Stress, Anxiety & Nervous System Function

Why This Is Now the Starting Point of My Work

Over the last ten years in practice, I’ve found myself returning to the same question.

Why do so many different problems seem to travel together?

Anxiety.
Burnout.
Low mood.
Weight gain.
Procrastination.
Poor sleep.
Relationship tension.

On paper, they look unrelated.

In the therapy room, they rarely are.

Having spent thousands of hours listening to people describe their lived experience in detail, I began to notice something.

The symptoms varied.
The stories differed.
The underlying strain often did not.

Anxiety, burnout, cravings, procrastination and low mood frequently rested on the same deeper foundation.

What we were trying to fix at the surface was often shaped by something more physiological beneath it.

The Culture We Work Within

It also reflects the culture we live in.

We are encouraged to treat these as separate problems.

There is a strong culture of dieting when weight changes.
A culture of motivation and goal setting when consistency drops.
A culture of productivity when focus reduces.
A culture of emotional processing when mood feels low.

If anxiety persists, we look for better coping skills.
If weight increases, we tighten structure.
If motivation drops, we look for sharper goals.
If mood feels flat, we assume we need to talk more or that something is wrong.

Sometimes these approaches help.

Sometimes they add further pressure to a system that is already strained.

Over time, it became clearer to me that many of these experiences sit on top of a nervous system that has been operating under sustained pressure.

When that shifts, much of what sits above it begins to shift as well.

Stress as a Physiological Condition

In The Hidden Impact of Stress, I describe stress as a physiological condition that precedes many of the psychological symptoms we focus on.

When the nervous system detects demand, unpredictability or perceived threat, mobilisation begins. Heart rate shifts. Breathing changes. Attention narrows. Energy is redirected.

This is part of being human.

Difficulty develops when activation continues without sufficient recovery.

Sleep becomes lighter.
Cortisol remains elevated.
Blood sugar becomes less stable.
Inflammatory processes increase.
Reward sensitivity reduces.
Emotional tolerance narrows.

Over time, the system shifts into protection.

Capacity changes.

Behaviour changes with it.

Procrastination can reflect mental fatigue rather than laziness.
Low motivation can be a sign that energy is already stretched.
Anxiety can mean the system is still on edge.
Pulling back from people can be a way of protecting yourself when capacity is low.

Without awareness of nervous system state, behaviour is often judged in isolation.

The A–Z of Stress & Anxiety

The A–Z project grew from this recognition.

Each letter explores a familiar experience — anxiety, burnout, cravings, mental overload, low mood, sleeplessness, tension, disconnection — and places it within the context of nervous system function.

The aim is clarity.

When people recognise that their experience reflects activation, depletion or protective withdrawal, something steadies.

Self-criticism softens.
Precision increases.
Intervention becomes more deliberate.

The eBook explains the physiology.

The A–Z shows how that physiology appears in daily life.

A Function-First Approach

This is now the starting point of my clinical work.

Before restructuring thoughts or optimising behaviour, we assess the state of the nervous system.

If someone presents with anxiety, we look at activation and perceived threat.
If someone presents with burnout, we examine recovery and sustained pressure.
If someone presents with weight frustration, we consider stress chemistry and regulation.
If someone presents with procrastination, we explore energy and perceived pressure.

The nervous system shapes access to thinking, planning and follow-through.

When activation is high, attention narrows.
When energy is low, motivation drops.
When regulation is unsettled, consistency becomes difficult.

Psychological tools remain important.
Beliefs influence interpretation.
Values guide direction.

Their impact depends partly on the state of the system.

This perspective came into sharper focus while preparing to speak about men’s mental health.

Many conversations centre on emotional expression and communication. Those areas matter.

What I have repeatedly observed, in myself and in others, is that chronic stress quietly shapes irritability, withdrawal, exhaustion and low mood long before someone has language for it.

When the nervous system steadies, insight becomes easier to access.

Diagnosis and Regulation

More people are exploring diagnoses such as ADHD or autism spectrum conditions. For some, that brings relief. It can explain patterns that have felt confusing for years.

That clarity can be grounding.

At the same time, diagnostic language does not sit separately from nervous system state.

Attention narrows under pressure.
Follow-through becomes harder when activation remains high.
Energy fluctuates when recovery is incomplete.

Traits may be present.

The condition of the nervous system still influences how those traits show up day to day.

Under sustained pressure, distractibility may increase.
Under exhaustion, task initiation may become harder.
Under uncertainty, reassurance-seeking may intensify.

For this reason, diagnostic clarity and nervous system regulation sit alongside one another within my approach.

Regardless of label, one question remains central:

What state is the system in right now?

Because that shapes access to skill, perspective and resilience.

A Refinement, Not a Reinvention

After nearly ten years in practice, and many years trying to understand my own patterns, this feels less like a reinvention and more like a refinement.

My work has always been shaped by lived experience.

My experience has been shaped by the same patterns I now see in others.

Stress and anxiety are often the door.

Nervous system function is the foundation.

When we begin there, the rest of the work becomes steadier.

More measured.

More sustainable.