From Premier League To The Brink Of Suicide | Clarke Carlisle Discusses Mental Health

Chris Spence
1 day ago
4 min read

"You can’t win therapy." Clarke Carlisle, The Future Workplace Podcast 2025

That was the line that stopped me in my tracks during my conversation with Clarke Carlisle, former Premier League footballer, TV pundit, and now mental health advocate.

For years, Clarke’s identity was defined by performance — the next match, the next contract, the next win. But when football stopped, the silence that followed almost took his life. What emerged from that darkness is a story that transcends sport — a story about mental health, identity, and what it really means to be human in the workplace.

The Transition Few Talk About

We often celebrate athletes for their resilience, teamwork, and discipline. But what happens when those same qualities — drilled into you from the age of seven — collide with the real world?

Clarke spoke openly about how the structure of football created a false sense of control. Every part of his day was managed. Every goal was measurable. Then suddenly, it was gone.

“In football, you’re told what to wear, where to be, and what success looks like. When that’s taken away, you realise you never built the tools to define those things for yourself.”

It’s not just footballers who feel that. It’s anyone who’s ever left a high-pressure environment — the military, corporate leadership, entrepreneurship — and realised that identity had become the job title.

That moment of loss can be devastating. Clarke described it as “falling into a void,” where purpose disappears and mental health can unravel fast.

“You Can’t Win Therapy”

In one of the most powerful moments of our conversation, Clarke shared how therapy changed everything — but only when he stopped treating it like another competition.

“For years, I tried to win therapy. I wanted to be the best patient. The most self-aware. The one who ‘got it’. But that’s not how healing works.”

That phrase — you can’t win therapy — perfectly captures a modern problem we see across industries: the obsession with outcomes over understanding.

In business, we measure success in numbers — revenue, performance, productivity. In sport, it’s wins and losses. But mental health doesn’t play by those rules. There are no trophies for self-awareness. No medals for vulnerability.

Clarke’s turning point came when he stopped trying to fix himself and started to understand himself.

That’s when recovery began.

Leadership, Mental Health, and the Modern Workplace

What struck me most was how directly Clarke’s experience maps onto the modern workplace.

We talk a lot on The Future Workplace Podcast about technology, hybrid working, and culture — but mental health is the real foundation. You can design the most innovative office in the world, but if the people inside it are silently drowning, none of it matters.

Clarke spoke about the role of leadership empathy — how managers, business owners, and team leaders need to look beyond performance metrics and start recognising patterns of struggle before they spiral.

“In football, we were surrounded by people, but nobody really saw us. That’s what needs to change — in sport, in business, everywhere.”

It’s a lesson for every organisation: real performance comes from psychological safety, not pressure. From being seen, not watched.

The Power of Vulnerability

Throughout our chat, there was one theme that kept coming up — vulnerability.

For Clarke, learning to speak openly about his depression and suicide attempts wasn’t a weakness. It was a weapon. A way to dismantle the stigma that keeps so many silent.

He now works with Gordon Moody, raising awareness about the link between mental health and addiction — two issues that often sit uncomfortably close together.

It’s easy to look at public figures and assume they’ve got it all figured out. Clarke reminded us that even those at the top of their game can be battling unseen wars. And more importantly, that sharing those stories is the first step towards breaking the cycle.

Lessons for Business and Life

There’s a lot that business leaders can take from Clarke’s story:

Identity needs space beyond the job. Whether you’re a CEO, athlete, or entrepreneur — your role is what you do, not who you are.
Success without wellbeing isn’t sustainable. Burnout, depression, anxiety — they’re not signs of weakness, they’re warning lights on the dashboard.
You can’t KPI your way out of pain. Human problems need human solutions.
Vulnerability creates connection. The strongest cultures are built on honesty, not bravado.

When we design workplaces — whether through technology, environment, or policy — we have to remember we’re designing for humans first. Clarke’s story is a reminder that performance and compassion can, and must, coexist.

There’s no fairytale ending here — and Clarke wouldn’t want there to be one. Healing isn’t a finish line. It’s a daily process.

But there’s hope.

By talking openly, Clarke’s not just changing the narrative in football — he’s helping change it in every industry where people are silently struggling behind polished titles and LinkedIn headlines.

If you or someone you know is battling mental health challenges, Clarke’s story is proof that there’s always a way forward — but you can’t do it by yourself.

Because as Clarke says…