When the Workplace Becomes the Wound.

There is a hidden cost of staying too long in spaces that harm us. I'm sharing part of my journey in hopes that it helps someone else. Trauma Warning: mention of suicidal ideations.

“Claire, it’s either your job or your life. You choose, but eventually, that choice may no longer be yours.”

That’s what my doctor told me.

She said it with care, but those words landed hard. And even though I knew she was right, I didn’t leave right away. I couldn’t. I tried. I applied to jobs, I networked, I prayed for a door to open, but nothing. When you live in a high-cost city without a safety net and your health insurance, housing, and basic security are tied to your paycheck, leaving isn’t so simple.

So I stayed. And it nearly cost me everything.

It cost me my womb. It cost me my peace, my immune system, my sleep, my clarity, relationships, and at times, even my will to live.

And I’m not alone.

The Hidden Health Cost of Harm

Workplace trauma doesn’t clock out when you do.

It follows you home. It sits in your chest. It steals your sleep. It isolates you from joy, from people, from hope. And for many, it’s not as easy as just “leaving a bad job” because the alternative can mean financial insecurity, risking retaliation, or stepping into another system that isn’t built to support you either.

Toxic workplaces, unchecked discrimination, and unhealthy relationships don’t just hurt feelings, they wear on the body and break us down from the inside out. Research links prolonged workplace stress, racism, and systemic harm to a host of serious health challenges:

• Autoimmune disease

• Insomnia and disordered sleep

• Cardiovascular issues

• Disordered eating

• Anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion

• Burnout and cognitive impairment.

  
  

This is not just a personal crisis, it’s a public health and organizational crisis. When employees are suffering, organizations suffer, too: through lost talent and innovation, increased healthcare costs and absenteeism, reduced morale, and cultural deterioration. But beyond productivity metrics, we must remember:

Every statistic represents a person. A life. A body absorbing harm.

The Myth of Resilience

Everyday, people navigating toxic workplaces and relationships are told to push through. To be strong. To be grateful for the job. To smile through racism, gaslighting, and toxicity. To keep going, even when it’s killing us.

This myth of resilience gets wrapped in language like professionalism, grit, or “culture fit.” But what it really rewards is silence and self-abandonment. Especially for women. Especially for Black, Brown, disabled, queer, immigrant, and global majority leaders. Especially when the harm comes from both people and the systems they protect.

We Need Culture Change, Not Coping Tools

Wellness isn’t yoga in the break room or sending a mindfulness app link after your staff cries in a meeting. Real organizational wellness demands real accountability: 

✅ Trauma and healing-informed leadership 

✅ Anti-oppressive policies 

✅ Psychologically honoring cultures 

✅ Equitable hiring and promotion 

✅ Systems built on humanity, not just productivity

This is why I built Dr. Claire SPEAKS! My body couldn’t take another meeting where I was silenced. I got exhausted holding space for countless friends, colleagues, and loved ones going through the same workplace and social trauma as me, regardless of their age, career path, or academic training. I built Dr. Claire SPEAKS! because performative DEI trainings don’t undo structural harm and they are costing people their lives, their family, and their well-being. I’ve seen too many leaders burn out, break down, or walk away completely, when what they really needed was truth, care, and transformation.

Through keynotes, strategic advisement, and healing-centered workshops, I help organizations move from performative policies to transformative cultures rooted in equity, mental health, and human dignity.

The system can’t heal until we do.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support, please know that you are not alone. In the U.S.A., if you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please go to your nearest emergency room. Additionally the following resource is available 24/7: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

🖤

 Dr. Claire