What I couldn’t say was, “This hurts.” - WomanSpeak International Festival

In May of 2019, Bernadette Pleasant delivered a fiery and passionate speech at the WomanSpeak International Festival. In her speech, Bernadette poses the question, “Where Are You Being Inauthentic with your emotions?” She believes that we are willing to tell astronomical lies as opposed to saying, “I’m not okay,” and even shares a poignant and personal example. Some of our favorite quotes include:

• “What I couldn’t say was, ‘This hurts.’ What I couldn’t say was, “I need help.”

• “I couldn’t even receive the help that was being offered because I was ‘fine.’”

• “I don’t even give someone the opportunity to show the humanity that lives in them because I'm busy being fine.”

• “I often say we live in a world where we put spanks on ourselves emotionally and then we try to live out loud.”

• “Exercise the muscle of expression.”

• “I recommend you push an edge and get out of your comfort zone.”

• “No one’s signing up for grief. No one’s saying I want a double dose of that on Tuesday.”

• “This isn’t about spiritual bypassing an emotion. It’s about acknowledging it and feeling it and recognizing that it is there sometimes. But also noticing that it will not last forever. It will move.”

• “Your emotions make up who you are. Your emotions are a part of that authentic part of you.”