Going Over The Edge

[Part 3/5] 

The Overwhelmed System How the Body Collapses

Elite performers thrive and survive on the edge.

So it's no surprise when they go over.

I've seen it in special forces operators.
Multi-million dollar athletes.
C-suite executives.

People who push themselves too hard for too long.
Often with the help of stimulants or other medications masking the warning signs.

Then comes the complete overwhelming of the organism.

This is not metaphor.

Real physiological and psychological collapse.

𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?
Cardiac events.
Arrhythmia.
Heart attack.
Stroke.
Immune collapse.
Acute illness.
Physical shutdown.

𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?
Mental breakdown.
Dissociation.
Moral injury.
Complete withdrawal.
Inability to function.

Moral injury deserves specific attention.
It's what happens when trained actions violate core Life Model structures.

Not just exhaustion.
Active psychological wounding.

Common in elite environments where people suppress survival drivers for performance or elite units where moral codes are challenged on re-entry to the civilian world.

The system doesn't just fail.
It's wounded by what it was asked to do.

This explains the elite performer paradox.

Why high performers collapse suddenly:
They often operate with distorted Life Models.
Trained to suppress drivers that would interfere with performance.

Yes, this works inside the environment.
But it breaks when they leave.
Or when it clashes with who they actually are.
Often only recognized when they leave that previous 'world'

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 "𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲" 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁.

Peter Levine's work on trauma shows the body keeps score. The system doesn't forget what it was asked to do. It stores it until there's space to process. Or until it breaks.

System overwhelm is the organism's circuit breaker.

It's not failure.
It's protection.

But misunderstanding it turns protection into prolonged damage.


An overwhelmed system is not pretty.
But it can be prevented - you have to be aware of what to look for.


Confusion and Collapse

Watching a veteran player - someone who's seen everything - finally hit the wall.
Weeks of compounding pressure.
Fighting through injuries.
Managing media.
Trying everything available.
Adjustments.
Conversations.
Strategy changes.

Nothing worked.

Then one day, nothing left.

Not confused.
Not overwhelmed by novelty.

Just... empty.
They freeze.

Not because they don't know what to do.
Because they have nothing left to do it with.

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲.
The stimulus was categorized correctly.
Threat was understood.
Fight, flight, fawn were attempted or considered.
All failed or were impossible.

Resources are DEPLETED.

"Nothing I do changes this."

What's happening internally:
Stimulus was categorized correctly.
Threat was understood.
Active responses attempted and failed.
Selye's exhaustion stage.
Allostatic load accumulated to system failure.

The resource state:
𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗗.
The tank is empty.

System understood what was needed.
Mobilized everything available.
Nothing worked.

Ashby's Law explains this too: Output variety insufficient to match the disturbance. Error signal present—system knows what's wrong. But no successful control action in repertoire.

Not processing failure.
Response exhaustion.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀: Recovery. Restoration. Time. Zero demands. Nothing asked of them.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲: Pressure. Demands for engagement. Urgency. Any additional load. "Just try harder."

Asking for anything at all.
Levine calls this "immobility with fear."
The body conserves what little remains.
It's not giving up.
It's the last survival strategy: stop spending what you don't have.

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁.
But resources are gone, not inaccessible.

Give them nothing to do.
Remove all demands.
Let the system rebuild.
𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲


Faint or Freeze?

The best coaches - through intuition and experience - understand that managing faint and freeze require two completely different responses.

I've seen Premier League coaches ship players off for a mid-week vacation to another continent to regenerate.

Complete removal of all demands.
That's the freeze intervention.

I've seen others misinterpret the same shutdown presentation as laziness.
Or worse, cowardice.

And almost end players' motivation and risk careers.

That's misdiagnosis.


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲.

Immobility.
Silence.
Withdrawal.
Shutdown.
Unresponsiveness.


But internal states are opposite.

𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁:
Resources PRESENT, can't deploy.
Processing failure.
Needs clarity.

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲:
Resources DEPLETED, nothing left.
Response exhaustion.
Needs recovery.


The intervention failure matrix:
𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀
𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁
FAINT treated as FREEZE

Remove demands, give time
Resources available but still can't process.
No improvement.
Time wasted.
Problem unresolved.

FREEZE treated as FAINT
Provide clarity, expect response

Demands made on empty system.
Accelerates collapse.
Deepens exhaustion.
May cause permanent damage.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

Treating faint as freeze wastes time.
Treating freeze as faint causes harm.
Asking anything of a depleted system accelerates collapse.
Same behavior.
Opposite states.
Opposite interventions.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
And the worse half is very bad.

Protecting Your Asset & Maximizing Performance 

Over time, working with players and having access to information:
• Input (diet, sleep, lifestyle) and
• Output (training, physical and game metrics)
  ... you start to see patterns emerge.

Patterns that allow you to more accurately categorize the state of the performer.
Patterns I use across the board with executives or elite leaders ....

You can't see inside someone's head.
But you can read the signals.

And these are the most valuable asset you have.
They need to be protected and performance optimized.

𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀:
How long has this person been under sustained stress?
Was there a sudden novel event, or gradual exhaustion?
Have they been fighting/performing at high intensity prior to shutdown?
What's their recent load history?

𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀:
Is the situation confusing/unprecedented, or clearly understood but unresolvable?
Are they facing something new, or something familiar that won't change?
Did this come from a single overwhelming event, or accumulation?

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧 (𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺):
Sudden onset following novel/complex situation.
No prior signs of resource depletion.
Confusion energy - "I don't understand what's happening."
System was functioning well BEFORE this event.
Event was unprecedented or outside normal categories.
Asking clarifying questions (trying to process).

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 (𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺):
Gradual onset following sustained stress.
Prior visible fight/flight/fawn attempts.
Exhaustion energy—"I've tried everything."
Evidence of resource depletion (sleep issues, health decline, performance erosion).
Cumulative load, not single event.
Not asking questions—past that.
Person seems empty, not confused.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
FAINT = Sudden + Novel + Confusion + Capacity Present
FREEZE = Gradual + Cumulative + Exhaustion + Capacity Depleted

When in doubt, assume freeze.
Default to the less harmful error.

You can't see inside.
But you can read the history.
You can ask the right questions.
You can learn to recognize the pattern.

The diagnosis determines the intervention.
Get it right before you act.

Because these 𝗮𝗿𝗲 your most important assets.

Treat the Source. Not The System

I watched the head coach carefully
I was about to see a masterclass in leadership ....
𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁

The player was silent, Just sitting there
They were in 'complete processing overwhelm'.

The coach paused
They said nothing.
Let the noise settle.
Provided presence without demand.

Then
Slowly
Clarity.
They simplified the challenges
Explained the reason
Provided a framework.
"Here's what this is."
All in a very simple model for the player
Three steps was all the Head Coach asked for

Two days later, the player was back.

When you learn to see the difference between 'faint' and 'freeze'
You start to see how often interventions miss.


6 months later
Same coach.
Different player.
Same shutdown presentation.

But this player was depleted and exhausted not confused.
Coach gave him a week off.
Actually forced him to have a week off - banned him from the facility
Zero contact.
No expectations.
Handled his responsibilities.
Protected him from all demands.

Different state.
Different response.
Both worked.



𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:
State - Resources - Processing - Intervention - Avoid

𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧
Mobilized - Threat identified - Clear target, channel for energy, resolution path - Ambiguity, restraint without resolution

𝗙𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧
Mobilized - Exit-seeking - Exit path, permission to withdraw, safety - Blocked escape, forced engagement

𝗙𝗔𝗪𝗡
Mobilized - Appeasing - Safety signal, power equalization, acceptance - Continued threat, rejection

𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧
Present - Failed  - Clarity, framework, reduce novelty, interpretation  - Complexity, information overload, action demands

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘
Depleted - Succeeded - Recovery, time, zero demands, restoration - Any additional load, pressure, urgency


𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Simplify
Provide framework: "Here's what this is."
Reduce complexity: strip to essentials.
Lower novelty: connect to something familiar.
Give interpretation support: help them categorize.
Don't expect immediate response.
Don't add information—reduce it.

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Remove ALL demands.
Create protected space.
Allow time with no expectations.
Handle their responsibilities temporarily.
Don't ask how they're doing (that's a demand).
Don't offer solutions (that's a demand).
Just stop asking anything.




𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿.