The Physical Symptoms of Stress I Explained Away Even Though I Loved My Job
Why Chronic Stress Doesn’t Always Look Like Burnout
I used to think chronic stress would be obvious. I thought it would look like hating your job, dreading every Monday, or feeling permanently overwhelmed.
This was not my experience.
Can Stress Happen When You Like Your Job?
I liked my work. I cared about doing it well. I had great colleagues and an amazing boss. And still, over time, my body began to show signs that something was becoming unsustainable.
As I have mentioned elsewhere, I spent nearly 30 years in finance and HR. I started in an accounts practice. I have a logical mind and accounting spoke to me. Eventually I made a move that so many in similar positions make. I moved into industry.
Industry was a totally different beast but I loved it. I took on additional responsibilities in HR and administration, eventually becoming Company Secretary.
Because I thought the world of my colleagues and my boss, I wanted to always do my best and never let anyone down.
The Symptoms I Explained Away
This commitment created a type of stress that was gradual, and unlike anything I had experienced before. I had all the typical manifestations of an overloaded nervous system, but I rationalised every single one:
Headaches? Normal, surely. Just a busy week or I haven’t drunk enough water.
Tight shoulders? Poor posture or sitting awkwardly at my desk.
Weight gain? Sitting at a desk all the time. Not moving enough and eating too much.
Tiredness and sleep issues? Hormones, age, or screens too close to bedtime.
Fast heartbeat? A fleeting moment of anxiety (or a worry that I was having a heart attack).
Because each explanation was so plausible on its own, I dismissed the bigger picture. It’s part of why I now work with high-functioning professionals at Clarashi, because I’ve been the person explaining away the signals.
When Physical Symptoms Should Be Checked Medically
While it is easy to rationalise these physical signals, it is vital to rule out underlying medical conditions first. If you are experiencing persistent changes in your heart rate, sudden weight fluctuations, chronic fatigue, or unmanageable headaches, your first step should always be a thorough check-up with a medical professional. Realising my stress was psychological didn’t mean the physical impact wasn’t real. It meant my nervous system was stuck in survival mode. Once medical causes are ruled out, we can look at the deeper pattern.
What I Now Understand About Chronic Stress
After leaving my job, I began to realise that I had been treating each symptom as an isolated problem, when they were all part of the same pattern.
Many capable people do the exact same thing. They do not ignore their bodies because they are foolish; they ignore them because alternative explanations are so plausible.
In my career I was trained to spot patterns, reconcile accounts, understand discrepancies, and notice when figures didn’t make sense. Yet in my own body the “accounts” were not being reconciled and I was ignoring the deficit.
Stress doesn’t always come from hating your job, your career, or your life. Sometimes it comes from caring too much, for too long, without realising the impact on your body.
A Question To Ask Yourself
If you find yourself explaining away your own physical symptoms, here is the question I invite you to ask yourself:
If a friend or colleague brought me an “account” of their life showing this exact level of physical deficit, would I tell them it balances out, or would I tell them they are running at a loss?
Look at your body’s data without the justification of “but I love my job.” Loving the work doesn’t exempt your nervous system from the laws of exhaustion.