Training camp is now in full swing and Toronto FC’s roster continues to take shape as the season opener approaches.

The topic on the mind of many Canadians today, however, focuses on an issue that deserves more than one day of attention.

Bell Let’s Talk aims to remove the stigma associated with discussing mental health issues. Whether at school, work or amongst family and friends, discussing mental health shouldn’t be taboo.

Last year, a research study by FIFPro, an international players union, indicated one in four professional soccer players suffer symptoms of anxiety and depression.

"There is definitely some dark side of professional football," FIFPro chief medical officer Vincent Gouttebarge told the Associated Press.

"We don't talk about mental health issues in football, or we didn't talk about this issue. It's quite a macho culture so people do not talk about it.”

Landon Donovan paved the way in MLS in many regards, but perhaps his most important endeavor was challenging the stigma of discussing mental illness.

“We don’t live in a world where it’s okay to admit that we’re not perfect,” Donovan said in an interview with MLSSoccer.com earlier this month.

“Everybody wants to take a picture where we’re smiling and we’re so happy. Sadness is not okay in our world.”

‘Sadness’, and the symptoms and challenges it causes exist and talking about it isn’t a sign of weakness or cowardice. Though major steps still need to be taken, progress in some regards has been made.

Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney has seen a major change in how the mental health of players is addressed since he entered MLS as a player in 1996.

“Everybody’s gaining a better understanding of what mental illness is, and where it comes from,” Vanney said following practice on Wednesday.

“I can tell you that as a player there were times during my career when things weren’t going well for me and I could tell I was feeling depressed.”

Steven Caldwell began his professional career one year after Vanney. Talking about mental health just wasn’t done when he started out for Newcastle United.

“I don’t remember it being talked about in any form, with any group of guys, young or old,” Caldwell said. “It was very much an unspoken thing.”

The resources available to players today, which includes access to mental health professionals and sports psychologists, weren’t around when Vanney and Caldwell entered the pro ranks.

“I think people are more open talking about it now,” Caldwell continued.

“Whether you’re an actor, a sportsman, a journalist, a lawyer — anybody can have mental issues. It’s not connected to one job, one thing or one ethnicity. It’s very much a global issue.”

What it means to help someone going through a time of great difficulty varies, but Vanney and Caldwell hold similar sentiments in this regard.

“It’s to listen, it’s to be empathetic and to try and understand what the person is going through,” Vanney stated. “The most important thing for me is listening and being respectful of where that person is and not discounting their feelings.”

“First and foremost I’d tell them they’re not alone,” said Caldwell. “There’s support here for them.”

Absorbing these blows, ones that do show up in the form of bruises or scars, can take a lot out of a person. Having a group, or in some cases a single person to lean on, can mean the world.

“Let’s talk” sounds easy in practice. But for someone struggling to cope with a mental illness it can be the hardest thing to do.

No matter what side of the conversation you may be on, the fact it’s happening at all is a step in the positive direction.