BEING ABLE TO SHARE IT AND BEING UPFRONT WITH IT IS REALLY
POWERFUL.
POWERFUL. >> LOOK WHO IS IN 1A WITH US.
KEVIN LOVE.
KEVIN LOVE. ONE OF THE THINGS I FIND MOST
STRIKING ABOUT YOUR STORY IS
WHEN THIS HAPPENS, YOU BASICALLY
FIND OUT THERE IS NO ONE THERE
THAT CAN HELP YOU.
THERE IS A HOLE IN YOUR CARE
SYSTEM AND YOU PLAY FOR AN NBA
TEAM.
TEAM. >> THAT’S RIGHT.
AND SO MUCH OF THE TIME IT’S
MANIFESTED FOR ME SINCE I HAVE
BEEN YOUNG AND NOT BEING ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND IT ANDIN REALLY TERRI
WAYS.
WAYS. I ALWAYS HAD SOMEWHERE TO GO.
WHEN I HAD MY PANIC ATTACK I WAS
OUT THERE ON THE FLOOR.
WE HAD JUST COME OUT OF A
TIMEOUT.
TIMEOUT. I WAS ABOUT TO CHECK BACK IN AND
I HAD TO FIND A WAY TO GET AWAY
FROM IT ALL.
BUT I RAN AROUND LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING THAT I COULDN’T FIND.
I ENDED UP ON THE FLOOR.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SEEN THE
FOOTAGE.
FOOTAGE. I HAD AN EPISODE THAT REALLY
SCARED ME.
SCARED ME. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK OF
IT.
IT. I THOUGHT THIS COULD BE IT.
I ENDED UP GOING TO THE
CLEVELAND CLINIC, THE HOSPITAL,
AND EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT.
I KIND OF KNEW I HAD TO START
DEALING WITH THIS.
>> I HAVE HAD A PANIC ATTACK
BEFORE WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU
CAN’T BREATHE.
CAN’T BREATHE. IN THAT MOMENTS THERE IS NOTHING
ANYONE ELSE CAN REALLY DO FOR
YOU.
YOU. SO FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED
WITH THIS, I MEAN, WHAT IS THE
ADVICE GOING FORWARD?
IS IT SOMETHING YOU NEED TO
ADDRESS BEFORE IT HAPPENS?
>> YES.
>> YES. IT’S DIFFERENT WITH EACH
DEMOGRAPHIC, I FEEL LIKE.
BUT WITH YOUNG KIDS, I WOULD
JUST SAY THAT TO SPEAK YOUR
TRUTH.
TRUTH. NOTHING HAUNTS US LIKE THE
THINGS WE DON’T SAY.
IT’S TOUGH TO BE VULNERABLE
WHETHER YOU ARE MALE OR FEMALE.
SO MUCH IS LOOKED AT AS YOU ARE
NOT STRONG, YOU ARE THOUGHT LESS
OF.
OF. AND IT’S SCARY TO BE VULNERABLE,
LIKE I MENTIONED.
SO A LOT OF THE TIME IT’S JUST
SPEAKING YOUR TRUTH.
IT MAKES YOU MORE EVOLVED AND
FEEL STRONGER, AND YOU REALIZE,
WHAT I REALIZED IS THERE IS SUCH
A COMMUNITY OUT THERE.
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT
EITHER IN THE FIRST PERSON OR
WITHIN ARM’S REACH THAT DEAL
WITH MENTAL WELLNESS, MENTAL
HEAT, MENTAL ILLNESS ON AN
EVERYDAY BASIS.
EVERYDAY BASIS. SO THAT’S SOMETHING I HAVE BEGUN
TO NOTICE.
TO NOTICE. IT’S SOMETHING THAT, THAT’S THE
REASON WE’RE HERE.
>> WHAT ROLE DOES THERAPY PLAY?
A DOUBLE QUESTION.
I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE
STRUGGLING WITH THIS, MAYBE
THEIR KIDS ARE.
DO YOU START EARLY WITH THE
THERAPY?
THERAPY? PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THOUSAND GO
ABOUT IT.
ABOUT IT. >> IT’S TOUGH.
THERAPY HAS BEEN GREAT.
IT’S REALLY CHANGED MY LIFE,
GOING TO SEE A TRAINED
PROFESSIONAL.
PROFESSIONAL. BUT THERAPY IS, I THINK IT’S IN
SOME WAYS CAN BE AN AMBIGUOUS
TERM.
TERM. IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED IN THAT
MOMENT AND HOW YOU CAN, YOU
KNOW, REACH DIFFERENT FORMS TO
WORK WITH YOURSELF WHETHER IT BE
MEDITATION, WHETHER IT BE
EXERCISE AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
THERAPY ALSO DOESN’T HAVE TO BE
A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL.
IT CAN BE A BUDDY, A FAMILY
MEMBER, A BEST FRIEND.
SO THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I HAVE
LEARNED AS WELL BECAUSE EVEN IN
TALKING WITH MY BROTHER AND MY
SISTER, I HAVE LEARNED THINGS
ABOUT MYSELF WHEN I HAD THOSE
BLINDERS ON WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND
DIDN’T UNDERSTAND IT THAT I HAD
MISSED.
MISSED. >> AND YOU START TALKING TO
PEOPLE AND YOU REALIZE
EVERYONE --
EVERYONE -- >> YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> THAT’S SUPER POWERFUL AS
WELL.
WELL. I THINK I PRESS SEND ON MY
PLAYERS ARTICLE, RIGHT AWAY THE
REACTION AND JUST THE PEOPLE
THAT CAME OUT IN FULL FORCE TO
NOT ONLY SUPPORT ME, BUT SUPPORT
THE COMMUNITY AROUND MENTAL
HEALTH.
HEALTH. IT WAS CRAZY.
IT’S REALLY VAST.
IT JUST SHOWS YOU THE STRENGTH
OF EVERYONE, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO
TALK ABOUT SUCH HARD-HITTING
TOPICS IN A FINALTIME I FEEL IT’
MUCH NEEDED.
MUCH NEEDED. >> YOU ARE HELPING FANS ALL
OVER.
OVER. TELL US ABOUT MADELEINE.
>> MADELEINE.
>> MADELEINE. WELL, IT’S FUNNY.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, YOU
CAN’T, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN’T
DIRECT MESSAGE SOMEBODY, BUT --
UNLESS YOU FOLLOW THEM, BUT YOU
CAN CONTINUE TO BE IN THE
MENTIONS AND WRITE SOMEBODY A
TWEET.
TWEET. SO ACTUALLY LAST YEAR AFTER THIS
ARTICLE HAD COME OUT, THE FATHER
OF MADELEINE HAD MENTIONED SHE
WAS GOING THROUGH A LOT OF TOUGH
TIMES, HAD BEEN HOSPITALIZED,
DEALING WITH PANIC ATTACKS,
DEPRESSION.
DEPRESSION. HE MENTIONED THAT I HAD REALLY
HELPED HER IN TELLING MY STORY
AND TRYING TO END THE STIGMA AND
CHANGE THE CONVERSATION AROUND
MENTAL HEALTH.
MENTAL HEALTH. AND FAST FORWARD TO THIS YEAR.
I FOLLOWED THE FATHER.
HE HAD REACHED OUT TO ME, GOT
HER TO A GAME, AND SAT HER FRONT
ROW AND WE EXCHANGED A LITTLE
GIFT.
GIFT. IT’S LIKE HER LITTLE REMINDER OF
WHAT ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE
ARE.
ARE. SO IT WAS VERY COOL TO SEE THE
IMPACT OF THESE TYPE OF PEOPLE.
THERE IS ANOTHER KID ACTUALLY IN
PHOENIX, MACE, WHO BROUGHT A
SIGN TO THE GAME ABOUT THE
ARTICLE.
ARTICLE. ONE OF MY TEAMMATES, LARRY
NANCE, POINTED IT OUT.
WE BROUGHT HIM BACK AFTER THE
GAME AND SPOKE TO HIM AND HIS
PARENTS AS WELL.
SEEING THAT REACH AND SEEING
ACROSS THE LEAGUE, ESPECIALLY
WITH THE YOUNGER KIDS, TOO,
BECAUSE EVEN AS A KID YOU DON’T
UNDERSTAND IT.
UNDERSTAND IT. I HAVE BEEN IN THAT POSITION.
AS THE PARENTS AS WELL, YOU WANT
TO KNOW WHY THIS IS HAPPENING TO
YOUR KID.
YOUR KID. >> NEXT TIME I WANT TO INTRODUCE
THE WORLD TO YOUR DOG.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, BY
THE WAY, IS STRUGGLING WITH
MENTAL HEALTH CALL THE NATIONAL
ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS HELP
LINE.
LINE. THE PHONE NUMBER 1-800-950-NAM.
ALSO GO TO TODAY.COM FOR MORE
INFORMATION AND LEARN ABOUT THE
KEVIN LOVE FUND AS WELL.