How to improve your mental health with RaQuel Hopkins | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED

RaQuel Hopkins is a therapist and HR professional whose hot takes on growth and well-being have challenged how many people talk and think about mental health. In this episode, Adam and RaQuel explore how some people use mental health labels as a crutch, discuss ways to expand our capacity instead of simply coping with emotional wounds, and address the problems with trigger warnings. They also debate what it takes to grow after trauma. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: RaQuel Hopkins (Instagram: @raquel_the_capacity_expert) Links https://www.arccltv.com/raquel-hopkins Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

RaQuel HopkinsguestAdam Granthost

Oct 10, 202527mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 10, 2025
Duration: 27m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

RaQuel Hopkins is a therapist and HR professional whose hot takes on growth and well-being have challenged how many people talk and think about mental health. In this episode, Adam and RaQuel explore how some people use mental health labels as a crutch, discuss ways to expand our capacity instead of simply coping with emotional wounds, and address the problems with trigger warnings. They also debate what it takes to grow after trauma. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: RaQuel Hopkins (Instagram: @raquel_the_capacity_expert) Links https://www.arccltv.com/raquel-hopkins Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

SPEAKERS

RaQuel Hopkins
guest
Mental health educator and speaker focused on resilience, personal responsibility, and growth-oriented approaches to mental health.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and podcast host known for interviewing experts and translating social science research for a general audience.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring RaQuel Hopkins and Adam Grant, How to improve your mental health with RaQuel Hopkins | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED explores stop building identity around wounds; grow by facing life directly Hopkins argues that over-identifying with pain (wounds, trauma labels) filters perception through suffering and blocks openness to learning and neuroplastic change.

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