Why Does Trying Harder Sometimes Make Us Function Worse? 1 Burnout, Conscious Endurance, and the Limits of Regulation

Abstract

This preprint explores burnout through a neuropsychological lens, asking why increased effort can sometimes worsen functioning. It examines sustained cognitive and emotional load, reduced regulatory access, executive control, and recovery, framing burnout as a limit of regulation rather than a loss of motivation or competence. This version is a substantially revised and reframed development of Personal Failure and the Limits of Conscious Endurance: A Neuropsychological Account of Burnout.