When the Job Becomes the Wound:
Naming Workplace Trauma
There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t go away with sleep. It lingers in your body, clouds your thoughts, sharpens your emotions, and dims your spirit. For a long time, I didn’t have language for it. I just thought I needed to push through, work harder, smile more, be less "sensitive," less "intense," more of something and less of something else.
It wasn’t until I left the toxic work environment that I began to see clearly: I had been experiencing workplace trauma.
What is Workplace Trauma?
Workplace trauma is not always the result of one single event. Sometimes it’s the slow, daily erosion of your dignity. It’s being passed over, talked over, gaslit, micromanaged, or isolated. It’s working in a place where your value is constantly questioned, but your voice is never truly heard. It’s showing up every day in an environment that denies you support while blaming you for the very dysfunction you’re trapped in.
This trauma doesn’t clock out when you do.
It follows you home. It shows up in your body—headaches, tension, fatigue. It invades your mind—sleepless nights, overthinking, self-doubt. It wears down your emotions—anger, anxiety, numbness. And for many of us, it fractures something even deeper: our spirit
The Invisible Burden Black Women Carry
The not so Invisible Burden.
We navigate environments where bias—both subtle and overt—chips away at our sense of belonging.
As a Black woman, the weight of workplace trauma is often intensified. We navigate environments where bias—both subtle and overt—chips away at our sense of belonging. We’re labeled “difficult,” “aggressive,” or “unapproachable” for asserting ourselves, while others are praised for their “leadership.” We are told to shrink ourselves to fit into systems that were never built for us in the first place.
And the most dangerous part? Many of us don’t realize it’s trauma.
We normalize it. We internalize it. We spiritualize it. We pray harder, serve more, take on extra projects, and still wonder why we feel broken. We tell ourselves we’re just burnt out, or maybe we are the problem. I believed that too—until I stepped away.
Clarity in the Exit
Leaving that environment gave me perspective. I stopped hearing the constant echo of "you're the problem" and started to hear my own voice again. I could feel my nervous system calm, my body start to heal, and my spirit slowly return. Only then did I recognize the emotional abuse I had endured and the systemic patterns that enabled it.
My healing began not in a resignation letter, but in reclaiming my truth.
Healing Is a Journey, Not a Destination
Workplace trauma is real, and it leaves real scars. But we don’t have to carry them alone or in silence. We can name it. We can heal from it. We can choose spaces that affirm our humanity and refuse to shrink who we are.
If you're reading this and some part of it feels familiar, let me say this plainly: You're not imagining it. You’re not too sensitive. And you are not the problem.
You are powerful. You are worthy. And you deserve to be well—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Inktrospective Takeaway:
Start noticing how your body reacts to your workplace—our bodies often speak the truth we try to ignore.
Journal your experiences without editing them. Write your truth, even if it’s just for your eyes.
Seek support—whether from a therapist, coach, faith community, or trusted sister circle.
Know that leaving doesn’t mean you failed. Sometimes leaving is the bravest, most necessary form of self-care.
To My Sisters:
Our stories matter. Our healing matters. May we learn to recognize workplace trauma, speak its name, and reclaim our power one truth at a time.
#InkandInktrospection
#WorkplaceHealing
#BlackWomenDeserveBetter
#HealingIsRevolutionary