Benita Hampton

You’re bone-tired, but your mind won’t stop. The room is dark, the house is quiet… and yet you’re still wide awake. You tell yourself, If I fall asleep now, I’ll still get five hours… four hours… three hours… — but sleep never comes. If you’ve been here since your loss, it’s not just in your head — grief actually changes the way your body rests. And the reason why might surprise you.

Grief caught me off guard—I wish someone had given me a roadmap before I lost my parents. In this post, I share what hindsight has taught me: that grief isn’t just an emotional storm, but a journey into parts of yourself you never expected to visit. From permission to feel every ache and confusion, to learning how essential compassion can be to navigate loss, this is what I wish I could go back and tell my younger self.

When it comes to grief, men often get a smaller box to fit into—and sometimes, it feels like the lid is nailed shut. Society’s unspoken rules still tell men to “stay strong,” “hold it together,” or “move on,” leaving little room for honest emotion. In this post, we’ll explore why these outdated expectations hurt more than they help, how they silence needed conversations, and why giving men permission to grieve openly isn’t just compassionate—it’s necessary for healing.