your nervous system. What matters most is consistency and creating a sense of safety in the body. Here are five evidence-informed micro-practices you can try today:

1. Breathwork:

4-7-8 Breathing Slow, intentional breathing has been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve, helping shift the body into a parasympathetic state (Zaccaro et al., 2018). Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Repeat for 3 cycles.

2. Cold Stimulation

Splashing cold water on the face or placing a cool compress on the back of your neck can activate the vagus nerve and promote regulation (Kamel et al., 2022).

3. Somatic Touch

Placing one hand on your heart and one on your belly while breathing deeply supports interoception and a sense of grounded safety (Mehling et al., 2011).

4. Movement + Stillness

Gentle movement like walking, stretching, or rocking signals to your body that it’s safe to shift states. Combine this with moments of intentional stillness to build flexibility between activation and rest.

5. Natural Sensory Breaks

In a dense city like Hong Kong, find green spaces, ocean views, or quiet temples. Studies show nature exposure lowers cortisol and supports parasympathetic activity (Hartig et al., 2014).

6. Lifestyle Modifications

Sufficient sleep, restful activities, regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and reducing exposure to stressors like caffeine or excessive screen time can all support a healthy nervous system.

Nervous System Care Is the Foundation of Health

Burnout isn’t just about doing too much—it’s often about the nervous system doing too much for too long without rest or regulation. When you begin working with your biology, instead of against it, healing becomes more sustainable.

At Mindful Hong Kong, we believe that nervous system literacy is one of the most empowering skills you can develop. It helps you understand your patterns, respond with compassion, and create micro-rituals that anchor you in safety and presence.

Your body remembers how to heal; sometimes it just needs space, tools, and support.

References

  • Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., & Frumkin, H. (2014). Nature and Health. Annual Review of Public Health, 35(1), 207–228. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443 

  • McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and Neurobiology of Stress and Adaptation: Central Role of the Brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00041.2006

  • Mehling, W. E., Wrubel, J., Daubenmier, J. J., Price, C. J., Kerr, C. E., Silow, T., Gopisetty, V., & Stewart, A. L. (2011). Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 6(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-5341-6-6

  • Porges, S. W. (2007). The polyvagal perspective. Biological Psychology, 74(2), 116– 143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009

  • Kamel, L. Y., Xiong, W., Gott, B. M., Kumar, A., & Conway, C. R. (2022). Vagus nerve stimulation: An update on a novel treatment for treatment-resistant depression. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 434, 120171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2022.120171

  • Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61(3), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00338-4

  • Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: A systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12(353), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353

Cemile Armas
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