IT is genuinely hard to imagine the pain suffered by the Mitchell family over the last few years.

Stirling-born Chris Mitchell was a promising young footballer who played professionally for Falkirk, Bradford City. But complications from spinal surgery had a devastating impact on his fitness and eventually he had to leave the game. The transition to life off the park didn’t come easy for Chris, however, and during a bout of depression in 2016 he killed himself, aged just 27.

The decision of Chris’s father, Philip Mitchell, to speak publicly of his son’s anguish is a brave one as it shines a light on an issue that has remained hidden for too long. Football remains a macho sport, one that is by its very nature competitive and pressured both on and off the pitch. That makes it especially hard for young men to open up about mental health.

Chris Mitchell didn’t feel there was anywhere he could turn for help, and that’s one of the reasons his family has set up a foundation in his name to raise awareness of the issue.

It is already making a difference, encouraging clubs to focus on the mental as well as physical welfare of players, and inspiring football charity the SPFL Trust to introduce a mental health first aid course, thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the sporting world. The likes of Celtic and Rangers have already received training, while other sports such as rugby are also being targeted.

It’s only relatively recently that depression in professional sport has been talked about at all, of course.

England cricketer Jonathan Trott was one of the first to open up about his mental health problems after suffering a breakdown during the 2013 Ashes series. Former Celtic captain Neil Lennon didn’t talk about his battles with depression until after his playing days were over.

Meanwhile, Tottenham and England player Danny Rose has been refreshingly honest about his depression, perhaps encouraged by the positive team dynamic created by manager Gareth Southgate.

Not that these issues only afflict men, however. Only last month Olympic snowboarder Ellie Soutter took her own life on her 18th birthday, her devastated family talking afterwards of how they believed the extreme pressures of elite sport had contributed to her death.

Clearly, there are no easy answers here. No sphere of life goes untouched by mental health problems and suicide, and young people are known to be particularly badly affected. But it’s how society responds that counts.

And we must surely follow the excellent lead of the Mitchell family not only in their willingness to be open, but also in the practical steps they have taken to ensure other young people receive the sort of help that wasn’t available to Chris. We hope this will bring them comfort in their grief.