THE sporting world united behind troubled England star Aaron Lennon after news of his breakdown emerged.
The £75,000-a-week winger was held under the Mental Health Act after being picked up by cops and taken to a specialist unit.
Former footballer Clarke Carlisle leapt in front of a lorry after 18 months struggling with depression.
The ex-Watford and Burnley defender hit rock bottom after losing a telly pundit job and being arrested for drink-driving.
Clarke, 37, survived his 2014 suicide bid and now fights to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Here he talks about the issues at hand.
If you feel affected by stress and mental health issues you can call SANE’s helpline on 0300 304 7000
“MENTAL health strikes indiscriminately.
“No one individual is less susceptible than the next. We have to get our heads round that.
“Everyone is at risk from it, whether you’re a journalist, teacher, doctor, forensic psychiatrist, nurse, single mum, unemployed or a footballer.
“We’re all human and we all struggle.
“Being a professional footballer doesn’t make Aaron any less or any more of a human being than you or I.
“He has his frailties, his stresses, his pressures — like we all do. We just deal with them in different ways.
“If we talked more and shared our thoughts we would see that everyone is living a life of ups and downs.
“Footballers are no different.
“I’m sad that Aaron’s going to have to go on the journey that lies ahead of him because I have been there, but equally I’m glad.
“Aaron is in a good position now.
“His personal situation is now in hand. I know Everton and they are one of the best person-centred clubs in the country.
“The work they do on social issues is incredible.
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“As a club they will support Aaron and he in turn will have the best available care.
“There’s an opportunity now to be able to attend to his illness and come back all guns blazing.
“I’m here as living proof and Aaron, at 30, still has plenty of playing years ahead of him.
“I believe this is good news for Aaron. He’s at that point where he’s in the support system.
“But am I surprised? Is this the tip of the iceberg?
“With one in four suffering from a mental health problem, if you applied that to football then there’s a whole heap of players struggling.
“There are ex-colleagues and opponents who have all reached out to me. Not enough is being done to address the mental health of footballers.
“In exactly the same way, there isn’t any uniform approach in society.
“The Professional Footballers’ Association has a 24-hour phone line for players, networks of counsellors and the Sporting Chance Clinic for disaster recovery.
“But that can only work if the player engages with the services. That’s fundamentally flawed.
“With the majority of mental health issues, as you become more ill it isolates you from your nearest and dearest no matter what support services are there.
"Your thought processes become dysfunctional.
"You believe no one can help you and no one wants to help you.
"Intervention from a third person is vital and we have no platform for a system like that in the game.
"The Football Association is our national governing body. They need to govern.
"I expect them to legislate to make sure those support mechanisms are applied evenly throughout the leagues.
"At West Brom or Everton, for example, they have fantastic mental health schemes.
"But I can tell you other clubs have got no mental health policy or strategy in place at all — it’s haphazard and hit and miss.
If you feel affected by stress and mental health issues you can call SANE's helpline on 0300 304 7000
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