If You’re Grieving Do the Hard Thing
@philthegriefguy If You're Grieving Do the Hard Things #grieftok #Griefjourney #Grief #griefsupport #griefawareness #griefeducation #philthegriefguy ♬ original sound - The Grief Guy
What if I told you that you can’t think your way out of grief? You have to act your way through it.
Hey, I’m Phil. I create content for people who’ve experienced loss. If you’re grieving—or love someone who is—hit follow.
When someone you love dies, your brain goes through absolute chaos. The pain you feel? It’s not just emotional—it’s neurological.
There’s a part of your brain that lights up like a wildfire during grief, called the anterior midcingulate cortex, or aMCC. I know it’s a mouthful
It’s the part of your brain responsible for pushing through emotional pain, resilience, and taking action even when everything hurts.
Studies have proven that the aMCC grows when you do hard things.
Not when you avoid. Not when you numb. Not when you wait to 'feel ready.'
It grows when you face the memory, go on a walk, talk about the pain, listen to the song, or get out of bed. These small, hard acts of bravery? They rewire your mind to carry the pain differently.
Doing the things you don’t want to do, all the stuff you’re resisting, that’s the precise battleground that grows this part of your brain.
Look, I get it, you're probably saying, but you don't know what I’ve been through, and you're right, I don't.
When my son died, I didn’t want to move, leave the house, speak, I didn’t want to survive. But I made myself do the hard things.
Some days, it was just getting out of bed or taking a shower.
Other days, it was screaming into a pillow.
But over time, my brain began to catch up with what my soul already knew:
I wasn’t going to be the same—But I could still grow.
So if grief is rewiring your brain right now—give it something to build with.
One breath. One step. One hard thing at a time.
You don’t get stronger by staying comfortable.
You get stronger by choosing discomfort…on purpose.
This isn’t just mindset fluff
It’s neuroscience.
So go on that walk, make that call
Not because it makes sense
Because doing hard things is how the brain learns to heal
Grief isn’t going anywhere, it’s coming with you
The only question is, are you gonna choose to be the driver? Or just ride shotgun?
LMK in the comments if this hit home for you
And don’t forget to follow me for more science-backed ways to grow through grief—not just survive it.
