I used to play for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies. Kilnhurst and Sheffield United Ladies but lost my career abruptly 22 years ago.

After that, I wasn’t able to face football, couldn’t even bear to hear the word and went into a massive spiral of depression, so severely that I was self-harming and taking overdoses. Basically, I felt that if I couldn’t play football, I wanted to be dead.

After years of taking antidepressants and having many sessions of bereavement counselling to get over the loss of my career, I have finally returned to the game.

Over the past 7 years, I’ve taken the time to listen to what players want and need. I’ve questioned and surveyed these players extensively. Through my experiences and talking to other people, I’ve discovered that it’s not that unusual, for ex-footballers to fall into depression when they can no longer play the game they love.
Those involved in Football at all levels need to understand the importance of mental health and what mental health is. Mental health issues can be harder to spot than a physical injury, but how much support the sufferer receives can make a big difference to their recovery.

I have written ‘A guide to positive mental health’, a book aimed at football clubs, players, coaches and managers. My second book 'Football Suicides; The deaths that should never have happened' takes a look into the history to the present day of footballers who took their own lives, revealing shocking discoveries.

I’ve gone on to found FOOTBALLS AWARENESS of MENTAL HEALTH (FAMH), an organisation providing support to players, coaches and managers suffering with – or having suffered with - mental health issues.