The Space Between Reaction and Regulation
Learning Path 05 · Intermediate
Chronic Stress & Burnout
A framework-honest route through sustained activation, missing recovery, and the physiology of modern working life.
12
Steps
~86
Minutes
10
Concepts
Intermediate
Level
Give working adults a way to name what has been happening in their nervous systems — and a structured way to build back the recovery their lives have quietly skipped.
For: Professionals, caregivers, and anyone whose stress is chronic rather than acute — people whose bodies have been running the same activation without pause for months or years.
Recommended prior paths
This intermediate path assumes the shared vocabulary from earlier in the sequence. If you’re new to Nirva Life, start here first:
The Journey
Follow the sequence.
Each step opens either a canonical definition, an NSI Foundations article, a Library collection, or a brief reflection. Mark steps complete as you go — your progress persists across sessions and syncs with the rest of the Gateway.
Concepts covered
The definitions this path establishes.
Related collections
Where to keep reading in the Library.
Collection 17
Endocrinology Beyond Cortisol
Hormones, cycles, neurotransmitters, and the chemical architecture of mood, motivation, and behaviour.
Collection 03
Polyvagal Theory and Autonomic Science
Careful distinctions between established autonomic physiology and interpretive claims.
Collection 09
Sleep and Circadian Science
Circadian biology as the substrate of emotional life.
Collection 24
Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine
Sleep, movement, nutrition, breath, community — and what the evidence really supports.
Collection 12
Behavioral Science
Conditioning, reinforcement, extinction — the science of how patterns form and change.
Collection 07
Immunology and Inflammation
The two-way conversation between immunity and mood.