Kevin Love shares his mental health tips for quarantine
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love tries to maintain a disciplined routine. He has discovered that as the most effective way to keep his mental health strong through concerns about the coronavirus.
“The unknown is really what scares us,” Love told USA TODAY Sports. “So for me, it’s keeping my mind occupied.”
Love remains aware it can be difficult to do that, however, especially during this ordeal.
More than 107,000 people have died in the United States because of COVID-19, and healthcare workers have risked their own lives to keep those numbers from rising steadily. While over 23 million people are unemployed, there are countless grocery store workers also putting their health on the line in order to keep a source of income.
For those that are healthy and can telecommute, they still have anxieties about paying bills, helping their kids with schooling and working from home. Love observed that the black community has become more vulnerable because of various racial and socioeconomic disadvantages, including quality of housing, access to healthcare and job opportunities.
Love donated $100,000 through his foundation to support the Cavaliers’ arena workers. As part of National Mental Health Awareness Month, Love also joined the Child Mind Institute’s Campaign, “#WeThriveInside,” which features various celebrities with video messages on their website as well as their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts. The videos also direct users to the Child Mind Institute’s COVID-related resources and how to donate to its COVID-19 relief fund. The organization will match donations up to $150,000.
“We’re all in this together,” Love said. “We need balance and we need to be present. Especially when we come out of this, we should be grateful for so many things that we have. For so many people, this has been an incredibly tough time.”
Dr. Harold Koplewicz, the founding president and medical director at Child Mind Institute, estimated that about 20% of the country’s population has a mental health disorder. About half of those people develop an illness by age 14, Love says. Therefore, Love shared these tips in hopes that both adults and children can apply some of these strategies into their own life.
- Develop a routine
Love writes what he calls “little micro goals” to ensure the beginning of a successful day. “If you don’t have a semblance of a routine,” Love said, “that can get you worked up and stressed.”
- Master 'the four pillars'
Meditation, physical exercise, mindfulness and gratitude – according to Love, those are "the four pillars."
- Consume media the right way
Love has tried mastering a media landscape that centers on stories much more important than trade chatter or criticism following a bad performance. These stories involve evolving news developments on COVID-19, and the continued hardships people face with staying healthy, losing loved ones and keeping their jobs.
“There is obviously some disheartening stuff that’s tough to consume because this is so detrimental to people’s lives,” Love said. “But for somebody like me, you want to see where you can find different ways to help.”
- Embrace the small acts of kindness
He has both helped those in need and has felt humbled when those thank him for his contributions. Yet, not everyone has the means to support others.
“It just shows you how fleeting life can be and taken away from you,” Love said. “The need to be mindful and present rings true more than ever.”
- Prepare to sleep
Well before shutting his eyelids, Love has adopted various tricks to maximize the duration and quality of his sleep. He uses the Headspace app, which has various exercises to help with breathing and meditating such as stretching and writing out what makes him feel grateful.
“That nightly routine is huge for me,” Love said. “Sleep is so important for the brain and to fight inflammation in your body. At this time, when you can be so on edge and so stressed, I’m always trying to making sure I’m getting the proper amount of sleep.”
“When Kevin talks about how he maintains his mental health, it makes it so much easier for someone else who feels very vulnerable to be able to say ‘I can get through this,’ ” Koplewicz said. “Kevin is a hero not for how many points he scores. Kevin has become a hero to so many of us because, in some ways, he changed the culture.”