What Does It Mean to be a SBW Woman?
There are many positives to being a Strong Black Woman. We are ingenious, confident, sassy and bold. By the same token there are drawbacks, perhaps the biggest one being that many women who see themselves as Strong Black Women will keep on keeping on even when they know they should stop. Neal-Barnett (2003).
Take the SBW Quiz:
You May Be Living on the SBW "Flip" Side if:
Ø You say almost daily - “I’ve got too much to do, I can’t stop right now” OR “I don’t have time to think about that right now” OR “I need a break”…and you don’t know how or rarely do and just...power through.
Ø You often say, "I'm tired" but may not be able to clearly explain in what ways? e.g., physically, emotionally, in general?
Ø You are "driven" and press on, in spite of... hyper-focused on completing a goal, proving yourself on the job; taking care of family, handling everything, or just plain staying busy most days, rarely have quiet moments, or taking an intentional pause.
Ø You rarely show or discuss your emotions during major life events, hold them in, feeling you have to stay in control of yourself, or not be in touch with your emotions or say, “getting upset won’t change anything; I’ll just pray about it”
Ø At some level you know you need to reach out for help/take action on medical, emotional, psychological, general daily tasks but tell yourself, “I can handle this” OR “I don’t want to worry anybody” OR “I don’t want people in my business.”
Ø You find yourself almost automatically taking charge of, doing for, or speaking for others; especially young adults or adult children.
Ø You find yourself frequently “helping” others and find it difficult to allow others to help, serve you.
Ø You eat well, exercise, live spiritually based but most times may not be able to identify your feelings, e.g., sad, happy, lonely, hurt, etc., so you frequently respond, “I’m good” when asked how you’re feeling.
If you honestly answered “yep! that’s me” to more than 3 of the SBW flip side behaviors, you are probably living life on the flip side of SBW and could be compromising your health and wellness.
No worries though, you’re in the right place and guess what….you’re not there by yourself!
The SBW Health & Wellness Workbook
- The SBW Work Book offers Black women with critical information about the "flip side"™ of the ethic. It includes the major SBW behaviors that continues to impact key aspects of our health and wellness, offers detail actions we can take and provides essential resources. Optimal use is in small sista' circles vs alone.
SBW Workshops & Retreats
We offer SBW "flip side"™ conversation based workshops and retreats to organizations serving Black women as well as small groups of Black women within communities; we share our connected SBW behaviors and learn the health, wellness and relationships impacts. Women leave with a deeper understanding of this cultural ethic and learn ways to take meaningful, long term action!
Join the SBW Conversation!
Contact us at: sbwproject96@gmail.com to book or join a workshop or retreat