Inspired Love may make spreading message on mental health his 'life's work'

The response he has received from his revealing essay in The Players' Tribune in which he opened up on how he cares for his mental health has caught Kevin Love

The response he has received from his revealing essay in The Players' Tribune in which he opened up on how he cares for his mental health has caught Kevin Love completely off-guard.

And the All-Star forward of the Cleveland Cavaliers is extremely thankful and appreciative for it.

Love described the reaction the story received as "overwhelming" and has him contemplating continuing to spread the message as his "life's work."

In the 2,300-word essay, Love opened up about suffering a panic attack during a game in Atlanta in November and his subsequent manner in which he's examined his mental health and the steps he's taking in an attempt to improve it. If you're in a similar situation as Love, you may want to learn how to calm yourself during a panic attack. No matter who you are, acknowledging your mental health is very important. The more you speak about it, the more people will feel comfortable talking about their problems. If you know of anyone who suffers from panic attacks, you could try recommending that they look into medication like zoloft generic and see whether they will be willing to give it a go. Of course, do the research first so you understand the basics of what it is you're taking, as we all know how important our health is.

"It's been amazing," Love told reporters at shootaround Wednesday morning before the Cavaliers went out and defeated the Nuggets. "After that November game against the Hawks, I felt I needed to address something and look inward for myself, but also I thought yesterday was a great chance to be able to help people, and that's why I set out to do it."

The reaction to his story was much, much more than Love expected.

"I didn't realize that the response would be like it was or like it is," he said. "It's amazing what we're able to do with this platform, but as I mentioned, everybody is going through something. Everybody has things that you can't see, that you can't touch that they're walking around with every day."

Love invited readers to follow up on his essay by sharing their own stories via email to his Players' Tribune account. He said as of Wednesday morning, more than 4,000 messages had been received and he had assembled a team to read them all as soon as possible.

Love's teammates have responded in extremely positive manners, too.

"Everybody is going through something," Love said. "So I think whether it was talking to Kyle [Korver] about parenting his kids and how he has two young boys, or just talking to LeBron [James]. He shook my hand and said, 'You helped a lot of people today.' That's what's big. Just them even acknowledging that and retweeting that and just breathing more life into it is just huge.

"I mentioned it doesn't discriminate, but in a lot of ways, young men and young boys are pretty far behind. That was pretty apparent yesterday in talking to guys and talking to someone like Jose [Calderon], who sits next to me on the plane. There's a lot of followups to this. Overwhelming is a good word to use, and also I mean that in a positive way, a positive connotation. I'm just trying to read through all the emails, all the texts and respond to everybody in the right way. There's a lot of work to be done, but I'm really glad this is out there and I'm really glad I can help."

When asked about Love going public with the issues he's facing and what he's doing about them, James could not have been more supportive.

"I think Kevin's always been accepted in our locker room from Day 1," James said. "I don't think it changes how we've always kind of seen Kev. I think people dealing with the same situation, that's in the same situation as Kev, I think it helps them out more than anybody to not feel like they're alone because they're not.

"As athletes we're put up on this pedestal, but we go through some of the same problems. ... We're all human beings, all of us. I think it's very enlightening for him to know that and to see that in himself and know that he can help others by doing that."

When asked why athletes often seem more willing and comfortable discussing their physical problems than their mental ones, James said even in this new age, it's old-school beliefs that take over.

James was asked why athletes seem more comfortable discussing physical ailments than mental ones.

"Because we live in a sport or in a world where our whole lives we were always taught, 'Figure it out on your own. Be as strong as you can. Don't show anybody any weakness,'" James said. "That's how we've been built. We've been built like that our whole lives, ever since we picked up a basketball or picked up a football, whatever the case may be. It's like, 'Be as strong as you can and deal with any issues that you can on your own.' That sometimes can become a problem.

"Obviously, when you're able to see that, sometimes that's not the way to deal with it, it actually makes you even [stronger] in the respective sport that you are in."

Love said in his essay that fellow All-Star DeMarDeRozan opening up and discussing his battle against depression last week was part of his motivation in penning his story.

"Without a guy like DeMar DeRozan coming out and speaking about mental health, I probably wouldn't have pressed 'send' yesterday," Love said. "He opened the door for me, so I respect him and love him for that."

While DeRozan's public proclamation of his struggles motivated Love to come forward, his story had the same effect on Washington Wizards guard KellyOubre.

"A lot of people are coming out with things about mental health," Oubre told NBC Sports Washington. "I feel as if, yeah, man, I've suffered through a lot of things in my life. I've been through a lot of things.

"I can definitely relate to it all. ... I'm really good at keeping a poker face, because when I was growing up my dad always told me, 'Don't let anybody see you weak.' Nobody sees that I'm weak, but deep down inside I am going through a lot. Hell is turning over."

Cavaliers coach TyronnLue said he told the team of Love's panic attack at the infamous team meeting two days after an embarrassing nationally televised loss to visiting Oklahoma City at Quicken Loans Arena. Love was reportedly called out by then-teammates IsaiahThomas and DwayneWade for exiting the game less than three minutes in, dressing and leaving the arena before the final whistle and not being at practice the following day.

"I think it's good when you're letting people know what you're going through, what you're dealing with," Lue said. "(I) hate to see anybody with any kind of illness, you know, but we're here for Kevin. We're going to support him 100 percent with whatever he needs, and I'm just glad he was able to open up.

"Some of us already knew, and you know, he's doing all the things he can to better himself and get help. And we're just going to be there to support him with whatever he needs. We're going to be here for him."

While his revealing essay has obviously touched many, Love, in turn, feels the same way with the reactions it's received.

"I remember talking to my agent [JeffSchwartz of Excel Sports Management], I showed him kind of what I wrote and he said, 'I understand what you're doing and we both agree that even if we're able to help one person and one person not live with the stigma thinking it's weird or different to have certain issues every single day that this is going to be an amazing thing,'" Love said.

"I want to continue to push this message. Just open the door for other athletes and people of power, influential people, just to speak out about this topic because it is so prevalent and really looks like it was needed. We need to beat down that stigma about mental health and need to be able to come out and talk things out.

"It wasn't just the singular panic attack I had in November. It was some deep-seated stuff that needed to come out, that I needed to address and I'm better for it. I'm better for seeing someone and being more open and better to the people in my life. So, I think the fact that it does ring home to me and is so near and dear to my heart and the people around me, I'm more than willing to help people. Like Kyle and I mentioned, this could be life's work, not only for myself but a number of guys that are going to step up in the process."