Welcome back to the second installment of “Making Your Mental Health a Priority.” A series in which I delve into sports' biggest superstars; who’ve battled and conquered their mental health issues. Today, we will discuss Miami Heat power forward Kevin Love. A former all-star and NBA Champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers became more of a missing player in action for a moment. Nobody knew the struggles of what he was dealing with.
On November 5th, 2017, Kevin Love suffered a panic attack, during halftime against the Atlanta Hawks. Out of nowhere, this incident occurred unannounced. A healthy player in his prime had an episode which became public interest. It was bad enough; I remember the media chastising Kevin for not playing in the second half. Now, we as fans say: “How does it affect his ability to run, shoot and play basketball?” Glad you asked it and allow me to explain.
Panic attacks can hit at any given moment in time, day, or night. As a patient myself, I can tell you it’s not something you recover from overnight. It’s not like a cold where you can take a couple days off; panic attacks affect the mind and body in more ways than one. It could be a very tense event which takes our breath away and we find ourselves in cold sweats or fighting with fright. It all happens in seconds and zaps all our energy. Panic attacks are real as any other injury, broken limb, or sprained knee. For Kevin, that one moment in time changed how he felt about mental health.
People aren’t comfortable about sharing their mental health problems as the stigma continues around in some cases. Being protective about any and everything is human nature. Love had basketball to mesh his mental health issues; but on a personal and professional level, conversations were few and limited. As Kevin continued to understand the root of his mental health, having someone to be trustworthy without judging was difficult.
Like most athletes, Kevin was dealing with it and not having an outlet to share his struggles. In a perfect world, a silent battle is the one which takes tolls on you without any symptoms. Men and boys are the furthest behind due to the toxicity from a male figure, which creates a ripple effect on brain development. Along with emotional intelligence, our mental health is downgraded in the long-haul. Kevin knew he had to address this and finding out the truth stemmed from ignoring the signs early in his life.
Mental health issues are unknown and passed through past generations. Rather it’s on either side of the family, the aftermath has repercussions. Kevin followed the same playbook as most men do and learned how to “be a man and be strong; don’t talk about your feelings.” In hindsight, this circles back to trauma being instilled early on due to the past transgressions of others in our families. It becomes natural with men telling their young sons this and the invisible battles start within your mind. Even as Kevin was battling this, mental health issues in sports were disclosed as a “personal illness” or “matter” due to the trustworthiness of an organization.
Athletes often skip out on asking for help to avoid being looked at differently from their teammates. The thoughts of failure linger around not being able to withstand the pressures of being a strong player to help win championships. It’s under minded as a sign of weakness; translation “know your limitations.” When athletes of all sports discuss this issue, more and more become aware of their self-worth by listening to someone whose career was brought into question with one panic attack.
Kevin Love came to grips with his mental health issues and did the right thing by seeking a therapist. The 2018 season was very high expectations and him not being fully healthy mentally needed to be taken care of. It started to affect his conditioning and play on the court; everyone was concerned and when the panic attack occurred, what more could’ve been done to prevent it? Panic attacks are triggered by sudden change in emotions or your surroundings. No announcement needed; just a swift change of your mind and heart racing against one another to the finish.
Kevin’s mental health issues weighed on him after his grandmother passed away after Thanksgiving in 2013. It was a devastating blow for him as she was planning to make a trip to see him when he was still playing for Minnesota. The depression started then, but Love ignored it as his focus was on basketball.
One life changing event in his personal life became a dark, distant memory. Like the rest of us, we don’t take the time to grieve properly and become more impatient as time ticks away. The reality of mental health is clearer with more resources reminding us of it’s okay to not be okay. As Kevin shared his story, fellow NBA superstar DeMar DeRozan opened about his struggles with mental health. One athlete knocked down the doors and others followed in saying: “I need help with my mental health.”
You can truly say it took one athlete in DeMar DeRozan to help many others in opening about mental health. Kevin found inspiration for how DeMar handled his struggles. Someone may have contemplated self-termination; rather it be family or closest friends, having an outlet to grieve and heal is worth more than any amount of dollars handed to us. When we as fans see our star athletes struggling, don’t be so quick to say, “they’re millionaires; money cures everything.” No, it’s a struggle we face without telling anyone.
In the end, Kevin Love overcame his mental health issues to use his platform and voice to shed light on a silent battle. You don’t have to be an athlete; even everyday common people struggle in silence. As a patient myself, I have moments of self-doubt and uncertainty. Anxiety runs deep in my family, along with depression. No shame in admitting imperfections. Therapy is an outlet for the first steps of healing in a healthy way. Don’t live your life in fear of being chastised over mental health. Be of good courage and reach out for help with your overall well-being.
Thank you Kevin Love for being open and honest about your mental health battles. Your inspiration is greatly loved and appreciated through and through. Continue to use your voice and platform to break the stigma of mental health in sports. In closing, always make your mental health a priority.
Stai tuned.
