Royce White: Releases Statement - Wants Private Bus At Times

Not sure why Im doing this, but I guess this is to stand up for a guy who I know first hand what he's going through. In saying that, I dont have the pressure of playing in the NBA, but Im telling you for real, this guy is one brave Mofo for even attempting to take on a career in the spotlight like he is. I have Social Disorder, Post Trauma, anxiety, depression, panic attacks etc etc. To explain what its like to have it, is incredibly fustrating at times and you wonder what its like for people around you who dont have to live with so much fear everyday. People around you just ask, what is wrong with this guy, is he weird or something? He looks normal to me, and has no reason to be afraid, why is he scared?

Everyday life is a challenge, I am fearful of so many things, that I forget what its like to be free and have fun. I can for the most part do the normal things like play basketball with my mates, small normal things everyone else does etc and I do have moments where I come out of it, like I can deal with my close group of friends, or one on one interaction. I avoid potential moments of embarassment, like ill avoid group parties, or social events(unless i get drunk) and I sure as hell couldn't public speak, so most of my interaction is with one or 2 people at a time.

I have a girlfriend that encourages me, and tries to push me through some smaller fears, however I am afraid of marrying her or going to a BBQ with her family and friends for example, as I am susceptable to a panic attack. I feel helpless that I cant do that for her, but at the same time I do understand the world does not understand these type of things-except for others who have the same condition.

Going back to what Royce White is facing, I couldnt imagine ever facing what he's about to face. But I take my hat off to the guy for at least trying. Being in the spotlight and public speaking, which he will have to do. What Id suggest would be 1 guy in the Rockets team to take him under his wing, and make him real welcome and be by his side, to face people and whatever he will have to do. I used sport as a way of feeling accepted, so I was able to play without fear of outside influences, as I was good at it. Unfortunately, that only works in that area for me, so I guess on court he will be fine, its when he comes off the court that he will feel the pressure.

Good Luck to you Royce, Im a fan of yours already :applause:

[QUOTE=LosBulls]Actually its the opposite. Its better for him to come out and say it and to actually look for help instead of having a guy play through with it and then suddenly exploding.[/QUOTE]
yeah but it looks like it might be a bit too much for a team to deal with. what about back to back games too far apart to take a bus? i really feel for the kid but it doesn't look good.

[QUOTE=jbot]yeah but it looks like it might be a bit too much for a team to deal with. what about back to back games too far apart to take a bus? i really feel for the kid but it doesn't look good.[/QUOTE]

I think once he gets to know the other players, through playing games, practice etc he will be fine...I think what he is afraid of is the initial meeting part, and his teammates accepting him etc.

[QUOTE=LosBulls]He needs to smoke some weed before every flight. I bet it would solve his problem.

Petition for the NBA to legalize weed for him plz.[/QUOTE]

if i'm not driving i get really car sick on any drive longer than 30 minutes unless i blaze up beforehand :lol

so thumbs up to that idea

I wish that more people (who had this problem) understood that it is a behavioral disorder. It's not a "disease" as some people have described it as and it's very correctable. I'm living proof of that. Having said that, as others have said it takes major guts for a guy with this problem to choose a career like playing in the NBA. A career that involves frequent flights, a lot of media obligations, playing in front of thousands of fans, tremendous training schedule and pressures of winning, etc...I don't know whether he will succeed in doing all this but I do know I have an ultimate amount of respect for him for not giving up on his dream.

The bus thing isn't a solution, it's a way to avoid facing the problem.

How was he traveling far distances in college?

[QUOTE=niko]The bus thing isn't a solution, it's a way to avoid facing the problem.[/QUOTE]

but he's still going to be flying to most games. he's just taking a bus in driveable situations. when someone is suffering from anxiety, you want to gradually expose them to their stressor/trigger, not immerse them with no escape.

i don't know if that will work but i can see how it's an early sensible plan. as he gets more used to flying, he should be able to ditch the bus. i'm guessing that's the end goal here. it'll be interesting how this unfolds or if he'll go MIA again later in the season.

as far as the college distance thing, i know he drove with his grandpa from ames to louisville for the tourney. that's like 650+ miles...

[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Just the amount of separation from his team and practices he'd have to miss makes it a nonstarter. There's like 4 cities a bus trip from Dallas makes any kind of sense for. What's he going to do when Houston's in LA then Portland the next night then Utah two days after that or something [/QUOTE]

is he definitely not flying at all?

i think he plans on just using the bus, when its possible, not that he is only gonna play games he can drive to.

I don't understand why he doesn't take medication for it. If he does, why isn't it working? Someone told me that the medication messes his focus up. That sounds like bullshit. I've taken anxiety medication before and it did not affect my focus. I'm not everyone, but I had no idea that some people can't play basketball on it.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]I wish that more people (who had this problem) understood that [B]it is a behavioral disorder[/B]. It's not a "disease" as some people have described it as and it's very correctable. I'm living proof of that. Having said that, as others have said it takes major guts for a guy with this problem to choose a career like playing in the NBA. A career that involves frequent flights, a lot of media obligations, playing in front of thousands of fans, tremendous training schedule and pressures of winning, etc...I don't know whether he will succeed in doing all this but I do know I have an ultimate amount of respect for him for not giving up on his dream.[/QUOTE]

Yes, a disorder caused by brain chemicals which means it is physical. It's a physical issue just like blindness or deafness. He can't control it. The difference though is that there is a lot of help to turn to for anxiety.

[quote]I hope he can get past it, but he's in the wrong career path.[/quote]
Yup. If you can't cut it, you can't cut it. Being an NBA player requires more than an ability to play basketball well. You have to be able to play 100 48-minute games every year for years at a time, you have to do it in a huge arena, you have to do it with pressure, you have to do it with 11 other guys. If you can't cut it, you need to do something else.

There is a "war" element to professional sports. And if you've got 12 warriors, you can't have one of them having all these special needs and you have him not because he's an asset but because you feel bad and you wish he could produce.

[QUOTE=RoseCity07]Yes, a disorder caused by brain chemicals which means it is physical. It's a physical issue just like blindness or deafness. He can't control it. The difference though is that there is a lot of help to turn to for anxiety.[/QUOTE]
I challenge you to actually do some legit research on the subject. The "chemical imbalance" theory has been around for years but there's been numerous tests and none have confirmed or supported that fact. I say this as someone who was told that same theory by a psychiatrist and given some vitamins and seratonin pills to balance it out and they had no affect whatsoever. Numerous studies have compared the results of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs. pills and CBT without pills has proven to be the method that cures most sufferers. And has been the one that has brought me at least to the brink of a cure now compared to where I was. It is controllable, and not just controllable, curable, and it's ignorance on the subject to think otherwise. And it's not physical whatsoever. People with anxiety issues by themself have no physical symptoms. It's your mind that makes you feel like you do.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]I challenge you to actually do some legit research on the subject. The "chemical imbalance" theory has been around for years but there's been numerous tests and none have confirmed or supported that fact. I say this as someone who was told that same theory by a psychiatrist and given some vitamins and seratonin pills to balance it out and they had no affect whatsoever. Numerous studies have compared the results of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs. pills and CBT without pills has proven to be the method that cures most sufferers. And has been the one that has brought me at least to the brink of a cure now compared to where I was. It is controllable, and not just controllable, curable, and it's ignorance on the subject to think otherwise. And it's not physical whatsoever. People with anxiety issues by themself have no physical symptoms. It's your mind that makes you feel like you do.[/QUOTE]

They did not work for you, but that does not mean there is anything wrong with you. You can be depressed and medication might not do anything to help. I'm just saying in some cases medication does correct it. That is evidence in my opinion that there is a chemical imbalance in certain cases. I don't know really know why some anxiety can be cured with therapy but I think that's great.

Just like medication didn't work for you, your solution might not work for certain people. Both treatments are options.

Medication contains it, it doesn't correct it. I'd love to see the research you have that shows that medication by itself has corrected an anxiety disorder.

[QUOTE=RoseCity07]They did not work for you, but that does not mean there is anything wrong with you. You can be depressed and medication might not do anything to help. I'm just saying in some cases medication does correct it. That is evidence in my opinion that there is a chemical imbalance in certain cases. I don't know really know why some anxiety can be cured with therapy but I think that's great.

Just like medication didn't work for you, your solution might not work for certain people. Both treatments are options.[/QUOTE]Good post, Anxiety disorders are not caused by any one thing. All cases are different, all patients are different. For some people it's life crippling problem for others it's a minor annoyance. Everyone deals with it in different ways, not every docotr approaches the problem form the same angle

Anyone, Doctor, therapist, indian chief or even somebody who suffers some form of anxiety disorder themselves, who tries to make it a one size fits all problem is doing those that suffer a terrible disservice. You can't say it worked for me so it has to work for that person because what they suffer from could be 180 degrees the other way. Just like not all spot are measles, not all coughs are bronchitis, not all anxiety disorders are the same.

As I said, find one piece of evidence that shows that medicine has cured anxiety for someone without therapy and i'll gladly say I stand corrected.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]Medication contains it, it doesn't correct it. I'd love to see the research you have that shows that medication by itself has corrected an anxiety disorder.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I guess I would say for some it's like a cure because their anxiety isn't ongoing. The medication just gets them through the times they need it. I don't have any research and I don't want to go find any right now. I doubt there is any. I have nothing against therapy especially if it can help the person permanently get over their anxiety. All I'm saying, if that doesn't work, then why not just treat it with medication so he can get out on the floor?

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]As I said, find one piece of evidence that shows that medicine has cured anxiety for someone without therapy and i'll gladly say I stand corrected.[/QUOTE]
Does it have to be pharmaceutical medicine in your opinion?

[QUOTE=daily]Good post, Anxiety disorders are not caused by any one thing. All cases are different, all patients are different. For some people it's life crippling problem for others it's a minor annoyance. Everyone deals with it in different ways, not every docotr approaches the problem form the same angle

Anyone, Doctor, therapist, indian chief or even somebody who suffers some form of anxiety disorder themselves, who tries to make it a one size fits all problem is doing those that suffer a terrible disservice. You can't say it worked for me so it has to work for that person because what they suffer from could be 180 degrees the other way. Just like not all spot are measles, not all coughs are bronchitis, not all anxiety disorders are the same.[/QUOTE]


QFT

Will rep.

[QUOTE=RoseCity07]I agree. I guess I would say for some it's like a cure because their anxiety isn't ongoing. The medication just gets them through the times they need it. I don't have any research and I don't want to go find any right now. I doubt there is any. I have nothing against therapy especially if it can help the person permanently get over their anxiety. All I'm saying, if that doesn't work, then why not just treat it with medication so he can get out on the floor?[/QUOTE]
Ok fair enough. And I wasn't saying there is a blanket cure that works for everyone by the way. All I was saying is that some see a "cure" in a different way than others. My mother has anxiety issues too and she doesn't do any therapy. She takes anxiety meds and has done so for about the past 15 years. They do help her to feel mellowed out and lower her stress levels but if she ever can't take her pills or runs out or for any reason misses a dose, her anxiety levels are significantly higher than they were without the pills. So at it's core, the "cure" lies in facing your fears and retraining your brain into how to handle it when your symptoms arise. I'm not just pulling this out of my ass or stating what has worked or not worked for me, it's scientific fact, it's been tested.

[QUOTE=RoseCity07]I don't understand why he doesn't take medication for it. If he does, why isn't it working? Someone told me that the medication messes his focus up. That sounds like bullshit. I've taken anxiety medication before and it did not affect my focus. I'm not everyone, but I had no idea that some people can't play basketball on it.[/QUOTE]
That can definitely alter your focus, attention longevity, mood, motivation..among many other things.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]Ok fair enough. And I wasn't saying there is a blanket cure that works for everyone by the way. All I was saying is that some see a "cure" in a different way than others. My mother has anxiety issues too and she doesn't do any therapy. She takes anxiety meds and has done so for about the past 15 years. They do help her to feel mellowed out and lower her stress levels but if she ever can't take her pills or runs out or for any reason misses a dose, her anxiety levels are significantly higher than they were without the pills. So at it's core, the "cure" lies in facing your fears and retraining your brain into how to handle it when your symptoms arise. I'm not just pulling this out of my ass or stating what has worked or not worked for me, it's scientific fact, it's been tested.[/QUOTE]
Your mothers 'anxiety' didn't become worse when she ran out of meds.. Its the fact that the drugs are so potent that she started immediately feeling the withdrawal symptoms.

withdrawal from any substance will give you headaches, the shakes, and depending on the specific case can get quite severe.

A lot of people get added anxiety simply by dropping caffeine cold turkey.. So one can only imagine with SSRI type meds.

If you stop the meds suddenly instead of progressively tapering off.. You will feel anxiety (and even panic attacks) much worse than your original problem. You end up in a highened state of anxious neurosis.

[QUOTE=ZeN]Your mothers 'anxiety' didn't become worse when she ran out of meds.. Its the fact that the drugs are so potent that she started immediately feeling the withdrawal symptoms.

withdrawal from any substance will give you headaches, the shakes, and depending on the specific case can get quite severe.

A lot of people get added anxiety simply by dropping caffeine cold turkey.. So one can only imagine with SSRI type meds.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I know that even though I didn't state it in my post. It becomes a chemical dependency after awhile. Point being still that the pills don't cure anxiety. They just make it more manageable. And there are a high percentage of people in clinical studies (something like 80%+) who have been able to be cured without them. Or with a combination of the pills and therapy but weaning off the pills slowly as they improve.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]Yes, I know that even though I didn't state it in my post. It becomes a chemical dependency after awhile. Point being still that the pills don't cure anxiety. They just make it more manageable. And there are a high percentage of people in clinical studies (something like 80%+) who have been able to be cured without them. Or with a combination of the pills and therapy but weaning off the pills slowly as they improve.[/QUOTE]
I see what what your saying.

I personally feel that regardless of what you do, there is no cure.

No matter what medicinal products you take or therapy you experience.. If you have these issues, you are always a few catalyst situations away from rebounding to the foul state.

Which is why no matter what you do, it is important to adjust the lifestyle to things that will maintain a certain sense of equilibrium. Work on habits that will allow you to be stable, avoid things that set off the condition, and face problems with an open mind and willingness to change.

Unfortunately most issues like the one in the OP can only be solved by Shock. He will have to suffer in forcing himself to face reality, evaluate the situation, and come to terms with what needs to be done for his life to change.


Nothing will change...until he wants things to change.. Acceptance can be a real bitch..

[QUOTE=ZeN]I see what what your saying.

I personally feel that regardless of what you do, there is no cure.

No matter what medicinal products you take or therapy you experience.. If you have these issues, you are always a few catalyst situations away from rebounding to the foul state.

Which is why no matter what you do, it is important to adjust the lifestyle to things that will maintain a certain sense of equilibrium. Work on habits that will allow you to be stable, avoid things that set off the condition, and face problems with an open mind and willingness to change.

Unfortunately most issues like the one in the OP can only be solved by Shock. He will have to suffer in forcing himself to face reality, evaluate the situation, and come to terms with what needs to be done for his life to change.[/QUOTE]
Right. I respectfully disagree. But... It would probably help for me to explain what I think "cured" means. When I say I think it can be cured, I don't see a cure as going back to exactly how you were pre anxiety disorder. I see a cure as now having the knowledge and understanding as to what they really are which increases your ability to cope when the symptoms do arise. Making them come far less frequently and with a much ity to the point where it's not even something you spend a lot of time overthinkink and worrying about compiling the problem and adding fear.

Sorry I'm on with my phone right now. But a brief correction cure meaning more understanding leading to less frequency and lower intensity when those symptoms do come back.

[QUOTE=C-Webb4]Sorry I'm on with my phone right now. But a brief correction cure meaning more understanding leading to less frequency and lower intensity when those symptoms do come back.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I definitely agree with that. Without understanding there can be no resolution.

[QUOTE=blacknapalm]but he's still going to be flying to most games. he's just taking a bus in driveable situations. when someone is suffering from anxiety, you want to gradually expose them to their stressor/trigger, not immerse them with no escape.

i don't know if that will work but i can see how it's an early sensible plan. as he gets more used to flying, he should be able to ditch the bus. i'm guessing that's the end goal here. it'll be interesting how this unfolds or if he'll go MIA again later in the season.

as far as the college distance thing, i know he drove with his grandpa from ames to louisville for the tourney. that's like 650+ miles...[/QUOTE]
He's going to get to the games late ,not be with his teammates. It's a terrible solution. I don't get why he isn't taking time off to fix this, to learn to fly, to get medication, etc. But this thought that he'll just be separate from the team is no solution at all.

[QUOTE=Whoah10115]

I actually think this makes some sense. I don't know how bad the schedule will be for the Rockets [B](in the future, maybe the NBA takes tis into consideration) [/B]but this makese sense.

[/QUOTE]

Well, firstly, there is NO CHANCE the schedule makers take one players circumstance and adjust the schedule to it. That would be ridiculous.

And even if they did (which they won't), what could they do? Houston is far from every other city except Dallas and San Antonio...and even those cities aren't that close. Everything else is a definite flight, and long flights too.

[QUOTE=niko]He's going to get to the games late ,not be with his teammates. It's a terrible solution. [B] I don't get why he isn't taking time off to fix this[/B], to learn to fly, to get medication, etc. But this thought that he'll just be separate from the team is no solution at all.[/QUOTE]
That's the thing that most people don't seem to understand. Anxiety is not like a torn ACL or a broken bone or something of that nature where you take sometime off, get it fixed up and healed up, rehab, and you're good to go. It's really somewhat of a continual longterm process. It's not like "ok go fix your anxiety and come back when you don't have it anymore." The truth of the is any team that picked him would be taking a risk. I think they must've had to take that into consideration before picking him and if not, that would be on them for not realizing the seriousness and the patience required for someone with such a problem.

update: [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/royce-white-confronting-anxiety-disorder-and-fear-of-flying-joins-rockets-at-training-camp/2012/10/08/7993c752-1189-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html[/url]

[QUOTE]Royce White finally got to focus on basketball Monday, joining the Houston Rockets after he missed the first week of training camp to form a long-term plan for his anxiety issues.

White, the 16th overall pick in the draft, has a deal with the team to travel by bus to some games this season, a compromise he says will help him cope with his anxiety, fear of flying and obsessive compulsive disorder over the long term.

“He’s got to catch up on what we’re doing,” McHale said. “It’s always hard when you’re a young guy and you miss early camp practice, when you’re trying to establish your principles and what you’re doing. But he’ll be fine.”

The Rockets decided he was too good to pass up. And over the summer, White flew with the team to Las Vegas and to the rookie orientation in New York City, suggesting that he had a handle on his aerophobia.

As training camp approached, though, White felt apprehensive about starting his first NBA season without a plan to cope with his disorder. He contacted the Rockets through his agent and the two sides negotiated their arrangement.

“I’m excited,” White said. “It’s a different plan than I’ve ever had going into a season. I’m happy that the Rockets are willing to work with me, and I’m excited to see what I can do under new circumstances.”
“Royce is going to have a little bit of a different path in the NBA,” McHale said. “If your choice is to have a 10-hour bus ride, or an hour flight, everyone would want to take an hour flight. He’s just going to have to work his way through all that stuff.

“We’re here to help him and support him as much as we can,” McHale said, “but he eventually has to be responsible to your team and your teammates. That’s the biggest thing.”

On Monday, White easily answered questions in front of a throng of media. If anything, White said going public with his personal struggle has been cathartic.

“In a lot of areas, we’re actors,” White said with a smile. “The camera doesn’t frighten me. Planes do.”

He hopes the attention his situation has generated creates more awareness for mental-health issues and treatment.

“It helps for me, just to be honest,” he said. “One of the things that comes with anxiety is trying to hide from what you’re scared of and oftentimes, that is the spotlight. Being honest and having good feedback obviously helps me out.”

His teammates seemed happy to have White back, greeting him with high-fives and encouragement when practice began. If White can blossom, the Rockets think he can provide a strong — and much-needed — inside presence.
[/QUOTE]

As someone who has a profound fear of flying myself since I was young, I can honestly say I feel Royce White's pain and anxiety. I have a flight scheduled for a trip to England this winter, and I am already dreading and stressing massively over it.

In my opinion, or at least in my case, it is due mostly to a loss of control. You can throw as many statistics about the safety of flying as you want at me, but it still can't relieve that anxiety and complete lack of control that goes with putting your life in the hands of that pilot on that airplane. It's an irrational fear, there's no doubt about it, but a completely understandable one speaking from my own shoes.

[QUOTE=All Net]Maybe basketball isn't the ideal career for him....must be tough but still he's going to struggle if this is the case.[/QUOTE]

Agreed he's going to have weeks where he's playing in NY one night and Houston (just using random examples) he'll miss a ton of games if he travels only by bus. Playing in the NBA flying is required dude needs to find another career.

I lost some sympathy for him when I realized he left college early. He knew going in that flying was apart of being an NBA player yet he left college with no degree so that he could equip himself for a career more suited to his illness. And anxiety doesn't appear to have curtailed his criminal activities.

[QUOTE=Mr Know It All]As someone who has a profound fear of flying myself since I was young, I can honestly say I feel Royce White's pain and anxiety. I have a flight scheduled for a trip to England this winter, and I am already dreading and stressing massively over it.

In my opinion, or at least in my case, it is due mostly to a loss of control. You can throw as many statistics about the safety of flying as you want at me, but it still can't relieve that anxiety and complete lack of control that goes with putting your life in the hands of that pilot on that airplane. It's an irrational fear, there's no doubt about it, but a completely understandable one speaking from my own shoes.[/QUOTE]

I have a fear of flying and I played basketball at a small DI school even for my school flying was a requirement. This guy played at a big school how the hell was playing in college. But what finally helped me get over fear of flying was Xanax. I've done 18 hr flights sleeping like a baby. Before that I had to white knuckle it.

bump

so royce got to the game in detroit last night, he got a DNP-CD, i guess he flew

has anybody heard anything new regarding his fear of flying, like official statements from the team, or from white himself

im surprised nobody mentioned this, after all the fuss over him wanting the bus, and appearing to be unable to fly to away games

unless there was something i missed . . .

I think a lot of people are afraid to fly but what his anxiety does is it take that fear and amplifies it. I hope he has good teammates that can give him confidence. He seems like he could be one hell of a player. I was watching some clips on youtube and he has a similar body type as Charles Barkley.

[QUOTE=RoseCity07]I think a lot of people are afraid to fly but what his anxiety does is it take that fear and amplifies it. I hope he has good teammates that can give him confidence. He seems like he could be one hell of a player. I was watching some clips on youtube and he has a similar body type as Charles Barkley.[/QUOTE]



Without being short...and his body is a lot more dense...he has some of those Barkley qualities.

[QUOTE=LosBulls]He needs to smoke some weed before every flight. I bet it would solve his problem.

Petition for the NBA to legalize weed for him plz.[/QUOTE]

that's not true haha. Also weed stays in your system for awhile and would make him groggy for the next game.

I think he just needs to fly. If he has to fly to SOME games, he will get over his anxiety. I have anxiety, too, and lately it's become to where I don't fly. However, when I was young and I few often... I got used to it.

-Smak