He came back from three weeks in Portugal feeling almost like himself. Then Wednesday hit and he was right back where he started. Slow. Foggy. Dreading the simplest decisions. He thought he needed more rest. He had the wrong diagnosis entirely.

You came back from vacation rested. Two weeks later, you are right back where you started. Anxious. Reactive. Counting down to the next break. The vacation worked. Your nervous system did not. Here is what your body actually needed instead, and why no amount of time off is going to fix it.

It's 11:47 PM. You closed your laptop two hours ago. You did everything right. Your brain didn't get the memo. It's still running. Here's what neuroscience says is actually happening inside a leader who can't come down.