Still Employed, Still Afraid™ — Episode featuring Dr. Mary Darden-Robinson

Your mental health deserves more than corporate lip service.

In this raw, necessary, kitchen-table-real conversation, Dr. Mary — mental health clinician, administrator, author, and advocate — breaks down the invisible weight Black women carry at work. From microaggressions to “diversity desert” workplaces, from hijacked ideas to complex PTSD caused by the job, she says the quiet part out loud:

You’re not imagining it. You’re not overreacting. And you’re definitely not alone.

In this episode, we unpack:

• Why “resilience” isn’t linear — and why healing from workplace harm looks different for everyone
• How fear, exhaustion, and constant hypervigilance shape the emotional ecosystem of Black women in today’s workforce
• The reality of layoffs, disappearances, and the 300,000+ Black women pushed out of the labor market
• How virtual work creates new kinds of harm — and why sometimes the safest boundary is turning your camera off
• The gaslighting cycle every Black woman needs to recognize and unlearn
• The power of community, documentation, therapy, and grace
• Why your story matters — and how to stop accepting other people’s narratives about you
• The truth about advocacy: There’s more than one way to “stand up for yourself”

This conversation is for everyone who’s still employed… and still afraid.

Everyone who’s tired of pretending the workplace isn’t hurting them.

Everyone who needs language for what their spirit has been trying to name.

About Dr. Mary

Dr. Mary Darden-Robinson is a mental health & substance use clinician, administrator, and bestselling contributor to the Triumph in the Trenches anthology series. Her work spotlights the unseen psychological cost of navigating workplaces that were never designed with women of color in mind. Connect with her:

Website: Creative Therapy Approaches & Consulting, LLC

TikTok & IG: @IamDrMary / @IAmDr.Mary

Referenced Work

Triumph in the Trenches (Volumes 1 & 2 available now; Volume 3 coming February 2026)

Edited by Ilona Washington

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Website: https://careernomad.org

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If you’re navigating job insecurity, layoffs, or you’re just tired of pretending everything’s fine at work, this podcast is your morning lifeline.

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