Carson Daly & NBA Star Kevin Love Discuss Anxiety on Today Show “I had a moment where I thought I was going to die. I had never experienced something like that. I thought I was having a heart attack,” Love told Carson Daly. NBA All Star Kevin Love and Carson Daly have something in common—they both struggle with managing their anxiety. This came up in a recent interview on the Today show, where Love, who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, described the panic attack that set off his quest to spread mental health awareness. “I had a moment where I thought I was going to die. I had never experienced something like that. I thought I was having a heart attack,” he told Carson Daly. Love is sharing his experience in hopes that he’ll encourage more people to feel comfortable doing the same. Men in particular, Love says, have a hard time opening up about mental health issues. Raised on this mindset, at first Love, too, tried downplaying his panic attack. “I kind of brushed it off, because in our sport or in life, and being a man, you’re taught to suppress it. You’re taught to suffer in silence,” he said. Love’s essay “Everyone Is Going Through Something” was published in The Players’ Tribune in March 2018. In it, Love discussed the panic attack and the importance of talking about mental health. “To me, it was a form of weakness that could derail my success in sports or make me seem weird or different,” he wrote. “If you’re suffering silently like I was, then you know how it can feel like nobody gets it,” he wrote. “Partly, I want to do it for me, but mostly, I want to do it because people don’t talk about mental health enough. And men and boys are probably the farthest behind.” With Love and fellow NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Channing Frye speaking up about mental health, the NBA has addressed mental health in the league. It launched a new initiative under NBA Cares called Mind Health, aiming to teach people how to recognize and manage stress, while providing support. And the NBA Players Association appointed its first director of mental health and wellness, Dr. William Parham. TV anchor Carson Daly previously shared his struggles with anxiety disorder in March. The former Total Request Live (TRL) host said he was a “worrywart kid” and was “nervous my whole life.” His anxiety reached a breaking point the more success he achieved. “I had no idea what [a panic attack] was at the time,” he recalled. “The success of my career, I flew to New York, and my life changed overnight. I had a hard time breathing. I was terrified for no apparent reason.”<doc-sep>[image-1] This morning, Cleveland Cavalier Kevin Love appeared on theshow speaking with former MTV VJ Carson Daly about his struggle with anxiety.Love previously came out as an advocate for mental health in March when he penned an essay for, describing a panic attack he experienced during a game last fall. "It was like my body was trying to say to me, you’re about to die," Love, who recently signed a 4-year, $120 million extension with the Cavs, wrote inarticle. "I ended up on the floor in the training room, lying on my back, trying to get enough air to breathe. "During theshow interview, Daly admitted that Love was a big inspiration for him to talk about his own mental health issues on air as well. The pair touched on opening up about your feelings, not being afraid what others might think. "Everywhere I go, it's the same with you, having the courage to be up front with this kind of thing has been unlike anything I've ever experienced," Love told Daly.Watch the full, nearly 4-minute interview below:<doc-sep>Tony Dejak/Associated Press Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love opened up on his battles with anxiety during an interview on the Today Show with Carson Daly: "From my experience and in talking to other players that have dealt with a number of [mental health disorders], what's going to happen if people do find out about this?" he said. "Am I going to get the contract? Am I going to be able to take care of my family? What are people going to think of me?" Love also spoke about not closing himself off or hiding his feelings, which he had done in the past: "For us, it was always, 'Keep your chin up.' Which is fine, but don't suppress your feelings. Don't bury them, because eventually, that's going to add up and it's going to surface in one way or another. For me, it was rage fits or going dark for a few weeks and staying in my room after basketball practice and not talking to anybody and not getting much done." Love, 29, has spent the past four seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers after starting his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds this past season. Off the court, Love has continued to raise awareness for mental health alongside NBA players like DeMar DeRozan. In March, Love first opened up about his struggles with anxiety in an article for The Players Tribune. Love told Daly that after that article came out, his teammate at the time, LeBron James, pulled him to the side to speak to him. "He kind of said, 'Hey, do you have a moment?'" Love recalled. "He stopped me, shook my hand, looked me in my eye and said, 'You helped a lot of people today. It's important.' That was super powerful for me because his influence and having my back with that was super important to me." That support has made it easier for Love to confront his anxiety and speak about it publicly. "I have anxiety, but I also come from a family with a history of depression," Love told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan in February. "It's difficult to talk about. It's difficult to confront. I finally had to say to myself, 'Your whole life these things will affect you, so how are you going to manage it?'"<doc-sep>Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love has opened up about his own mental health and hopes to destigmatize the issue. Appearing on The Today Show in an interview with Carson Daly, Love addressed the situation he deals with on a daily basis: While NBA players like Love and DeMar DeRozan publicly raise awareness for mental health concerns, ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan reported that some team owners want access to the full range of players' medical records: "The union insists that mental health treatment be confidential, but some NBA owners, who in some cases are paying their players hundreds of millions of dollars, want access to the files of their 'investments.' "Confidentiality, says Love, has to be non-negotiable. Without it, he says, he never would have become comfortable enough to announce from that All-Star dais that he was seeking treatment." Houston Rockets assistant coach John Lucas told MacMullan he believes 40 percent or more of NBA players have mental health concerns, and Dr. William Parham—who serves as the director of mental health and wellness for the NBA Players Association—said that number wasn't an exaggeration. "It's an epidemic in our league," Lucas said. "I'm talking about everything from ADHD to bipolar [disorder] to anxiety and depression." Video Play Button Videos you might like Another issue is that many players don't realize they are struggling with mental health or don't seek treatment. An Eastern Conference coach told MacMullan: "I've got three guys on my team—two on medication. Some days they're fine. Some days they aren't. I'm trying to be as sensitive as I can, but I'm not a doctor or a psychiatrist, and sometimes I'm asked to be." DeRozan has also spoken out about his struggles with depression and anxiety. "You think when you come from a difficult environment that if you get out and you make it to the NBA, all that bad stuff is supposed to be wiped clean," he told MacMullan. "But then this whole new dynamic loaded with stress comes your way." "With an investment in player wellness, these athletes can perform at an even higher level than they are now," Parham added. "But they have to be willing. Otherwise, nobody can help them."<doc-sep>
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has been an articulate spokesman on mental health in the NBA. After a panic attack that hospitalized him during a game in November, he spoke openly about the incident, his dealings with anxiety, and the stigma of mental health in the league in an article on The Players' Tribune in March. Love again opened up about mental health and the importance of addressing it on Monday in an interview with Carson Daly on NBC's "Today" show, telling Daly that, during the November incident, he felt he was taking his last breaths on earth. "I had a moment where I thought I was going to die," Love said. "I had never experienced something like that, I thought I was having a heart attack. I was running around looking for something I couldn't find." Love went into further detail in a profile published by ESPN's Jackie MacMullan on Monday where he explained what the feeling of the panic attack was like. "My heart was jumping out of my chest," Love said. "I couldn't get any air to my lungs. I was trying to clear my throat by sticking my hand down my throat. "It was terrifying. I thought I was having a heart attack. I was very scared. I really felt like I was going to die in that moment." Love has advocated for the NBA to address mental health and urged that it be done in a way where confidentiality for the player seeking treatment can be reserved. There is a stigma, he says, that may detract people in need of help to seek it if confidentiality is breached. "People carry [mental health issues] differently," Love told ESPN. "Everyone has to come to their own conclusions when to address it. One of my favorite [TV shows] of all time is 'The Sopranos.' I'm sitting there watching it, and James Gandolfini is going to see a therapist. He's telling her, 'F--- this, I don't need this,' and by the end, he's like, 'I can't get enough of this.' "That's a little bit how I feel right now." Love has been encouraged by fellow NBA players for his courageous decision to speak candidly on mental health, including LeBron James, and he hasn't been alone in speaking up. DeMar DeRozan and Channing Frye have also broached the subject publicly in hopes of reducing the stigma associated with mental health. Now he hopes others will follow suit. "It's an epidemic in our league," John Lucas told ESPN of mental health issues. "I'm talking about everything from ADHD to bipolar to anxiety and depression."