SystemsCheck™: The Human Operating System for Ambition & Burnout

Naina Rana
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Mental Health

SystemsCheck™ The show for high performers who look fine on paper — and know something's off underneath. Hosted by Naina, LCSW — licensed therapist, former tech insider, and burnout specialist — Systems Check examines the human operating system behind leadership, ambition, and relationships. Through candid solo episodes and expert conversations, we explore how your nervous system, decision-making patterns, and relational dynamics quietly shape performance at work and at home. We look at burnout through the lens of chronic illness, couples and family systems, and substance and behavioral patterns — because high demand doesn't happen in a vacuum. This isn't therapy. It's a strategic audit. New episodes every month. Subscribe wherever you listen.

Episodes

  1. Jul 30

    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).

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

  2. Jul 2

    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

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

  3. Jul 2

    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

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

  4. Jul 2

    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

    Naina on: Reclaiming Capacity in an Overclocked World™

  5. Jun 1

    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/

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

  6. Jun 1

    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/

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

  7. Apr 28

    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.

    Nischal Rana on Burnout: Stop Optimizing for Your Best Days

  8. Apr 28

    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/

    Elizabeth Morrison, LPC on Why High Performers Burn Out Silently

  9. Apr 28

    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.

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

  10. Mar 31

    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.

    Kishan Kunver on Breaking the Urgency Cycle

  11. Mar 31

    Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC — When High Achievement Becomes a Trauma Response

    In this episode, Naina sits down with Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC, to explore the deeper psychological roots of high achievement—especially when success is driven by unresolved trauma rather than true alignment. Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC, is a speaker, therapist, and CEO working at the intersection of mental health, performance, and modern relationships. She is a speaker with MindfulHQ, a therapist at Rising Hope Counseling Services, and the founder of Mindful Matches, a mental health directory designed to connect individuals with the right support. Learn more about her work at mindfulhq.com and rising-hope.co.

    Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC — When High Achievement Becomes a Trauma Response

  12. Mar 13

    Naina on: Burnout Isn’t a Personal Failure — It’s a Systems Problem

    In this opening episode of Systems Check, we explore why burnout isn’t a mindset problem—and what’s actually happening in your nervous system when chronic stress takes over. We’ll break down the realities high performers in tech and other demanding careers face, including emotional resilience, communication challenges, boundaries, anxiety, depression, and the pressure to keep functioning no matter the cost. Most importantly, we begin the conversation about how to move from self-blame to real repair.

    Naina on: Burnout Isn’t a Personal Failure — It’s a Systems Problem
  • 12 Episodes

About

SystemsCheck™ The show for high performers who look fine on paper — and know something's off underneath. Hosted by Naina, LCSW — licensed therapist, former tech insider, and burnout specialist — Systems Check examines the human operating system behind leadership, ambition, and relationships. Through candid solo episodes and expert conversations, we explore how your nervous system, decision-making patterns, and relational dynamics quietly shape performance at work and at home. We look at burnout through the lens of chronic illness, couples and family systems, and substance and behavioral patterns — because high demand doesn't happen in a vacuum. This isn't therapy. It's a strategic audit. New episodes every month. Subscribe wherever you listen.

Information