Certified life coach and therapist Raquel Hopkins is making waves online with a powerful message about emotional healing and identity that challenges conventional narratives about pain.
In a viral Instagram post, Hopkins urged followers to stop centering their lives around past trauma and start embracing healing as a path to wholeness.
“Most people can’t grow past a certain point because they believe their pain is what makes them special,” Hopkins wrote on Instagram. “So they center themselves in it. Protect it. Justify it. And unconsciously build their identity around it.”
While acknowledging that pain is valid and often life-shaping, Hopkins explained that it is not unique, and certainly not a justification for emotional stagnation.
“Your pain is real. But it’s not proof that the world is harder just for you,” she stated. “Pain is universal.”
In the accompanying video clip, Hopkins offered a sobering yet compassionate reflection:
“Your pain is not special. It’s not exclusive. It’s just pain. And pain is part of being human.”
Her core message? Stop mistaking suffering for significance and stop allowing communities, ideologies, or internal narratives to trap you in “emotional captivity.”
Hopkins critiqued belief systems that frame pain as sacred or untouchable, calling such frameworks limiting:
“If your worldview only works when you’re seen as the most harmed, the most burdened, you’ll stay trapped in the cycle of self-preservation—not transformation.”
The post resonated widely, especially as Hopkins tied her insights to wisdom across spiritual traditions:
- Christianity: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
- Islam: “Verily, with hardship comes ease.” (Qur’an 94:6)
- Buddhism: “Life is suffering. But suffering is also a teacher.”
- Hinduism: “Pain is part of karma and growth, not punishment.”
- Judaism: “Suffering is not what defines you. It’s what you do with it.”
For those who identify as spiritual but not religious, Hopkins offered a broader truth: “Pain is a portal. Not a destination.”
Hopkins, known for helping clients build what she calls “capacity,” clarified that true healing doesn’t mean forgetting or ignoring trauma.
“Healing means refusing to keep rehearsing a narrative that shrinks you,” she added.
Her post serves as a compelling reminder that while trauma may shape who we are, it doesn’t have to define who we become.
“You can be shaped by your pain,” Hopkins concluded, “but you don’t have to be centered in it. And you can live a full, powerful life, even with a past.”
For more insights on healing, emotional resilience, and transformational coaching, visit @raquel_the_capacity_expert on Instagram or follow our Wellness & Justice section for the latest expert-driven mental health guidance.
