Lean Into the Pain, Don’t Run From It

Healing Starts with the Heart

In this raw and deeply honest episode of Healing Starts with the Heart, Sharon Brubaker invites listeners into the messy, painful, and necessary truth of what it means to lean in to grief. Instead of hiding, numbing, or pretending you’re okay, Sharon challenges you to stop running from the pain and start facing it head-on. This is not about suffering for suffering’s sake—it’s about healing the only way that works: by feeling it all. If you’ve ever told yourself, “If I let this out, I’ll never stop crying,” this episode is for you. Sharon unpacks the myths we’re told about grief, the lies we believe to stay strong, and what it truly means to begin moving pain through you—not around you.

Key Points Discussed:

• Why avoidance only deepens and prolongs grief

• The dangerous myth that time alone heals grief

• What “leaning into the pain” actually looks like in real life

• How grief lives in the body—and what happens when we suppress it

• The truth about emotional numbness and false strength

• Why staying “composed” is not the same as healing

• The power of sitting with your grief, naming your pain, and giving it space

• The importance of breaking free from performative grieving and moving into true processing

• How leaning in, little by little, helps you reclaim pieces of yourself

• Real-life stories of clients who finally allowed themselves to cry—and what happened next

• Why grief is not a lifetime sentence, unless you choose it to be

Journal Questions for Reflection:

• What pain have you been avoiding in your grief?

• Where in your body do you feel the heaviness of your loss?

• What lies have you been told (or believed) about being strong?

• What might shift if you gave yourself permission to fall apart today?

• Can you name a moment when you chose numbness over feeling? What did that cost you?

• What part of your grief needs to be witnessed right now—by you?

Conclusion: Grief demands to be felt. Not hidden, not ignored, not scheduled. And the truth is, real healing only begins when you choose to lean in. You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to pretend. You just have to show up—to your own pain—with honesty and compassion. You’ll find that in the leaning, there’s light. There’s breath. There’s a path forward.

Contact Us: Have a question, story, or want to connect with Sharon? 📧 Email: [email protected] 📱 Follow Sharon on TikTok: @thegriefschool 🌐 Join our healing spaces: www.thegriefschool.com ✨ Be part of our community: clickhereforhope.com 💬 Join us for Grief Study Hall (Tuesdays 1–3 PM CST) or Processing the Pain of Grief (Thursdays 7 PM CST)