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In a brave essay, Kevin Love, of the Cleveland Cavaliers, previously went public with the revelation that he suffers from panic attacks. One panic attack was so severe that the NBA star left the court in the middle of a game.
According to the NBA, Love explained that “he suffered the panic attack on Nov. 5 during the Cavs’ 117-115 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks.” The NBA’s website said that Love exited that game in third quarter “with an illness.” He later revealed that he’d suffered from a panic attack. Love has been cleared to play in the NBA Finals starting on May 31, 2018.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Love Described How He Was ‘Suffering Silently’
GettyKevin Love.
Kevin Love made the big revelation in an essay that he wrote in the Players Tribune called “Everyone Is Going Through Something.”
He described how it was hard for him to reveal personal information. However, he wrote that he wanted “to share some of my thoughts about my panic attack and what’s happened since. If you’re suffering silently like I was, then you know how it can feel like nobody really gets it. Partly, I want to do it for me, but mostly, I want to do it because people don’t talk about mental health enough. And men and boys are probably the farthest behind.”
You can read the full essay here.
2. Love Says the Panic Attack Occurred Because of a Myriad of Stressors
GettyKate Bock and Kevin Love
In the essay, Love explained the stressors in his life that he believes contributed to the panic attack. “I was stressed about issues I’d been having with my family. I wasn’t sleeping well. On the court, I think the expectations for the season, combined with our 4–5 start, were weighing on me,” he wrote.
“I knew something was wrong almost right after tip-off.” He described the horrible moment the panic attack hit, writing that he “was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head. The air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk.”
He went to see a therapist. “Mental health isn’t just an athlete thing. What you do for a living doesn’t have to define who you are. This is an everyone thing,” he wrote.
Kevin Love is not married. However, he is dating model Kate Bock. He is the son of Stan Love, a former NBA player. His mother’s name is Karen, and his uncle, Mike Love, is one of the founding members of the iconic Beach Boys band. He’s also described how close he was to his grandma.
3. Kevin Love Disclosed in a Team Meeting That He Left the Game Due to a Panic Attack
Getty Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on in the first half against the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.
According to Cleveland.com, fellow players Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas wanted answers as to why Love left mid game and then didn’t show up for practice the following day. Finally, he told them what had happened.
“Love made the disclosure during the infamous Jan. 22 team meeting in which Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas challenged him (and the organization)” about those points, the newspaper reported.
The team initially attributed Love leaving the game to migraines, but he told his teammates it was really a panic attack, the newspaper reported.
4. Love Came Forward After DeMar DeRozan’s Disclosure on Depression
“People ask me what I would have done if it wasn’t for basketball. I can never give a good story because I honestly don’t know. I had no other options.”
The virtue of DeMar DeRozan: t.co/mrZEpa4IsR
Love was moved to come forward with his story on panic attacks after Toronto All-Star DeMar DeRozan revealed that he had depression.
In his essay, Love said he never would have guessed that DeRozan was undergoing such a battle. DeRozan had revealed his struggles to The Toronto Star, saying, “It’s one of them things that no matter how indestructible we look like we are, we’re all human at the end of the day. We all got feelings . . . all of that. Sometimes . . . it gets the best of you, where times everything in the whole world’s on top of you.”
In February 2018, DeRozan also tweeted this: “This depression get the best of me…”
5. Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue Says He’s Also Been Treated for Anxiety
GettyTyronn Lue reacts during a game.
Perhaps Love’s openness on the topic has provoked more self-disclosure. It’s now been revealed that the Cavaliers Coach, Tyronn Lue, is also being treated for anxiety. According to ESPN, the disclosure came two months after he took a medical leave of absence.
“Lue had been having chest pains and occasionally coughing up blood when he left the team in March. He was unable to coach the second half in several games before stepping away to deal with the issue. A diet change and medication have helped him,” ESPN reported.
It was determined that anxiety was driving some of Lue’s symptoms, but Lue told ESPN he changed his diet and began taking medication, among other steps, which helped.