大象传媒

When ex-footballer Clarke Carlisle went missing in 2017 his wife Carrie thought the worst: he had severe depression and had already attempted to take his own life.

Found safely after appeals on social media, he then spent weeks in a psychiatric hospital and 18 months in therapy.

Clarke鈥檚 whole sense of identity was tied up with football and the buzz it gave him. He recalls how a knee injury at 21 made him feel like a failure, pushing him towards destructive behaviours with alcohol and marathon computer game sessions.

Carrie responds to the question sometimes asked by well-meaning people: How could he put you through this?

鈥淐larke didn鈥檛 put me through anything. This illness [severe depression] invades and puts all of you through it collectively.鈥�

The Carlisles share their tips for recovery: asking for professional help; talking openly to their children about feelings; their daily marks-out-of-ten check-in; how much the Pixar film Inside Out teaches them and their family about emotional resilience.

(Photo caption: Former footballer and broadcaster Clarke Carlisle and his wife Carrie Carlisle 鈥� credit: 大象传媒)

Health Check was presented by Claudia Hammond

Producer: Paula McGrath