Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked some of the most enlightened folks in the community to share how they have harnessed their pain to help rather than hurt them.
Daniel Nieberg
I touched on this in the last question, but the best thing I could possibly do with my pain is to alchemize it into something else. Thankfully, I make music, so I have a pretty clear means to do that. My album ‘Jericho’ is a great example of this. Read More>>
Yian Lee
At first, I didn’t even realize I was expressing pain through my paintings. I told myself and others that everything was fine, but in front of the canvas, something deeper took over. My emotions began to surface through color, rhythm, and form in ways I couldn’t control. It was as if my subconscious was speaking before I could understand what it was saying. Read More>>
Marquieta Luckey
I stopped hiding my pain when I realized that healing isn’t something to be ashamed of — it’s something to be shared. My own challenges taught me empathy, patience, and the importance of self-care. Instead of suppressing what hurt me, I began using that energy to help others release their pain too. Read More>>
Meg Tyo
I don’t think anyone is comfortable advertising vulnerability–at least not at first! Our culture likes polished, unbothered, cool. We are not always taught, as a whole, to speak openly about the things that are hard or painful. Read More>>
Colin Biz
I stopped hiding my pain and started turning it into power when I released Doreen’s Favorite. Losing my grandmother left an emptiness that I carried deeply, but instead of letting it break me, I decided to merge that pain with my art. That project became a way to honor her memory while transforming my grief into something creative and meaningful. Read More>>
Andres Biel
I stopped hiding my pain and started using it as power when I created my first full collection, Rebirth. Up until then, my struggles felt like something to keep quiet about. But designing that collection — moving from white to black to red — was the first time I turned my experiences into something beautiful and tangible. Read More>>
Senethia Johnson
Once I started my healing journey and sharing my stories with others, I no longer felt a need to hide nor be ashamed of what I went through in my life. I was able to be vulnerable and more transparent! I realized by sharing my story, I was helping others to heal from the hurt, pain, and trauma that they have experienced. Read More>>
Tameka Simmons
My primary reason for starting my brand T-Styled-it was to encourage and inspire others to walk in their God given beauty and potential. I didn’t always feel beautiful or talented. In my adolescence I struggled with feelings of unacceptance. Those feelings birthed pain, insecurities and ultimately sent me into a shell. Read More>>
Helen Jordan
I stopped hiding my pain when I hit a breaking point in my life. Carrying loss, extra weight and the burden of always putting others first. Instead of masking it, I started to journal, creating and leaning into my spiritual journey. This transformation birthed Kozmyck Stylez where every product reflects how I turned pain into purpose. Read More>>
Ash Kleczka
I came clean to the people around me about my mental health struggles, my gender and sexuality, and the finer points of past traumas pretty much all at once and without warning just before Covid lockdowns. It was, perhaps, the most difficult series of words I probably should have planned out but didn’t. I was no longer capable of hiding any of it though. Read More>>
german rizzo
when I left my own country Read More>>
Lotte Hauss
I think I stopped hiding my pain and began transforming it into power when I allowed transcendence and mystical experiences to enter my work. That was not an easy shift. Read More>>
Jacque Ryal
In 2017, I was one of 38 women who came forward anonymously in Glenn Whipp’s LA Times exposé revealing the sexual assaults committed by Hollywood writer/director James Toback. That article opened the floodgates—over 200 women, including several celebrities stepped forward with their own stories. Read More>>
Waya Kellie Hooker
I stopped hiding my pain when I realized it was never meant to be hidden. For years I carried it quietly, thinking strength meant silence. But pain unspoken only grows heavier. The moment I started sharing it, I felt myself begin to transform. Now I let my story live out loud. Read More>>
