Three Words, I Need Help, Changed His Life - A Father Finds Happiness After Suicide Attempt And is now Helping Others do same as Stigma Fighter And Mental Health advocate

Meet Pat Lawson, one of our stigma fighters on our Wall of Solidarity in our Accelerating Mental Wellness Campaign. 

Pat is many things to many people but I will try and sum it up here. He is a loving, devoted and amazing husband and father, a much loved son and brother, incredible friend, international keynote speaker for mental health and suicide prevention and founder of 3Words Mental Health Awareness.

From the outside looking in it seems as if he is totally fine doesn’t it? Looks can be deceiving.

Pat has his own mental health challenges and diagnoses and things got so bad for him that he tried to end his own life.

"DON'T MAN UP. IF YOU WANT TO BE TOUGH, EXPRESS YOUR EMOTIONS."

Nobody knew the internal pain Pat was suffering. He hid it from his wife, his parents, friends and sisters. On the outside he was this exuberant happy go lucky man, but on the inside he was struggling.

He didn’t reach out for help as most men don’t. Men are far less likely to seek help for a mental illness due to a number of reasons, e.g., societal factors like they have to suck it up and be a man, stigma and long standing cultural issues around men. 

While Pat hid his mental health from everyone, he sought no support. He thought he had to “man up”. It was this that led him to the fateful day he tried to take his own life. 

Thankfully Pat wasn’t successful. The world would have lost someone really special if he had been.

After his attempt he told his wife, who had no idea that Pat was struggling. It took him attempting to take his own life to finally open up to his wife and family, who were in disbelief as he didn’t portray any outside symptoms of mental illness.

​In Pat’s own words, asking for help was the hardest thing to do but he was so relieved when he did. 

This isn’t a story that ends with Pat. Countless men go through the same thing and they don’t seek help as it’s seen as a sign of weakness.

​But, Pat has a message to men: “Don’t man up. If you want to be tough, express your emotions.”

how 3 words - "I need Help" - changed his life

​Here is a video of Pat explaining his story and how three words - “I need help” - changed his life. They are the hardest words to say and Pat still has difficulty saying them.

Share his story to help other men say 3 words

Pat is now an amazing advocate for men's mental health and works tirelessly to help those in need.

Sharing his story has helped him recover and while he still struggles, he has tools and support around him now which makes things easier. 

We are so grateful for Pat letting us tell his story and for being one of our amazing stigma fighters.

Follow 3Words on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with Pat’s advocacy work.

And, let's share his story to help others share his 3 words. We all deserve to find happiness.

Author

Post by Erin Macauley, Chief Operating Officer & Mental Health Advocate, Accelerating Social Good; Australia Chair, Accelerating Mental Wellness Campaign.