5. JONO KITTO
Leicester Tigers scrum half Jono Kitto speaks openly about feeling suicidally depressed. Having hidden his feelings from the wider world, it was not until he spoke out about his family that he could begin his journey of recovery.
6. KANE PALMA-NEWPORT
It’s easy to distance yourself from somebody who is suffering from mental illness, but Bath prop Kane Palma-Newport (whose family has a history of mental illness) highlights the importance of reaching out and not distancing yourself from those who are struggling.
7. GREG BATEMAN
“At my worst, I found myself finding tasks needing to use up my anxious energy – like painting my garden fence at 4am and planning, reading books, listening to podcasts, writing lists, etc. Then, take more sleepers, another drink or anything so I wasn’t staring at my bedroom ceiling in the dark.”
8. TOM JAMES
“It’s like a black cloud over you. You don’t want to get out of bed, you’re not eating, you’re not sleeping, you’ve got anxiety, you’re not answering the phone to your best friends, you are being snappy. It got to a stage, in about 2012, where I didn’t want to play rugby anymore.”