Certified life coach and therapist RaQuel Hopkins, known online as The Capacity Expert, is challenging the way professionals think about burnout — arguing that it’s not caused by overwork alone, but by emotional disconnection and the loss of self.
In a powerful Instagram post titled “The Biggest Lie You’ve Been Told About Burnout,” Hopkins rejected the notion that burnout is simply about long hours or poor time management.
“Contrary to what people think about me, I’m not a ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ person,” Hopkins wrote. “That mindset is the fastest way to burn out — and honestly, the fastest way to stunt your growth.”
Speaking from Arizona, where she was spending time with friends, Hopkins reflected on how personal growth came not from grinding harder, but from “honoring all of who I am.”
“Burnout isn’t just about hours worked,” she continued. “It’s about the heart you lose when you keep pushing without honoring yourself.”
In an accompanying video, Hopkins elaborated that burnout stems from emotional depletion, not workload.
“You can work 100 hours and not be burned out,” she explained. “You can work 30 hours and feel like you’re drowning because burnout isn’t about time. It’s about the toll it takes on your heart.”
She described burnout as “a collapse of connection to yourself, to joy, to purpose,” and stressed that no amount of time off or reduced hours can restore that connection until individuals “reclaim” it intentionally.
Hopkins, who combines her background in therapy and coaching to help high-achieving professionals build emotional capacity, urged her followers to subscribe to her newsletter for upcoming guidance on “Clarifying Your Values vs. Outcomes.”
Her message has resonated deeply with those navigating burnout, particularly among women balancing professional success and personal fulfillment.
