• What A Good Year Means Now
    Jan 21 2026

    A “good year” used to mean progress.Plans. Momentum. Moving forward.After loss, that definition changes.


    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.


    In this episode we talk about how grief reshapes the idea of a good year. What goals used to look like. What they look like now. The pressure to aim, improve, and achieve, and how those expectations shift after someone dies.


    We explore routine as an anchor rather than ambition. Looking ahead without forcing meaning. And where this leaves us as we move into a year that no longer fits the old framework.


    This episode isn’t about motivation or optimism.It’s about recalibrating what “good” means when survival, steadiness, and presence start to matter more than progress.


    If you’re questioning what a good year even looks like now, this episode is for you.


    If you’re struggling, please reach out.

    UK Samaritans 116 123

    US 988


    Listen to all episodes:https://linktr.ee/theconversationhestarted


    New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe to stay with the story.

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    45 min
  • Why The New Year Feels Wrong
    Jan 14 2026

    The New Year arrived, but nothing felt new.

    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

    We talk about why the New Year feels strange after loss. When “New Year, New Me” doesn’t fit, goals feel different, and the reset everyone talks about doesn’t land.

    This episode names the disconnection between the calendar changing and grief staying exactly where it is.

    UK Samaritans 116 123
    US 988

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    46 min
  • When Everyone Thinks You’re OK
    Jan 7 2026

    Everyone thought we were OK.

    Because we were functioning. We weren’t.


    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide.


    This episode is about the stage of grief where life has resumed but the weight has not lifted. When support fades, messages slow down, and you start carrying everything quietly.


    We talk about functioning without being OK, deciding not to bring it up, and what happens to the things you start holding in.


    UK Samaritans 116 123

    US 988

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    1 ora e 14 min
  • Grief At Christmas
    Dec 31 2025

    Christmas can amplify grief.
    The build up. The pressure to be OK. The empty moments nobody sees.


    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide


    In this special episode we talk about what Christmas really feels like after loss. The moments that catch you off guard, the guilt when you laugh, opting out when you need to, and what genuinely helped.


    If this reaches you, follow the podcast so you don’t have to carry it alone.


    Full video on YouTube. Clips on Instagram and TikTok.


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    48 min
  • The Days That Followed (Part 2)
    Dec 24 2025

    After the funeral, the messages stop and everything feels different.


    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide.


    We talk about the first weeks after the funeral. The guilt. The silence. Trying to function. Wanting to talk and not wanting to talk. And how grief changes once the support fades and real life starts again.


    UK Samaritans 116 123

    US 988

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    1 ora e 3 min
  • The Days That Followed (Part 1)
    Dec 17 2025

    Episode 4 is about the days that followed. Eight to nine weeks into grief, when anger shows up and coping looks different for everyone.


    **Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide.**


    We talk honestly about how we’re really doing, preparing for the eulogy, counselling, music, memory, and how two people can grieve the same person in completely different ways.


    This is part one of the days that followed.


    UK Samaritans 116 123

    US 988

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    59 min
  • The Day Everything Changed
    Dec 10 2025

    Episode 3 is the day everything changed.
    This is the moment we found out Mike had taken his life and the hours and days that followed.

    Trigger warning: this episode discusses suicide and sudden loss.

    We talk honestly about the first twenty four hours after losing someone you love. The shock. The silence. The disbelief.

    Thank you for listening. New episodes every Wednesday.
    UK Samaritans 116 123
    US 988

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    1 ora e 17 min
  • Who Mike Really Was (Part Two)
    Dec 3 2025

    ** Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions about mental health challenges, including references to suicide. These topics may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care of yourself and feel free to skip this episode if you need to. If you or someone you know is struggling, consider reaching out to a mental health professional or local support hotline for help **


    Mike’s journey into looked steady from a distance, but privately he was carrying grief, pressure and moments that changed him. Losing another close friend. Trying to hold himself together. Slowly drifting into isolation without anyone realising how far it had gone.


    This episode opens up the parts people never saw:
    • the weight changes and bulimia he hid
    • the distance that grew between him and everyone else
    • the nights he went missing
    • the small signs that something was slipping
    • the good days that kept getting shorter


    There were still flashes of who he really was. The Mike who spoke openly about mental health on local TV. The Mike who tried to pull himself back when he felt stronger. The Mike who kept going even as the difficult episodes became more frequent.


    This is the truth of who he was. Honest. Human. Trying his best in ways he rarely showed.


    Everything here leads directly to the moment everything changed in Episode 3.


    New episodes every Wednesday.

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    1 ora e 4 min