How Faith and Purpose Anchor My Self Care

Self care is not a luxury. It is essential. For far too long, many of us have believed that caring for others required sacrificing our own well being. In my journey, I discovered that self care is actually a command rooted in purpose and aligned with our faith. When Black women lead mission driven organizations, envision public health initiatives, or stand on stages advocating for equity, embracing self care becomes an act of strength, resistance, and intention.

Why Self Care Matters for Black Women in Public Health and STEM

Our communities carry a heavy weight of expectation, often to perform, produce, and prove even while we navigate grief, structural inequities, and systemic pressures. For Black women in leadership roles, especially in fields like public health, policy, and data centered work, the expectation to deliver results can overshadow the need to simply breathe and rest. Burnout is not a badge of honor. It is a signal. A sign that the vessel needs restoration.

By reframing self care as sacred stewardship across physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial health, we reclaim our worth not based on output but on identity. This shift not only protects our individual wellness; it strengthens our ability to lead with clarity, compassion, and resilience. When we honor our own needs, we expand our capacity to uplift others, build legacy rooted organizations, and anchor communities in healing and purpose.

Faith, Wellness, Purpose: A Trilogy That Sustains

Self Care as Sacred Stewardship

My faith taught me that caring for myself while caring for others is not a contradiction. It is a command. For years I believed that serving others required sacrificing myself completely. I once wore exhaustion as evidence of love and commitment. Over time, God taught me a different truth. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our health is sacred. To neglect ourselves is to dishonor the vessel entrusted to us.

Even Jesus modeled balance. He healed, taught, and served tirelessly, yet He withdrew to quiet places to pray and rest. That rest was not weakness. It was wisdom. God revealed to me that wellness is worship.

Boundaries as a Spiritual Practice

As I grew in my faith, the idea of self care transformed. It became alignment rather than indulgence. Beginning my day in prayer, nourishing my body, and protecting my mental health allow me to pour from a full cup. Saying “no” when I am depleted is not selfish. It is obedient. It preserves my energy and my purpose.

In spaces focused on performance and productivity, such as conferences, universities, leadership summits, or high pressure meetings, I choose presence rather than pressure. I model rhythms of rest and reflection. I openly discuss therapy, mental health, sacred rest, and boundaries not as luxuries but as essentials.

When rest becomes resistance, healing becomes liberation, and worthiness becomes identity, cultures shift from burnout to nourishment, from survival to thriving.

Rebuilding After Burnout: My Story of Restoration

During graduate school, I reached one of the lowest points in my life. I was balancing full time work, intense academic expectations, and profound grief after losing both of my grandmothers. I believed pushing harder would save me. Instead, I hit a wall. I failed three classes and was placed on academic probation. My sense of identity felt shattered.

In that moment, I had to admit I was not okay. Admitting that felt like failure, especially for someone who had built an identity on resilience. Yet in that vulnerability, grace found me.

Healing began with community. Therapy and spiritual counseling became lifelines. Mentors and friends reminded me that worthiness was not tied to accomplishment. I learned to say “yes” to rest without guilt and “no” to obligations that drained me.

My rebuilding happened slowly. Prayer, reflection, rest, nourishment, and grace carried me forward. Burnout taught me that something in my life needed realignment, not punishment or self blame.

Thriving is not about doing more. It is about living whole. It is choosing rhythms that restore rather than routines that deplete.

Why Rest, Healing, and Worthiness Matter

I want every Black woman to hear this truth. You are worthy of rest. You are worthy of healing. You are worthy, full stop.

For generations, many of us have been expected to be everything for everyone. Strong. Resilient. Unbreakable. Strength without rest becomes survival, and survival is not thriving.

Rest is not a prize at the end of a list. It is a rhythm designed by the Creator. If God paused after creation, why do we think we cannot pause too?

Healing is wisdom. It is the decision not to live wounded. Worthiness is identity, not effort. It is inherited, not earned.

When we embrace rest as resistance, healing as liberation, and worthiness as identity, we open space for joy, clarity, peace, and purpose. We shift from scarcity to alignment.

Bringing Faith and Wellness into Spaces Focused on Productivity

Professional environments often measure worth through performance, promotion, and productivity. But what if we redefined success?

What if success meant showing up whole rather than perfect? What if productivity included rest, alignment, and humanity?

I bring faith and wellness into high pressure spaces by embodying them. I start meetings with breathing, reflection, or grounding practices. I share my burnout story transparently. I model boundaries and sacred rhythms.

Wellness becomes a bridge rather than a barrier. Rest becomes a strategy rather than a weakness. People begin to understand that clarity, creativity, and compassion flow from restoration.

My goal is always the same. To create cultures where people thrive, not just perform.

• Is self care selfish?

  No. Self care is stewardship. It honors the body and mind God entrusted to you.

• Does rest weaken ambition?

  No. Rest actually strengthens ambition by renewing clarity, creativity, and emotional resilience.

• How does faith connect with wellness?

  Faith reframes wellness as sacred. It invites balance, alignment, and intentional rhythms rooted in identity rather than performance.

• What is the role of therapy and boundaries?

  Therapy offers tools for emotional healing and resilience. Boundaries protect energy, prioritize peace, and support mental clarity.

• Can leaders embrace rest and still pursue purpose?

  Absolutely. Rest makes purposeful leadership sustainable. A whole leader builds whole communities.

If you are a Black woman leading a mission centered organization, advancing public health work, navigating STEM spaces, or cultivating equity in your community, remember this: You deserve rest. You deserve healing. You deserve wellness. You deserve to thrive.

Self care is not separate from your purpose. It strengthens your purpose. It deepens your leadership. It expands your legacy.

Book Dr Zenobia Bryant Antoine for your next speaking engagement and transform how your community understands thriving, healing, and whole leadership.