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New York Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner said a panic attack last season while the Buffalo Sabers helped him become sober.
In a first-person account for The Athletic, the veteran goalkeeper claims to have suffered a panic attack in a March 29 game against the Detroit Red Wings.
"When Zero finally hit (at the end of the second period), I came back and sat in the coaches room," said Lehner. "I could barely get out my equipment, I broke down, I had a major panic attack, I thought I was having a heart attack, I had no idea what was going on, I could not go back on the ice. "
Lehner says that after the intermission he was sent home, but on the way he stopped to buy beer and after a night of drinking, he said to his wife: "I have to go.
Lehner has never played another game for the Sabers. Instead, he went to rehab, where he said he was treated for alcohol and drug addiction and diagnosed as "bipolar and ADHD with PTSD and trauma" and had manic phases.
According to Mr. Lehner, it took three weeks of detoxification at the treatment center, and he began to face a personal battle "now complicated by the experiences of abuse, addiction, and mental illness of my childhood."
According to Lehner, through treatment, he realized that his mental health problems affected not only how he was on the ice and with his family, but also his play.
"With these manic swings, I could see the model." Said Lehner. "When I was hypomanic and cheerful, I was a solid goalkeeper.The depressive state, not so much."
Although he was released by the Sabers in June, Lehner says he still has good relations with Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill, who, according to Lehner, has spoken with him several times during the summer. 'summer.
Having signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Islanders in July, Lehner, 27, enters his ninth season in the NHL, ready to "fight what's ahead of me" and looks forward to a hockey season. sober. first time in his career.
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