Hlava mi to sice nebrala,

English translation: Although my head could not process it,

17:05 Sep 28, 2019
Czech to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Other / Interview - conversation
Czech term or phrase: Hlava mi to sice nebrala,
I am doing an unpaid voluntary translation for ISPN.

This is an interview with a homeless vendor who it talking about how he walked out of his job because of stress.
I am just not sure on "Hlava mi to sice nebrala". Is it something like "it didn't completely break me [my spirit]"? Seems quite colloquial to me and so I want to make sure I have it right for publication.

Pracoval jsem v restauraci jako kuchař.
Zahodil jsem všechno za hlavu, prostě to dál nešlo.
Hlava mi to sice nebrala, ale bylo to pro mě důležitý.
Bál jsem se, že bych z toho stresu zase skončil v Bohnicích...

My draft:
I was working as a chef in a restaurant.
Everything was getting on top of me. It just couldn’t go on.
XXX... and that was important to me.
I was worried that I would end up in Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital because of the stress...
Jemma Pullen
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:25
English translation:Although my head could not process it,
Explanation:
for example
Selected response from:

Michaela Bordessoule
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:25
Grading comment
Thank you. This has helped me to develop a translation on this basis.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1Although (doing) it seemed unreasonable,
Jiri Lonsky
4 +1Although my head could not process it,
Michaela Bordessoule
5it didn't make sense to me
Lubosh Hanuska
5Although I could not wrap my head around it
Vojtěch Schubert


Discussion entries: 7





  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Although my head could not process it,


Explanation:
for example

Michaela Bordessoule
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:25
Native speaker of: Native in CzechCzech
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you. This has helped me to develop a translation on this basis.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Martin König: Or "comply with", but agree anyway.
2 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Hlava mi to sice nebrala
it didn't make sense to me


Explanation:
Even though it didn't make sense to me, it was also important to me.

Lubosh Hanuska
Australia
Local time: 02:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SlovakSlovak
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your help.

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1 day 16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Although (doing) it seemed unreasonable,


Explanation:
I offer here a reworked version of your proposed translation, with a comment below:

I have been working as a chef in a restaurant.
I quit and left everything behind, I just couldn’t go on.
Although doing it seemed unreasonable, it was important to me.
I was worried that I would end up in Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital again because of the stress...

Note that "quit" does not appear explicitly in the source, but it is implied in "leaving everything behind", given the context, and makes for a more coherent target.
The "hlava mi to sice nebrala" refers to the discordance between the person's (emotion-driven) decision and his awareness that it did not make (rational) sense.

Jiri Lonsky
Czech Republic
Local time: 16:25
Native speaker of: Native in CzechCzech, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your input.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Elizabeth Spacilova
1 day 19 hrs
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4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Although I could not wrap my head around it


Explanation:
An idiom which comes to my mind immediately.

Vojtěch Schubert
Czech Republic
Local time: 16:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Czech
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you. I appreciate it.

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