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Rest Is Resistance: Caribbean Women and the Burnout We Didn’t Consent To

😩 The Lie of Endurance


“You can rest when you're done.”

“Keep going, you're strong.”

“You don’t have time to be tired.”


Many Caribbean women have grown up hearing these mantras. They are not just phrases they are survival codes. Codes handed down through colonization, poverty, slavery, and patriarchy. Codes that taught us to grind, endure, and never stop.


But here’s the truth: what once helped us survive is now making us sick.


📉 The Price of Performing Strength


According to Lewis et al. (2015), the chronic stress of racial discrimination and societal expectation significantly increases health risks in Black women. Caribbean women often carry these burdens silently working multiple jobs, raising children, supporting extended families, and still being labeled as “lazy” if they dare to slow down.

Williams et al. (2019) note that internalized racial and gender expectations can lead to sleep deprivation, hypertension, and emotional burnout.

Rest is not weakness. It’s a necessity we’ve been denied for far too long.


🛑 Why We Struggle to Stop


Even when we have the time to rest, many of us don’t know how.


Why?


Because we’ve attached our value to productivity.


If we are not fixing, doing, caring, or achieving, we fear we are nothing. This is the result of generational trauma and colonial indoctrination. And healing requires a radical shift in belief.


🌸 What NJCCS Addresses in Therapy


At NJCCS, Nada teaches Caribbean women that rest is not earned through collapse. It is your right. Therapy with Nada gently helps clients:


  • Challenge internalized hustle culture – exploring the roots of over-functioning and hyper-responsibility

  • Redefine worth – beyond titles, tasks, or productivity

  • Reconnect with the body – through somatic practices that prioritize stillness and presence

  • Set guilt-free boundaries – to reclaim time, space, and peace


I also use trauma-informed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to replace harmful beliefs like:


  • “I don’t deserve rest unless I’ve suffered”

  • “If I’m not useful, I’m worthless”

  • “Slowing down means falling behind”

💬 Healing With Nada: A Message from NJCCS


What if rest wasn’t a reward for your suffering, but a form of rebellion?


What if you could choose ease and still be worthy?


At NJCCS, I hold space for Caribbean women to step out of survival mode and into softness. You don’t have to earn rest.


You already deserve it.


🌙 You are not behind. You are just beginning. 🌙



Warm Regards,


 

Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker


Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services - Online phone and video sessions available

Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue

C: 437-887-6146


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📚 References

Cooper, B. (2017). Eloquent rage: A Black feminist discovers her superpower. St. Martin’s Press.

Lewis, T. T., Cogburn, C. D., & Williams, D. R. (2015). Self-reported experiences of discrimination and health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 11, 407–440. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112728

Williams, D. R., Lawrence, J. A., & Davis, B. A. (2019). Racism and health: Evidence and needed research. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 105–125. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750


Want More Support for Your Professional & Personal Growth?

🔷Try Potential Unlocked™


In addition to counseling, NJCCS offers coaching through our sister brand, Potential Unlocked™, designed specifically for professional women navigating career, leadership, and life transitions.


We support clients with:

  • Communication and conflict strategy in the workplace

  • Career development and leadership coaching

  • Navigating workplace dynamics and burnout recovery

  • Building confidence in both personal and professional relationships (Online dating empowerment coaching, because personal growth impacts professional life too!)


👉 Visit www.potentialunlocked.ca to learn more or book a free 10-minute consultation call.



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