Kevin Love: Inner struggles with an unseen enemy
news·@jgullinese·
0.000 HBDKevin Love: Inner struggles with an unseen enemy
There was an article written recently by ESPN that details NBA star Kevin Love and his bout with anxiety. On Nov 5., Kevin Love exited a game against the Atlanta Hawks. He didn't show any signs of injury, but he was showing some interesting ailments, stomach pain and shortness of breath, so he was taken to the hospital. Neither he, nor the doctors knew at first what the issue was. Many pundits on television and print began to question his toughness. There were even rumors that his teammates were questioning the validity of his so-called "injury" as well. Kevin Love decided to set the record straight and clarify what the issue was. Panic attacks. "It came out of nowhere. I'd never had one before," Love stated in the article. He added, ""I didn't even know if they were real. But it was real -- as real as a broken hand or a sprained ankle. Since that day, almost everything about the way I think about my mental health has changed." Love has been a star in the NBA since he was drafted out of UCLA by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became a perennial All-Star, commonly achieving double-doubles (that is when you have 10 or more in a particular category during a game ie. 10 points and 10 rebounds). This led to stardom, even though his team at the time did not have a good record. He was later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on NBA draft night for Andrew Wiggins, joining forces with All-World player Lebron James and at the time of the trade, future star Kyrie Irving. The three went on to when a championship for the Cavs, their first and the first championship for the city of Cleveland in over 50 years. Kyrie moved on, being traded to the Boston Celtics, but Love and James remained. Love does have a history of injuries, but this was his first time dealing with this mental health issue. Since his bout with the crippling anxiety attacks, Love has started seeing a therapist, which he says has helped him immensely. He stated,  This story comes not too long after an article came out about fellow NBA player Demar DeRozan (I wrote an article on him as well) detailed his issues with mental health and the constant struggle. It is good that stories like these are reaching the limelight and mental health is being discussed. It doesn't just effect crazy people. It effects more people than you know. We are all in this together and we should all work together to help each other out. Giving a helping hand, helping those without money be able to pay their bills, or even, like in Kevin Love's case, just listening. Mental Health is a serious issue and should be dealt accordingly. I'm happy to see Love taking the proper steps and hope he continues to get the help he needs and deserves. If you are looking for a link to the article, you can find it here: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22664863/kevin-love-cleveland-cavaliers-discusses-suffering-panic-attack-game One love and happy Steeming! @jgullinese