Former Lancashire captain Tom Smith will be talking about how the cricket world has opened up about mental health at a special BusinessCloud event on July 3.
BusinessCloud has joined forces with business psychology firm Carter Corson to hear first-hand how people have dealt with their own mental health problems and from a number of experts in this field.
Every year a quarter of people in the UK will experience a mental health problem – but only a fraction of these will feel able to talk about it.
Smith was just 31 when he had to retire after a chronic back condition.
The all-rounder appeared to have it all when he was named as Lancashire captain for the 2015 season.
However he led them to just one game after suffering a serious back injury which threatened his career.
Although he managed to get back on the pitch in 2016 he played his last game against Yorkshire in August and eventually had to call time on his 11-year career.
Former England cricketers Marcus Trescothick and Mike Yardy have both spoken about their battles with depression while England women’s star Sarah Taylor took a break from the sport to deal with anxiety problems.
Smith, who is now in demand as a coach, said: “Cricket has always been very open about mental health but despite that a number of players and former players still struggle with depression after their careers have finished so it’s important we talk about it.
“Speaking personally I’ve always been very positive. I used to get nervous before I went into bat and things like that but the hardest part was when I was out injured.
“By back was my career so whenever I got a twinge or a pain in my back I used to worry. Sport is no different to business and life in general. I think it’s important we talk about it.”
Smith will be joined by a number of high-profile businesspeople, who will talk about their battles with mental health. They include Sam Jones, co-founder and managing director of Tunafish , will speak about his anxiety attacks. Vikas Shah will speak about his own battle with depression to raise awareness of mental health.
The event takes place at KPMG’s Manchester office and will also look at some of the warning signs, coping mechanisms and hear how employers are responding.