Paul McGregor

My name is Paul and I want to be honest with you.

Because about pages and social media profiles typically hide behind ‘highlights’, and we all know life isn’t all achievements, vacations and smiles.

My life was pretty ‘care free’ up until I was 18. I grew up in a loving household, I was pretty academic at school and I played football nearly every minute I had spare. My life was following a pretty 'normal' path, but then my life was turned upside down.

At 18, my Dad who showed no signs of depression or previous struggles with mental health, my Dad who had ‘everything’ on paper attempted suicide. Just 2 days in to my new job. His attempt came as a shock to us all, but he miraculously survived the accident. And after a few weeks in hospital physically recovering, he was home. But even though at the time we thought we’d escaped a nightmare, things got worse. And on the 4th March 2009, just 6 months after his first sign of depression my dad took his own life.

Why am I sharing this with you on Linkedin?

Because it's time we spoke openly about mental health, and due to the scary fact that someone ends their own life every 40 seconds it's time we stood up to suicide. 10 years later from that tragic day, I too have had my struggles suffering in silence and dealing with the grief that followed. But I've also gone on to run multiple online businesses, I became a short course lecturer at The London College of Fashion at just 21, I’ve published a book sharing my story and standing up to suicide alongside speaking at many events, I’ve featured on The Huffington Post, Sky News, BBC News and I’ve became a husband and Dad of two boys (Freddie & Teddie). I continue to share my experiences and the experiences of others, standing up to the stigma that surrounds mental health and strive towards early intervention and better support for those who need it.