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Athletes making a stand for Mental Health

For as long as competitive sports have been around, athletes have been the staple for both phsyical and mental strength. However, this synonymity with strength has in turn created an atmosphere in which any "signs of weakness", including that of mental health, was condemned to be unfit. And Athletes  have never really had a platform or place to express the burdensome experiences, whether they may be sports related or not, openly and without feeling self-conscious. Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has recently posted an essay about his personal experience with Mental health, and in particular his incident with a panic attack. As Love recites, he never saw it coming, but when it did, it felt completely paralyzing both physically and mentally. And due to this experience, Love has been seeing a therapist to understand why a panic attack had struck him. He expresses in his essay that, underneath who he presented himself to be, there had been layers of complicated matters which he had supressed for years because of the expectations of an athelete. Love specifically commends DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors for his courage to come out and express his struggles with depression, as he understands better than anyone all the fear and reluctance you must overcome to open up about your said vulnerability. Both DeRozan and Love are pushing a specific agenda: to make others feel comfortable expressing that they are experiencing some sort of mental health issue. If men like these, who society associates with strength and power, can express their personal tribulations with mental health, more people can find the courage to do so as well.