Cavs’ Love discloses bouts with panic attacks, mental health

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star Kevin Love has opened up about his panic attack this season and his struggles with mental health.

The 29-year-old forward writes in an essay for the Players’ Tribune on Tuesday that he was overcome by anxiety during a Nov. 5 home game against Atlanta. He was briefly hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic and the episode left him shaken.

Love is sidelined with a broken left hand. He says he has long been wary of the stigma of athletes being portrayed as weak if they speak about their psychological health. He says he drew courage after Toronto All-Star DeMar DeRozan disclosed he has dealt with depression.

In his essay, titled “Everyone Is Going Through Something,” Love says he has begun seeing a therapist. He encourages others who are suffering to seek help, saying “mental health isn’t just an athlete thing. This is an everyone thing.”