One life lost. 135 hearts shattered.
One suicide impacts far more than one life.
Research suggests at least 135 people are affected.
Change starts with conversation. Let’s challenge stigma, prioritise mental health, and remember that suicide prevention is everybody’s business.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
PAUSE P – Pay full attention A – Acknowledge without fixing U – Use questions and silence wisely S – Show understanding E – Empathise, not analyse
In conversations about mental health suicide or distress, our instinct is often to help by offering solutions.
But real connection starts when we PAUSE - when we make space to listen, not fix 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #SuicideAwareness #Listening #Empathy #Compassion #Kindness
Better words exist. Let’s use them.
❌ We don’t say “committed suicide.”
We choose gentler alternatives, like “died by suicide.”
Because no one commits cancer. Or heartbreak.
It’s not political correctness. It’s kindness.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Hope
My daughter was 2 when her dad died by #suicide.
Kids don’t always talk about #grief but it’s always there 💔
Years later, a comment, a #dream, a quiet moment shows it.
Watching her has taught me how we quietly carry #loss.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Hope 💛🐦⬛
Choosing yourself isn’t selfish—it’s survival.
Nobody can save you but yourself, and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won, but if anything is worth winning then this is it.” | Charles Bukowski 💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #Selfcare #Compassion #Kindness
One of the greatest privileges of parenthood is watching a child find their voice.
This week’s Daddy Blackbird article is about my daughter Evie, who was nine when her dad died by #suicide.
Today she’s a college student turning loss into music, courage and leadership 💛
#DaddyBlackbird 🐦⬛💛
Small talk creates connection. Connection creates hope.
Small talk can save lives.
A comment about the weather. A gentle check-in. A "How have you really been?"
It might feel like nothing to you, but to someone struggling, it could be a light in the darkness.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #SmallTalkSavesLives #ConnectionMatters
Suicide doesn’t discriminate. Compassion shouldn’t either.
❌MYTH: It only happens to certain people.
✔️FACT: #Suicide doesn’t belong to one gender, culture, age, or group. Although we know it’s more common among men, it can affect anyone.
We all have a role to play in noticing, listening, and supporting 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #hope 🐦⬛
The image shows a blue background with white puffy clouds. In the bottom right corner is the text www.daddyblackbird.com and above it sits a small illustrated blackbird. In the bottom right corner is an illustration of a weight scale. The title at the top reads Debits and Credits and below this is a table with two columns. The right hand column reads: A pointless meeting Unexpected bills Grumpy children Stressful project Feeling poorly Cancelled plans The left columns reads: A long walk Cooking a Sunday roast A trip to the cinema A wild swim A day volunteering An hour with a good book
If you’re not feeling as sprightly as usual, give this a try:
Think of your energy level and imagine it’s a bank statement.
Try applying an imaginary value to each of the debits and credits.
Keep your balance topped up by banking those credits whenever you can.
#DaddyBlackbird #Hope 💛
One life lost. 135 hearts shattered.
One suicide impacts far more than one life.
Research suggests at least 135 people are affected.
Change starts with conversation. Let’s challenge stigma, prioritise mental health, and remember that suicide prevention is everybody’s business.
#DaddyBlackbird #ChangingTheNarrative #WSPD2025
Compassion starts with a conversation.
Sometimes the hardest conversations are the ones we avoid.
Speaking gently, listening fully, can save more lives than silence ever will 💛🐦⬛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #Compassion #Kindness
You don’t get over it, you grow around it.
❌ MYTH: You should be ‘over it’ by now.
✔️ FACT: There’s no deadline for grief. We don’t move on, we move forward, carrying what we lost.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief
In the weeks after Steve’s suicide, family gathered.
Then, slowly disappeared.
Most never returned.
The world became smaller.
But what remained - my girls, my mum - became everything.
Learning to fiercely love those who stay is one way I survived.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Hope 💛🐦⬛
Grief after suicide is unique. There’s no rush to ‘move on.’
Everyone grieves in their own way and time.
There is no “normal” timeline, path or flow after suicide loss.
The pain will twist and turn, come and go.
Be patient, with yourself and with each other 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Hope 🐦⬛🪁
A group of birds sit on the branch of a tree. Above the branch a blackbird is hovering. The accompanying text reads: We may not be able to take away each others’ pain but we can sit with each other on it
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” | Dalai Lama 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicidePrevention #Kindness #Compassion #Hope
In the weeks after Steve’s suicide, family gathered.
Then, slowly disappeared.
Most never returned.
The world became smaller.
But what remained - my girls, my mum - became everything.
Learning to fiercely love those who stay is one way I survived.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Hope 💛🐦⬛
Survival can look like strength. Or denial. Or both.
People grieving after loss by suicide can look like they’re coping.
They show up. They laugh. They keep going.
But that doesn’t mean they’re okay.
Sometimes, the bravest face hides the deepest ache.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Hope
We don’t recover from complex grief, we learn to live beside it.
Suicide grief can be very different because it often involves intense feelings of guilt, shame, and unanswered questions.
It can also carry stigma, making it difficult to find the right support.
Survivors must learn to live in this harsh landscape.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #ComplexGrief
The sun rises and we try again
It’s ok if today didn’t go quite the way you planned it 💛
The sun rises and we try again ☀️
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #BookSky #MedSky #PositivePsychology #Kindness #SelfCare #Hope
How can we support those who are grieving?
Be generous
Be curious
Be honest
Be real
Be proactive
Be specific
Be patient
Be thoughtful
Be human
Be kind
Be compassionate
Be helpful
Be there
Be prepared to get it wrong at times.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #SuicidePostvention #MentalHealth #Hope
Even the best listeners need someone to listen to them
We don’t talk enough about what it takes to hold space for someone struggling.
It’s not just listening.
It’s absorbing.
It’s carrying stories home.
If you’ve ever been that person - the listener, the one people turn to - I see you.
You deserve space too 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
"You didn’t have to be close to be changed."
❌ MYTH: Only close friends and family are affected by a suicide.
✔️ FACT: One single suicide touches on average 135 people - from friends to colleagues to strangers who saw themselves in the story.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #Postvention #GriefHasNoRules
A photograph showing a hand holding three copies of the book Daddy Blackbird against a field of grass and daffodils
“Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” | Tahereh Mafi
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Hope 💛
It isn’t weak to ask for help. It’s like using a lamp when you are lost in the dark.
💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellness #Healing #Hope 🐦⬛
2017: passed the basic qualification with a plan💡
2024: 5 years later than planned, after losing my husband to suicide and raising two young children, I completed my diploma in internal comms with an excellent pass.
I’ve written about rebuilding a career and a life after loss 💛
#DaddyBlackbird
All the things we worried about that actually turned out fine…
Put the heavy load down for a moment 💛🙏
#DaddyBlackbird #Wellbeing #MentalHealth #Hope 🐦⬛
Real care begins in the spaces others miss
One thing I wasn’t prepared for after Steve’s suicide was how messy the “systems” were.
Police, coroners, schools, services… everyone trying, but none of it joined up.
You’re navigating the gaps no one warns you about.
And it’s in those gaps that real compassion is needed most.
#DaddyBlackbird
Grief doesn’t expire
I used to think grief had a timeline. My workplace definitely did.
But it doesn’t work like that.
It shifts, softens, spikes, surprises, years later.
Not because we’re failing to ‘move on’, but because love keeps living alongside us.
Missing someone does too 💔
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Better words exist. Let’s use them.
❌ We don’t say “committed suicide.”
We choose gentler alternatives, like “died by suicide.”
Because no one commits cancer. Or heartbreak.
It’s not political correctness. It’s kindness.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Hope
2017: passed the basic qualification with a plan💡
2024: 5 years later than planned, after losing my husband to suicide and raising two young children, I completed my diploma in internal comms with an excellent pass.
I’ve written about rebuilding a career and a life after loss 💛
#DaddyBlackbird
