I WAS deeply shocked to learn that Dean Windass, the man who fired Hull City into the Premier League, had tried to commit suicide on at least two occasions recently.

I've played against Dean many times over the years, and he always coupled undoubted talent with an unbelievable will to win.

He was also a larger than life character, so one of the last people you'd believe could slide into depression.

I suppose that's part of the problem ... it just doesn't occur to you that ebullient and successful people like Dean have problems that could tip them over the edge.

It's not like a broken arm ... there is no cast to "flag-up" the pain. It's an issue that really is more than skin deep.

You often never know there is a problem until the sufferer takes decisive action. Hopefully, like Dean, this is to open up and get help. If it manifests itself in another way, we usually find out about the problem when it is too late.

Sufferers can often be very good at masking the symptoms.

Thankfully, Dean failed in his suicide bid and is now undergoing counselling.

The same cannot be said of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in 2009, or Wales manager Gary Speed, pictured below, who was found dead at his Cheshire home in November last year.

Nobody knew they had a problem.

Enke told his wife he was going to training as normal before throwing himself under a train. Speed appeared to be behaving normally on the BBC's Football Focus show just a few hours before his death.

From the outside, professional footballers seem unlikely victims of mental health problems. They are young, successful and highly-paid individuals who are "living the dream".

But they remain human beings, and people from all walks of life suffer from depression. A luxurious lifestyle does not make you immune.

Statistically, depression affects one in 10 people, while one in 20 suffer from chronic depression.

It doesn't take much working out to realise there must be many more footballers out there tackling the same demons as Dean, often suffering in silence.

I guess this is largely down to the fact that mental health problems remain a taboo subject, in football and the wider world.

Sufferers are often seen as moaners and attention-seekers. They are dismissed as being mentally weak, a particular issue for professional sportsmen and women.

These are just some of the jibes Stan Collymore faced when he used his Twitter account to highlight his own problems with depression. Sadly, this type of reaction only serves to stop other footballers speaking out, often with disastrous consequences.

The PFA are working hard to raise awareness of depression in the game. We all need educating to spot the issues affecting fellow pros so there are no more Enkes or Speeds.

In my time in the game, I've never felt the need to speak to someone about depression nor had anyone come to me for help.

I have consulted sports psychologists to address confidence issues, but until now I have kept this a secret from managers and team-mates.

I suppose if this had escalated it may have been a bigger problem, but I was fortunate. It stopped there.

Nevertheless, I kept it to myself, even though many clubs employ sports psychologists these days, because I didn't want to be considered a "nut job" in the dressing room.

In many respects, football is still stuck in the dark ages where mental health problems are concerned, so I can empathise with people who don't ask for help.

Stan Collymore and Robert Enke had problems while they were still playing the game, while Gary Speed and Dean Windass endured their demons after hanging up their boots ... or at least that's when they came to light.

Dean put his depression down to boredom and the hole created in life after he retired from the game he loves. He couldn't cope.

Players often become managers in order to fill the void left by retirement.

The football dressing room is a unique place ... there's no place on "civvy street" which quiet compares to it.

A footballer's career is comparatively short, so you still have plenty of years ahead of you when you finally call it quits.

With nothing to replace the buzz most footballers get from playing the game, problems can mount up.

Again, the PFA provides help so ex-pros can re-train and plan for life after retirement, but sometimes it's still not enough.

I'm using this help to work towards becoming a qualified journalist and maybe even a high school teacher.

Hopefully this will a) provide me with a job when I hang up my boots, and b) fill the hole that retirement will leave behind in my life.

Maybe some of you will be very cynical about what I'm saying.

But for all those who believe footballers are molly-coddled and should pull themselves together, consider this.

I'm sure the families of Robert Enke and Gary Speed wish they could have just pulled themselves together rather than taking the ultimate step to end their pain.

Sadly, treating depression is not as simple as that.