Anxiety. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE will face some form of anxiety at some time in their life. You remember that shortness of breath you felt when you thought you were going to get those Yeezy 2′s at retail price for a split second only to be denied? Well, its sort of like that but not. For some it will come and go, for others its here to stay. MTV has shed light on the condition (as well as many other conditions) through halfofus.com and celebrities like:

Ricky Williams

Vinny Guadagnino

Earl Campbell

Terry Bradshaw

(all of whom DeFY. will cover separately. This doesn’t include celebrities like Jessica Alba, David Beckham and Cameron Diaz that suffer from OCD) and most recently, Royce White have made their battles public. Throw in that over 40 million American adults will suffer anxiety any given year (according to The National Institute of Mental Health) and you can see this is much more common than people think.

As far as causes go, theres a bunch. For one, Some people are just born with it. If you have a family history of anxiety then theres a good chance your genetically pre-disposed to it. Outside of that, drug use (both recreational and non recreational(prescription)), a traumatic event, life changes and many health problems can cause anxiety. The best way to deal with an anxiety disorder? Don’t go it alone. Seek a doctor first to rule out any physical causes and go from there. Un treated, this disorder can severely effect every facet of your life from your physical health to your wallet so as hard as it may seem, be pro active about getting help. Fortunately, there are all sorts of treatments to help (which will be covered at a later time) so don’t be discouraged if your suffering.

Recently, Rookie and college standout Royce White went very public with his disorder allowing the public to see very raw footage of his struggle and what it feels like for millions like him. What makes Royce’s situation especially significant to anxiety sufferers is that he’s young, he’s a professional athlete (and therefore in the national spotlight while suffering from this disorder) and he’s taking a stand against his employer over his health. If you’ve checked out any of the comments on his documentary uploaded to YouTube you will see that aside from the dumb remarks, he’s an inspiration to many. Ok, so he’s an inspiration to many for coming public, but what about the functioning aspect that so many sufferers aim for? Well, if you’ve been following Royce you will know he hasn’t suited up for an NBA game yet and was accusing the Rockets organization of not holding up to their end of the bargain for helping him cope with his anxiety while playing. Finally, as of January 23, 2013 the Rockets and Royce reached an agreement over White’s mental health care. Ok, so things are headed in the right direction or are they? During an interview with Bernard Goldberg, Bernard brings up a valuable point:

“There are people who are going to watch this and say who do you think you are? I’m fairly certain. You haven’t scored one point in the NBA, you haven’t played one game in the NBA. Who are you to tell a team what the rules are?”

It’s a great point, but Royce wouldn’t be in this situation had he not already proved himself in College so out goes that question. On the flip side of that, is this: The Rockets see potential in Royce and obviously care about him but how much should they be forced to deal with? This anxiety is a clear disability for Royce, but uder the American’s with Disabilities Act it states “If you have a disability, you must also be qualified to perform the essential functions or duties of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation, in order to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA.” Royce hasn’t played any games, so he isn’t protected right?! They should just can him! Not so quick there homey. Also under the ADA it states “An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show that the accommodation would be an undue hardship — that is, that it would require significant difficulty or expense.” It could be a little tough to argue that getting Royce the proper help and support will cause an undue hardship to a multi million dollar sports team.

Moving forward the Rockets and White have come to an agreement and will move forward from here. The Rockets are holding up to their end of the bargain and now its up to Royce. The DeFY. crew is pulling for him as should everyone else. Just remember, any day you or someone you know could become disabled. It could be mental, it could be physical. Don’t be quick to judge and get all the facts. If you haven’t already checked out Royce’s documentary then do so below. After reading this and watching the documentary make sure to vote on how you feel about Royces situation!