"I had a panic attack in the middle of a game."
For 15 years, he's been one of the NBA's greatest players ... But for Kevin Love, his most important challenge is ending the stigma around mental health.
Throughout the month of August, Brut is partnering with Aurora Institute to discuss all things mental health and wellness.
For 15 years, he's been one of the NBA's greatest players ... But for Kevin Love, his most important challenge is ending the stigma around mental health.
Throughout the month of August, Brut is partnering with Aurora Institute to discuss all things mental health and wellness.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00So I had a panic attack in the middle of a game. It was right after halftime on November 5th of
00:062017. We're playing the Atlanta Hawks and we had so much expectation. We were expected to go to the
00:11NBA finals. We were expected to potentially win a championship and you know for me it was everything
00:17else in my life was not going wrong. Like all the pillars in my life had fallen and you know things
00:23just were not adding up and basketball was my safe haven. It was all that I had so I felt that was
00:28taken away from me.
00:52It got so much worse before it got better. There was people that were speaking about it.
00:56Teammates, coaches, people in the media. So I didn't want anybody to tell my story
01:01but me and I only exposed what I was comfortable with at that time but understanding that I've
01:06dealt with you know anxiety, acute anxiety and depression for a long time and it was something
01:15that I was really ready to face publicly but it took you know four or five months of you know
01:22therapy and look at myself in the mirror and understanding that I wasn't liking what I was
01:27seeing. I think to myself what would I tell the 15 year old version of Kevin, of Kevin Love and
01:37for me it's always been a big weight lifted off my shoulders or a breath of fresh air for my own
01:43self or you know when I look in the mirror I think okay I'm happy with the man I am today.
01:49I'm not perfect, I'm very flawed but I'm happy with the man I am today. Nothing haunts us like
01:53the things we don't say you know like speak your truth. There's so much strength in numbers of
01:58those who have who have either struggled or that are willing to help you so don't be afraid to
02:04speak because you will never understand. I certainly didn't understand the people that
02:09have struggled with with their own mental health even in my own circle or people that I can reach
02:14out and touch. It's been really something that's been very helpful for me. It was me taking it in
02:19my own hands to tell my story and therefore pay it forward to you know myself but also
02:26you know that one kid that whose life I could affect that I could potentially change forever.
02:31Yeah there's always been a stigma around mental health as an athlete. I think
02:34ourselves and people in general always look at athletes as superhuman and that you know
02:41certain things just don't affect them. What I found is success is not immune to depression
02:47or anxiety or mental health issues.
03:01That's why you know I'm here working with Aurora. You know we just have very common ideals. We want
03:07to continue to eradicate this stigma surrounding mental health. We want to continue to practice
03:13vulnerability for really any demographic and just bring mental health to the forefront of
03:17conversation. Now it's really come full circle where I've started the Kevin Love Fund
03:24and now we're working on modeling vulnerability in classrooms across the country so it's an
03:29incredibly special time to to be working in this space and it's probably the the time
03:34um our time in history where it's been most needed truly.