When star defender Luke Dimech retired from football seven years ago, he had a hard time adapting to life without the game. This impacted his mental well-being as he tried to recalibrate life as he knew it.

“You never get the high that you used to experience. Everything seems bland compared to the things that you used to do. Because you were hitting euphoric times which you won’t see again,” Dimech says.

Dimech shared his experience in the first of a series of a new podcast on mental well-being called Mind Over Chatter.

Dimech, who today works as a commercial accounts director in a gaming company, will be remembered as one of the best defenders of his time having played with the national team and also played for Valletta, Sliema Wanderers and Mansfield and AEK Larnaca.

Now aged 46, he was 39 when he retired soon after sustaining an injury. Since then, he has never done anything connected with football – part of that is because of the injury but there is more.

“There are memories that didn’t put me in a place I wanted to be,” he said.

The weekly podcast, Mind Over Chatter, tackles the stigma around mental health with top guest personalities from the entertainment, professional and sports sectors.

Mind Over Chatter podcast hosts Andrew Hogg and David Ozi Borg. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Its hosts are former DJ David Ozi Borg and sports psychologist Andrew Hogg. Other guests in the first season include singer Ira Losco who talks about post-natal depression, comedian Kevin Naudi talks about the serious side of life and bubbly radio and TV presenter Valentina Rossi who sheds light on how her past impacted her.

The idea of starting the podcast was planted about a year ago when Borg and Hogg, who had been friends for about five years, met up over a coffee to catch up. During that chat, Borg told his friend that he had been going through a rough patch on a mental health level. The friends spoke and the idea of the podcast was born.

Since then, they have been working on recording the first season – 10 episodes – with the support of Goodear Entertainment.

Mental illness is a very lonely illness. We want to help people understand that they are not alone

Some years ago, Borg had shocked his fan base by revealing his darkest secret: behind the affable façade he was struggling with depression and anxiety. This confession on his Oz Uncut blog was “possibly the hardest article I will ever have to write” but the overwhelmingly positive response to it proved how much people appreciated him starting such a delicate conversation.

Hogg, who describes himself as a mental performance coach, says: “I cannot be a hypocrite and say I totally understand what people are feeling because I haven’t been through it personally. But he has,” he says as he looks at Borg.

“Having the both of us creates a good fusion,” he says.

Borg adds: “Mental illness is a very lonely illness. We want to help people understand that they are not alone. We want to educate people as to what it’s all about and how people really do suffer with it… We want people to listen in, take what you can from it and spread the word. There are too many people I know who have suffered in silence,” he says.

The Mind Over Chatter podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on Mind Over Chatter Podcast social media platforms YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.