You Used to Run—Now You Just Try to Stand
They celebrate marathons. No one cheers for survival.
The Quiet Battle
You used to run.
Feel the wind in your chest.
Feel alive.
Strong.
Limitless.
Now you measure time in pill bottles.
Morning meds.
Evening meds.
Alarms not to remind you to live—
but to keep you from falling apart faster.
Your victories are smaller now.
Standing up without dizziness.
Walking to the kitchen without sitting down halfway.
Swallowing another pill, even when your body screams enough.
No one claps for that.
No one sees the war you fight
just to exist.
Just to shower.
Just to show up and pretend like your body isn’t betraying you every hour of every day.
People say things like “but you look great!”
Like health is a performance.
Like suffering doesn’t count if you’re not bleeding visibly.
They forget what you were.
Or maybe they never knew.
The athlete.
The adventurer.
The person who moved through life like it couldn’t touch them.
Now you live in fragments.
You plan your energy like currency.
Spend it carefully.
Save it when you can.
There’s grief in that—
grief no one names.
Because you’re still alive,
so people expect gratitude.
But being alive like this
isn’t the same as living.
You mourn what your body used to do
without asking for permission.
What it used to be.
Now it’s all negotiations.
Pain management.
Hope measured in test results.
You used to run.
Now you get out of bed—
and that has to be enough.a
No one claps for this kind of strength. But you still stand. And that’s a kind of miracle too.
Still Sitting With It?
Sometimes the ache doesn’t move. It lingers. It asks for more. You don’t have to act yet. You can stay here. Feel deeper. Or follow it into something else that hurts in a different shape.
Stay in This Pain
They Never Got to Grow Up—But They Changed Everything
They never got to grow up, but their presence changed everything. This post reflects the profound grief of losing a child too soon, and the emotional weight of their absence, knowing that the impact they made in their short time here will never be forgotten.
Explore Another Grief
Grief That Doesn’t Flinch: Stories That Cut to the Core
You won’t find platitudes here.
These aren’t guides or soft words—they’re raw, unfiltered reflections from the edge of real loss. If you’ve ever felt like no one understands what this actually feels like, these are for you.
Pain that lingers. Regret that echoes. Love that didn’t get its goodbye.
These stories don’t offer healing.
They offer truth.
→ Explore the Real Grief Collection
What you do with pain matters.
You can carry it. Or you can let it change what you still have.
🕯️ You Still Have a Body That Carries You
Grief from illness, loss of strength, or fading fertility can swallow your sense of self. But even in that hollowing, there’s something left—this body, this breath, this moment.
Cherishing your health isn’t about ignoring what’s been lost. It’s about holding what remains like it matters—because it does. The hands that still reach. The voice that still speaks. The quiet persistence of being here.
Honor what endures. Not as a distraction—but as defiance.
💝 Want to make sure no one else slips through your fingers?
Some people are still here. Still breathing. Still waiting to be loved the way you didn’t know how to before.
Don’t wait for another eulogy to say what you should’ve said yesterday.
Still Here?
The pain didn’t leave—but maybe you’re ready to walk with it instead of running from it.
Healing doesn’t start with answers. It starts with honesty. And you’ve already proven you can feel this deeply.
Now let’s see what living with it could look like.
The Link Between Grief and Heart Problems: Why Loss Can Literally Break Your Heart
Grief doesn’t just affect the heart emotionally—it has real physical consequences on cardiovascular health. Learn about the link between grief and heart problems, including Broken Heart Syndrome, and discover how to protect your heart during mourning.
Not All Grief Ends in Darkness.
For some, the ache softens. For others, it sharpens what matters.
Whatever path you’re on—these journeys are here to help you make sense of it all, one honest step at a time.
Explore Journeys of Healing and Solace:
Discover dedicated spaces that offer understanding, guidance, and connection through grief. From the loss of loved ones to life’s challenging transitions, each category provides a pathway to reflect, connect, and find peace in shared experiences.
