Sis, You’re Not Broken—You’re Just Carrying Too Much

Let’s talk.

Not the polished, social-media-ready version of us. I’m talking to the part of you that cries in the shower, that holds it together for everybody else, that wakes up tired even after sleeping. The part that says, “I’m fine” when you’re anything but. This letter is for you.

It’s BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month, and while there’s a lot of talk out there about resilience and self-care, I want to talk to the women who haven’t even made it to the starting line. The ones who haven’t named what they’re going through. The ones who’ve swallowed pain so long, it started tasting normal.

You may not call it depression.

You just say you’re tired. Worn down. Over it.

You may not say you have anxiety.
You just stay up scrolling with your mind racing, heart pounding, dreading tomorrow before it even begins.

You may not admit trauma.
You just avoid certain people, certain places, certain memories—like it’s nothing. Like that doesn’t cost you something.

But here’s the truth, sis:

Avoidance ain’t healing. Denial don’t make it disappear. And strong Black and Brown women deserve to feel whole too—not just functional.

We’ve been taught to push through. We watched mamas, aunties, grandmas survive by staying silent and keeping busy. But silence ain't salvation. It’s time to break that generational curse with gentleness and grace.

So if nobody else has said it, let me be the one:

• You’re not crazy. You’re carrying trauma that was never yours to begin with.

• You’re not weak. You’re finally tired of pretending it doesn’t hurt.

• You don’t need to be perfect. You just need permission to feel.

Here’s what I want you to do this month—not for me, not even for your family. For you.

✨ Say the thing out loud. “I think I might be struggling with my mental health.”
✨ Let someone witness your truth—therapist, sister-friend, journal, somebody.
✨ Rest like it’s sacred. Because it is.

And if you're ready to begin the healing journey, you're not alone. I built Rise and Thrive for this exact reason—to give women like us space to exhale, reflect, and rise again.

We ain’t fixing broken things. We’re reclaiming the parts of us that got buried under responsibility, shame, and survival.

You are worthy of peace, sis. Not just productivity. Not just being needed. Peace.

With so much love,
— Dr. Tye
Founder, Rise and Thrive
“Grace over Grind. Always.”