Carrying the Unseen: How to Navigate the Emotional Weight of Systemic Oppression

You’re Not “Too Sensitive”—You’re Carrying Too Much

If you’ve ever sat in silence after a microaggression, held your tongue in a meeting, or walked through the world feeling like you have to constantly explain or shrink yourself... you're likely carrying the emotional weight of systemic oppression.

And it’s exhausting.

The grief, the anger, the numbness, the shame—it all builds up. And because it’s often invisible to others (especially those with more privilege), you start to wonder if it’s “just you.”

It’s not.

Oppression doesn’t just exist out there—in policies, institutions, or headlines. It lives in your nervous system. It shapes how safe (or unsafe) it feels to show up as your full self. Let’s name it. Let’s understand it. And most importantly, let’s start to soften the weight.

Understanding the Emotional Weight of Systemic Oppression

This isn’t your everyday stress. The emotional weight of systemic oppression is the accumulated impact of navigating a world that constantly questions or devalues your identity. It’s not just about “bad experiences”—it’s about chronic emotional labour.

It shows up in ways that feel deeply personal:

• Anxiety in “professional” (read: white, able-bodied, heteronormative) spaces

• Guilt for resting when the grind culture says your worth is in your output

• Overexplaining yourself to avoid being misunderstood

• Feeling unsafe to express anger, sadness, or even joy

• Shrinking to avoid taking up “too much” space

  
  

And here’s the kicker: when these systems gaslight you, it’s easy to gaslight yourself. You internalise the shame. You carry the pain in your body and start believing you’re the problem.

But healing is possible. Not by pretending the systems don’t exist—but by finding ways to reconnect with your worth, your body, and your voice.

Practical Exercises to Lighten the Load

These practices aren’t meant to “fix” you. You’re not broken. These are tools to help you reclaim emotional space in a world that keeps trying to erase it.

1. The “I’m Not Making This Up” Journal 

Create a running list of moments when you’ve questioned your reality. Underneath each one, write:

• What happened

• How it made you feel

• Why it wasn’t just “in your head”

• What you needed in that moment

  
  

📍This builds internal validation—a powerful antidote to chronic gaslighting.

2. Body Check-Ins (Especially After Code-Switching or Shrinking Yourself) 

Pause after a draining interaction. Ask yourself:

• What’s happening in my body right now?

• Am I holding tension in my jaw, shoulders, stomach?

• What would feel regulating right now—breathing, shaking, stretching, lying down?

📍This helps you reconnect with your body as a safe home, not just a container for survival.

3. The “This System Lied to Me” List 

Split a page in two. On the left, list beliefs you’ve internalised (e.g. “I have to work twice as hard,” “Rest is lazy,” “I need to be less emotional”). On the right, write your truth.

Example: Left: “I need to be palatable to be accepted.” Right: “I’m allowed to take up space, even if others feel uncomfortable.”

📍This turns self-blame into clarity, and clarity into power.

4. Name Your Grief Without Apology 

Oppression causes loss of safety, innocence, dignity, and even hope. Set a timer for 5 minutes and finish the sentence: “I’m grieving…” Write until you’re empty.

Then breathe. You’ve just made space for what’s been sitting silently in your chest.

📍Naming grief is resistance. It says: This matters. I matter.

You Weren’t Meant to Carry This Alone

The emotional weight of systemic oppression is real, and you don’t have to muscle through it alone. You deserve spaces where you’re not asked to tone it down, make it make sense, or be “resilient.”

You deserve care. Space. Safety. You deserve therapy that honours your lived experience—and helps you build tools that work for you, not against you.

Want to explore that kind of healing space? Let’s talk.

Here’s how you can take the next step: Book a 1:1 therapy session with me