The Stress We Know; The Science We Don’t.

by Jade Singleton

"My nerves is bad..."

If you're a Black woman of a certain age, you've likely heard it. Can you remember the first time? Maybe it was your grandmother, sitting at the kitchen table after a long day. Maybe it was your mama, holding her head in her hands when she thought no one was looking. Maybe it was your auntie, explaining why she needed to lie down in a dark room during the family gathering.

For generations, we've used these words to describe something deeper than stress or anxiety. It’s exhaustion—physical, emotional, generational.

I became obsessed with my nerves when I noticed small white spots spreading across my torso, growing larger by the day. When I finally saw a dermatologist, he took one look and said, “We’ll test it—but it’s vitiligo.”

No family history. No clear environmental triggers. Every article, every study I found pointed to one thing: stress.

A 2010 study found that Black women process and internalize stress differently than white women. The research suggests that chronic stress accelerates biological aging in Black women—a process known as weathering.

I wanted to dig deeper. Beyond the stats I’d seen a million times, beyond the buzzwords, I needed to understand what functionally happens when we weather.

The Hormone Behind It All

Reading Cortisol: The Master Hormone by Wibe Wagemans and Dr. Ioana Bina, I finally saw the science behind what we’ve always known in our bodies. Chronic stress and generational trauma don’t just weigh on us emotionally—they reshape us at a cellular level.

Cortisol, the body's main stress hormone, is meant to protect us in moments of danger. But when it stays high for too long, it becomes a silent killer. Heart disease. Diabetes. Obesity. Depression. Even early death. Black women suffer from these conditions at alarming rates, and the common thread is stress.

And it doesn’t stop with us. Studies show that trauma leaves a biological imprint, passed down through generations. We aren’t just carrying our own stress; we’re carrying the stress of our mothers, our grandmothers, and the women before them who endured, survived, and never had the space to rest.

This isn’t just theory—it’s in the numbers:

• Black women are 2-3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.

• 60% more likely to have high blood pressure.

• More likely to develop heart disease at younger ages.

• Experiencing higher rates of anxiety and depression.

I love our sayings, the way they hold generations of wisdom. But this is one I want us to retire.

I developed stress-induced vitiligo, and as my melanin retreats, I am more committed than ever to making sure we stop dying from preventable, cortisol-driven conditions.

No more strokes in our 40s.
No more high blood pressure going unchecked until it’s too late.
No more suffering in silence because we’ve been taught that stress is just part of who we are.

It’s time to break the cycle. Not just for us, but for the daughters and granddaughters who deserve to inherit something different.

That’s why I’m writing My Nerves Is Bad with certified neurological trainer Lauren Dike—backed by science, shaped by our shared experiences. Because we deserve to understand our stress, heal our bodies, and reclaim our wholeness. The stats and facts are bad. We get it. It’s time to get to some solutions.

 *******
IKONI Collective is self-funded. Support our initiative to develop just-in-time solutions for Black working women who battle an 88% burnout rate. As Black women, we receive less than 0.01% in funding for our concepts and ideas - even if they succeed. We’re bootstrapping. Help us get boots.