Opt Into Private Joy: How to Heal Without the Audience

In this episode of Black Girl Burnout, Kelley explores the pressure to make wellness a performance and reminds you that your healing doesn’t need an audience. She offers a gentle invitation to reclaim private joy, protect your peace, and let your journey be sacred—away from the constant pull of comparison culture.

Key Takeaways

• Healing loses power when it becomes performance; keep parts of your journey private to preserve its sacredness.
• Comparison culture can worsen burnout and keep you from authentic rest and joy.
• A slower, quieter approach to growth often leads to deeper, more sustainable healing.
• Joy is something to be lived, not proven or posted.

Episode Highlights

00:30 – Why Kelley sees September as a time to recommit to wellness and rest

03:00 – The tension between sharing your healing publicly and keeping it private

05:11 – The hidden cost of performing healing online and how it fuels burnout

07:54 – The quiet strength of women who choose slower, softer, more solid healing

09:37 – Why joy is meant to be lived, not performed for an audience

Listen and Reflect

As you listen, consider:

• Where in your healing or wellness journey are you performing instead of truly tending to yourself?
• What would it look like to keep one practice, ritual, or step of your growth completely private—for you alone?
• How might moving slower or softer feel more solid and sustainable?

Take a moment this week to choose one area of your life to keep offstage. Let it be yours, sacred and whole, without needing validation or visibility.

Support the Show

Are you stepping into a “Summer of No”? Whether you’re canceling plans for rest, setting fresh boundaries, or saying no to what drains you, you don’t owe anyone guilt. Take a moment this week to capture what freedom looks like for you. Snap a pic or video of your joy and tag us:

📱 @blackgirlburnout

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📺 Watch the episode on YouTube

💌 Show some love—don’t let Kelley’s mama be the only one dropping hearts!

Have a question for our upcoming Q&A episode? [Click here to submit your questions!]

Stay In Touch

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• Join our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.
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