Protecting Your Peace or Getting Your Lick Back

Let’s talk about protecting your peace — and whether that’s
really what you’re doing… or if you’re just getting your lick
back in silence.


In this minisode, I’m breaking down the Room to Breathe Support
Language — the kind of support that shows up as space, quiet, and
the ability to step away without guilt. But I’m also naming the
moments when we call it “protecting our peace,” and it’s really a
low-key way of making somebody else feel the pain we didn’t say
out loud.


I even share a moment with my therapist that made me pause and
ask myself if I was healing — or just withholding.


If Room to Breathe is your Support Language, or if you’ve ever
needed space but didn’t quite know how to take it without using
it as a shield, this episode is for you. This episode is a
reminder that space is sacred — but only when it’s rooted in
care, not control. You don’t have to go silent to feel safe. You
can protect your peace and still stay connected to the people who
love you right. Take your time. Take your breath. Just be honest
about why you need it.


In this episode, I talk about:




What Room to Breathe actually looks like




When silence becomes a weapon instead of self-care




That one therapy session I’ll never forget




Why relief isn’t the same as revenge




How to know when your peace is real and when it’s rooted in
proving




 
Resources to Support You:


Get the Guide: “You Know Your Support Language—Now
What?”


Take the Support Language Quiz. and learn
how you actually receive support best.


Join Shades of Strong on Substack  for
deeper convos that don’t always make it to the mic


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Instagram for daily inspiration.


Be a Guest on the Show


www.shadesofstrong.com



Shirl is the creator of Support Languages and host of Shades of
Strong — a movement shifting the narrative from Strong Black
Woman to Supported Black Woman through language, rest, and real
support.