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The Conversation He Started

The Conversation He Started

By: The Conversation He Started
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About this listen

 This podcast started after we lost Mike - Steve’s little brother and Ryan’s best friend. Mike used to speak openly online about his struggles, in the hope that it might help others feel less alone. This podcast is our way of carrying that forward - continuing the conversation he started, in our own words and in our own time. Talking honestly is how we are processing what happened and making sense of life while grieving. These conversations sit in real time, and naturally widen into discussions about men’s mental health, perspective, and how life changes when you are forced to sit with difficult experiences. Each episode is an open, real conversation. We check in, talk things through, and reflect on what we are learning as it happens. No acting. No forced positivity. Just honest discussion about life, loss, and the shifts that come with it. These conversations are how we make sense of it, and we hope they help others too. If you are interested in men’s mental health, perspective, and thoughtful conversations rooted in real experience, this space will make sense. New episodes every Wednesday. Steve and RyanThe Conversation He Started Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Why Grief Gets Harder When Life Carries On

    Why Grief Gets Harder When Life Carries On
    Jan 28 2026

    Around a hundred days in, life starts asking more of you again.
    More energy. More presence. More normality.
    And grief doesn’t get lighter to meet it.

    Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

    In this episode we talk about why grief can feel harder once life carries on. When the shock fades but the weight stays the same. When people check in less. When tolerance drops. When everyday moments demand more than you have to give.

    We talk about being a hundred days in. About the firsts you don’t prepare for. Birthdays and celebrations that feel heavier than expected. And the quiet guilt of not coping with what you think you should be able to handle by now.

    This episode doesn’t offer solutions.
    It sits in the part where life has picked back up and you’re still carrying the same thing, just with less room to carry it.

    UK Samaritans 116 123
    US 988
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • What A Good Year Means Now

    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 mins
  • Why The New Year Feels Wrong

    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 mins
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