128. Surviving my Father’s Suicide with Paul McGregor

Adversity to Advantage

“It’s not just one phase, it’s not just one stereotype. It can affect anyone”

When Paul McGregor lost his father to suicide it left him with unanswered questions and he struggled to process grief in a world where silence is revered as a man’s way of coping.

His father had been so perfect; he ran religiously, read self-help books, had a career and a happy family. Without knowing anything about mental health, it seemed to Paul that everything descended into chaos fast, as he visited his father in a depressing mental institution where he eventually was released, taking his life soon after.

After lots of confusion, Paul took up therapy and educated himself on mental illness and how to talk so he could process the grief. Over time he’s found purpose in his pain and now delivers his message of hope as a mental Health Speaker, Advocate & Author and is driven to create change by normalising mental health conversations and breaking down the stigma that surrounds conversations about our minds and emotions.

This is a hopeful conversation covering grief and life after suicide. We cover:

• Family Conditioning and not having language around mental health
  
• The unimaginable loss of a father through suicide
  
• The hopeless unanswered questions
  
• Masking grief
  
• How mental health hospitals need to drastically change to support recovery
  
• The grief roller coaster
  
• Finding purpose in the pain
  
• Nurturing good mental health & Wellbeing
  
• The benefits of therapy
  
• Learning to ask for help
  Check out the wonderful work Paul is doing at www. pmcgregor.com or Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Twitter