Former PFA chairman gives open and honest interview.
Former PFA chairman and Premier League defender Clarke Carlisle has given an extremely open and honest interview to the Sun about his depression and recent suicide attempt.
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The 35-year-old, who represented Burnley in the Premier League in the 2009/10 season, has also worked as a pundit for ITV, and it is his departure from that job that led to him hitting a personal crisis.
After being axed from ITV, Carlisle had problems with gambling and drink driving, which lead to him being arrested and subsequently planning a suicide, which resulted in his being hit by a lorry in December.
“I had to die,” he said.
“This wasn’t escaping or running away. This was the perfect answer. It made everyone happy and it ticked every box.
“I walked out of that police station having made the decision that I had to die.
“I sat in that cell and thought, ‘There is no way that I can let my children have a criminal father.’
“I thought: ‘All you do is inflict pain. All you do is cause problems. Your wife and family who love you don’t deserve that.'”
After treatment in hospital for his injuries, Carlisle also spent time in a psychiatric ward, placed on suicide watch, and he now confesses that he has mental health problems and is looking to get himself on the road to recovery.
“I ventured out of my room not as Clarke the ex-footballer, but as Clarke, a mental health patient. That was the first step in my road to recovery,” he continued.
“My road to recovery will be eternal. Today I am excited and I’m confident because I’ve finally been truly diagnosed.”
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