The Rest Revolution Hanging Up the Superwoman Cape
- Shakeeka Misher
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
The Night I Should’ve Been Sleeping
It was almost midnight. My flight was at six. Yet there I was wiping down counters, folding towels, and making sure my kids’ clothes were perfectly laid out.
You’d think I was prepping for a magazine shoot instead of a 4 a.m. airport run.
But as I moved from room to room, I caught my reflection in the mirror — puffy eyes, shoulders tense, brain buzzing — and I asked myself:
Why am I doing all this? Why can’t I rest?
It hit me… this wasn’t about a clean house. It was about control. About conditioning. About the quiet expectation that women, especially Black women, don’t stop.
🦸🏾♀️ The “Superwoman” Script We Didn’t Write
Let’s be honest, we inherited this hustle.
We watched our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and mentors carry worlds on their backs with no complaints. They taught us resilience, yes, but also over-responsibility.
They didn’t mean to teach burnout. They meant to teach strength, but society took that and rewrote it as “You can do it all, all the time.”
And we believed it.
So we keep the cape on even when our bodies are whispering: “Put it down, sis.”
We push through migraines, period pain, insomnia, and hormonal chaos because rest feels foreign, almost rebellious.
But here’s the truth I’ve learned as a nurse practitioner, a mother, and a woman in perimenopause:
Burnout is not a badge of honor. It’s a health crisis.
The Health Cost of Sleepless Nights
When we constantly sacrifice sleep for “doing,” our body doesn’t just get tired, it starts to malfunction.
Physically:
Cortisol (our stress hormone) stays high, leading to weight gain, bloating, and inflammation.
Hormones like estrogen and progesterone lose rhythm, worsening PMS, perimenopause symptoms, and mood swings.
The immune system weakens, leaving us more vulnerable to illness and fatigue.
Emotionally:
Sleep loss magnifies anxiety, irritability, and emotional reactivity.
We become short-tempered, overstimulated, and easily triggered often turning frustration inward.
Psychologically:
The brain can’t process clearly, impacting focus and creativity.
We lose the ability to find joy because chronic exhaustion blocks dopamine and serotonin balance.
This isn’t about “needing a nap.” It’s about what happens when the nervous system never gets a chance to reset.
The Cultural Layer: What Society Calls “Normal”
Let’s talk about how society has glamorized depletion.
We celebrate the woman who grinds nonstop. The one who “never misses a beat.” The one who always shows up — even when she’s running on fumes.
And when she finally collapses? We call her “strong” for surviving it.
But survival isn’t the same as living.
We’ve normalized functioning in burnout, when what we really deserve is balance.
The Shift: Transforming from Superwoman to Soft Power
It’s time to redefine what strength looks like. Not the kind that’s rooted in endurance, but in embodied leadership leading from wholeness, not depletion.
Here’s where we start:
1. Radical Rest as Resistance Rest is not weakness. It’s a sacred strategy. Schedule it. Honor it. Protect it.
2. Release the Guilt You don’t have to earn your rest. You already deserve it. Guilt is the lie that productivity equals worth.
3. Build Boundaries That Breathe Create structure around your capacity. The cape doesn’t have to be burned, it just needs a hanger.
4. Reconnect With Your Body Notice how your body signals exhaustion — tension, headaches, irritability, cravings. These aren’t flaws; they’re feedback.
5. Redefine “Strong” Strength isn’t how much you can carry, it’s how wisely you choose what’s worth carrying.
My Transparent Moment
I’ll be honest, I’m still learning this.
Some nights, I still default to doing too much. But more often now, I pause. I remind myself that my kids need a present mom, not a perfect one. That my patients need a provider who walks in wellness, not exhaustion. And that my calling thrives in clarity, not chaos.
I’m choosing rest, not as a luxury, but as leadership.
Because when women rest, we rise differently. We show up with more intention, more vision, and more power, the kind that doesn’t burn out, but builds.
Now Ask Yourself
What’s one “cape” you can hang up this week? 🧺 The late-night cleaning? 💻 The emails after 10 p.m.? 🤯 The mental load of trying to control every detail?
Drop your cape hanging in the comments or share this newsletter with a woman who needs the reminder that rest is revolutionary.
Your virtual cheerleader,
Shakeeka :)
Nurse Practitioner | Thryva Wellness
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