![]() ![]() These things were weighing them down in a profound way. “I wrote ‘Nobody Knows’ because time after time I was encountering Black women who were showing up wonderfully for the outside world while silently suffering with everything from loneliness, dissatisfaction with their relationships, unresolved childhood trauma, family drama, racism and sexism at work, feeling not good enough and more. When those feelings are left unaddressed, they can grow into bigger problems and start to affect all areas of your life, such as school, work, family and relationships.” Why did you write this book? But pretending doesn’t make the feelings go away. It’s pretending the sadness, worry, hurt and disappointment aren’t there. It’s holding painful experiences - like trauma - in shame and secrecy. “For too long, being strong has meant avoiding or denying how you really feel. It is pushing down the pain and putting on a smile no matter what we’ve been through.” What is the price of that? It is our ability to hold our head up high and eagerly accept the challenge whenever anybody questions our talents or capability. It is our deep faithfulness and ability to get right on back on our feet no matter how many times we are knocked down. It is our fierce love for friends, family and community - often at the sacrifice of our own needs. It is our hustle, grit and ability to get things done. It is such a deeply embedded way of life, we often don’t know any other way to be. ![]() What is the iconic strong Black woman?īurnett-Zeigler: “Many Black women - including myself - wear the badge of strong Black woman with honor. She spoke with Northwestern Now recently. ![]() She has two decades of clinical experience helping people with stress, trauma, anxiety and depression. Inger Burnett-Zeigler is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. Then she shows them how to adopt practices for body and mind health. Rather than maintaining the cultural expectation of being strong, which can lead to anxiety, depression, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and more, Burnett-Zeigler offers Black women a new framework in which to understand how their life experiences have impacted them. Burnett-Zeigler describes the different types of trauma Black women often endure - intergenerational trauma, childhood trauma, abusive relationships, pregnancy trauma - through her own personal stories and the stories of family members and clients. But when Black women cling to that image rather than acknowledging and addressing the stress and trauma so many have experienced, they may experience mental and physical problems, says Northwestern Medicine clinical psychologist Inger Burnett-Zeigler.īurnett-Zeigler wants to help them confront their pain and suffering, and learn tools for coping through her new book, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women (Amistad, June 29, 2021.)”Īn estimated eight out of 10 Black women have experienced some form of trauma. ![]()
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