A Virtual Experience
One of the most common phrases among Black women — and one that has never actually been explained. For one evening, we're finally asking what it means.
Our grandmothers said it.
Our mothers said it.
Our aunties said it.
Many of us have said it ourselves.
But no one ever stopped to ask what it actually means.
“For generations, Black women have called it ‘bad nerves.’ But what if we've been naming the symptom, without ever understanding the story?
What if ‘bad nerves’ is the language we've used to describe a lifetime of adaptation, vigilance, and survival? That's what we're going to explore together. And more importantly — what we can do about it.”
Dr. Jade Singleton · Founder, IKONI
A different starting point
“You're just stressed.”
“You worry too much.”
“You need a vacation.”
“You should slow down.”
“Practice self-care.”
“Get more sleep.”
“Pray about it.”
But what if “bad nerves” isn't simply about stress?
This evening is about understanding that difference — and learning simple, sustainable ways to tend to your body that actually bring you back to life. No overhaul required. Just the understanding of why your body does what it does, the mechanisms that actually create change, and how to bring them into your life in a way that feels like yours.
If that's true, then “bad nerves” isn't simply something to manage.
It's time to make a change — with the right tools.
Included with every registration
Every registration includes a private viewing link to the film that inspired this evening — a tribute to the stories we've inherited, and the women who carried them. Watch on your own time, before we gather.
Three experts · One question
Three disciplines rarely experienced in the same room — not another motivational talk, and not a lecture on resilience.
What stories have you inherited about strength, work, caregiving, success, and survival?
Learn how inherited narratives quietly shape the way we think, respond, achieve, and protect ourselves — and why changing the story can begin changing the experience.
What happens inside the body when survival becomes a lifestyle?
Explore how prolonged stress influences whole-body health, and discover practical ways to begin supporting restoration — not simply enduring another day.
What if your body has been trying to communicate with you all along?
Experience practical somatic techniques designed to help regulate the nervous system, increase awareness, and reconnect with the body in ways many of us were never taught.
Choose your registration
Join the Virtual Experience and receive a private link to view Ninety-Two. A meaningful first step toward understanding one of the most familiar — and least examined — phrases in our community.
Register — $25Everything in the $25 registration, plus the complete digital reflection and resource guide with exercises, practices, and recommended next steps from each facilitator.
Register — $50Everything included above. This registration also supports IKONI's mission to advance research, storytelling, and practical resources that center the lived experiences of Black women.
A tribute to Ninety-Two and the stories that inspired it.
Register — $92Everything included above. Your registration also provides a sponsored seat for another woman who may not otherwise have access to this experience.
Because healing shouldn't depend on who can afford a seat. Because understanding should never be a luxury.
Register — $192For generations we've repeated the phrase.
“My nerves are bad.”
Maybe — for the first time — we're finally asking the question beneath the words.
Let's discover what “bad nerves” has been trying to tell us all along.