December 9th, 2025
SE1 E2: Take Your Rest –
Softness as Survival Strategy
We kick off our second episode by diving into a radical truth: Black Women deserve rest.
In a world that celebrates busyness and expects us to be endlessly strong, reclaiming rest is an act of survival and resistance.
We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, and the “Strong Black Woman” stereotype — and explore how self-compassion can be the key to healing and wholeness.
Key Takeaways
- The Strong Black Woman trope is a double edged sword
- Systemic oppression is ageing us faster than others and making us more severely mentally ill
- We can be socialized into thinking rest is wrong and overwork is the norm
- Rest and self compassion work well together
- The importance of a rest audit
- Different personalities require different rest
- The more self compassionate we can be, the more compassionate we can be to others
- Rest is not laziness — it’s medicine
- Burnout shows up in mind, body, and spirit — and it’s not a personal failing
Reflective Prompts
- Think about the person you most cherish/feel the most fiercely protective of, if they were going through what you are going through, how would you encourage them to be more self compassionate and now consider that for you
- Take a self care/rest audit: Which areas are you energised in? Which areas are you drained in? What can you do to rebalance or to shift? Are you up to date on your medical check ups?
- Ask yourself: what do I need right now? What is it that I’m wanting? What is it that’s going to allow me to know that I matter? What’s going to help me to show up well?
Research
Attribution
Song: Rainy Days – PremiumMusicOdyssey
Music provided by Pixabay
Free Download/Stream: https://pixabay.com/music/beats-rainy-days-231322/
Stay in Touch
FOLLOW MARYANE
Website: https://www.edenrelationships.co.uk/
FOLLOW VANETTA
Website: https://blueprintway.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanettamorrison/
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