Rest or Risk it All
The Cost of Burnout for Black Women in America
On April 21st, Quita Cole made a simple post on Facebook: “I’m taking the next 3 days off. Quita need rest.” She never woke up from the rest she finally allowed herself.
Quita Cole, a 40-year-old Black woman, worked seven days a week. Like many women of color, she gave and gave, until her body could no longer keep up with her spirit. She took a nap after finally taking time off, and tragically never woke up. Her story, now circulating widely online, is more than tragic. It is a devastating wake-up call.
This story echoes loudly alongside Tyler Perry’s new film Straw, a haunting narrative about a Black woman pushed beyond the brink of emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion. Perry has long been a voice in showcasing the quiet suffering of Black women who are conditioned to carry the weight of the world while masking their own needs. The timing of this film is chillingly aligned with the real-life loss of Quita Cole.
Black Women & the Burnout Epidemic
According to a 2023 study from the American Psychological Association, Black women are disproportionately impacted by chronic stress, with 67% reporting feeling physically exhausted most days. A separate report from the CDC reveals that Black women have a 60% higher rate of high blood pressure than white women, a condition directly linked to overwork, lack of sleep, and unmanaged stress.
The Superwoman schema, coined by Dr. Cheryl Giscombé, explains how many Black women feel obligated to appear strong, suppress emotions, succeed despite limited resources, and help others, all while denying themselves rest. The cost? Their lives.
Burnout doesn’t just affect the body, it fractures the mind and depletes the spirit. Mentally, it can lead to anxiety, brain fog, and clinical depression. Physically, it manifests as chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalance, weakened immunity, and life-threatening conditions like heart disease. Spiritually, it detaches us from our inner peace, purpose, and power. We begin to operate on autopilot, numbing through productivity, until our body calls for stillness, often too late.
Quita Cole’s death is a direct example of what happens when rest is treated as a luxury instead of a necessity.
When Rest Becomes Radical
In a culture that glorifies the grind, especially in communities where being twice as good is the baseline, Black women are burning out at alarming rates. We’re praised for pushing through; but rarely protected when we break down.
Rest is not laziness. Rest is resistance. Rest is revolutionary.
Tyler Perry’s Straw doesn’t glamorize pain. It peels back the mask. The lead character in the film cracks under pressure, not because she’s weak, but because she’s human. She is every woman who’s ever worked herself into invisibility.
Quita Cole was every woman too.
We Must Stop Waiting for a Crisis to Choose Ourselves
It shouldn’t take a collapse. It shouldn’t take a nap that becomes permanent. And it shouldn’t take a movie or a Facebook status to finally give ourselves permission to slow down.
You don’t have to earn your rest.
You don’t have to wait until you’re falling apart to take a break.
You don’t have to die proving your worth.
Let Quita’s story be a sacred warning. Let Tyler Perry’s Straw be a cultural mirror. And let this moment be the one where we, as Black women, stop apologizing for choosing rest.
A Word From Flowing Lotus Center
At Flowing Lotus, we hold space for the healers, the mothers, the leaders, and the overdoers. We offer therapy, mindfulness practices, and wellness services that allow Black women to reconnect with their breath, their needs, and their worth.
If you see yourself in Quita’s story, we see you. If you’re nearing burnout, we are here. And if you’re finally ready to rest, without guilt or fear, let us help you reclaim that power.
Visit Flowing Lotus Center Booking Site to schedule a session today. Your life depends on it.
