Feeling stuck in a job I'm good at but is destroying me mentally and physically

Findapath-Career Change

Been a medical receptionist for over half a year now. My job is going great as far as anyone else can see. I learn quickly and often get compliments on my customer service. I really like my employer and my coworkers. The issue is, the job itself is just not right for me. Every day I act like everything is fine. I talk with my coworkers like I plan to stay long term, but I don't actually feel that I'm growing or using my strongest skills. I always appear happy to everyone, but I actually feel uneasy inside. The work is repetitive and every interaction drains me. I love helping people but I'm an introvert and I prefer to do things behind the scenes. A lot of patients get angry at me for asking so many questions. I feel even worse after the company expanded and the amount of appointments drastically increased. I've literally felt panic attacks right in the middle of speaking with a patient and yet I act like nothing's wrong.

On top of this, I feel uncomfortable being in a healthcare environment so often as I'm struggling with my own health conditions. I get triggered when a patient comes in with certain symptoms. It's draining me. My health has gotten so much worse since I started this job. I feel emotionally numb and have been getting a lot of brain fog, likely because I'm trying hard to detach from traumatic things that come up. My legs hurt from all the sitting. My fingers hurt from all the quick clicking I have to do because people are impatient. I get to leave work stuff at work, but I have little energy left when I'm home.

I struggled to get a job out of college and immediately took this one in hopes of exploring a new career field and moving up within the company. At first I was super excited to finally work full time and support myself, even though the wage is low. But now I'm realizing how little growth there is unless I take a clinical role. There are IT and analyst roles I'm interested in, but rarely any openings. It could take years...

I fear going back to the job market and depleting my savings, but I don't think I could feel worse than this. How do I leave? I don't want to burn bridges. I don't want to look like a liar. I don't have any good excuses except that I genuinely can't handle it physically and mentally anymore. I feel so stupid for acting like I've been okay this whole time.

Posted Dec 29, 2025, 3:13 AM UTC

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