Dion Waiters has been away from the NBA since the 2019-20 season, but after three long years facing mental health problems, he is looking for a new opportunity in the league.
During his last stint in the NBA, he racked up suspensions that led franchises to distrust him. Now, he assures that everything he has had to suffer, anxiety and depression during the time he has been away from the spotlight, has helped him to be a «better person.» And, at 31, Waiters tells in an interview with Bleacher Report that he wants to return to the NBA.
«During my first year, I was still testing the ground», says the guard, whose last stage in the league is summed up in ten games between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019-20. “COVID-19 was still around. It was a bit weird. I felt that I should go back to training for my comeback. But honestly, I went through some shitty moments. Depression, anxiety and simply not knowing about my future. Things got serious. I had to go to a therapist. He became overwhelming and it was too much to bear. Now I talk to a therapist every Wednesday.
Basketball, that was my whole life. I still go through life trying to figure it all out, but I play basketball. That’s what I do for a living. You can have businesses, you can have all these other things, but I’m still young and I have plenty of gas left. I’m in shape. I just want that opportunity«.
Dion Waiters, on mental health
“I had suicidal thoughts, but I have children. I would rather be miserable for the rest of my life than leave my children without a father. I didn’t want to be around anyone and everyone kept asking for shit. I am a one man army when it comes to finances. I am the backbone. Damn, everything was dark. Some days, I would sleep in bed all day. I had nothing to go on for. I wasn’t exercising. It’s a mental battle.
I never understood what depression was until the last few years. I realized that I have been enduring this pain since I was a child. My father even struggled with depression. He had a bad attitude as a child. He would tell me how he was trying to hurt himself, but that was something I couldn’t understand until I saw a therapist. I felt very lonely.”
To be honest, the best thing that has ever happened to me has been going to the therapist. It was hard at first because you’re telling the truth and telling the truth about yourself, which is hard to hear out loud. You discover things about yourself that you didn’t even know«.
The importance of going to therapy
“When I stopped playing the anxiety set in. I constantly worried about what would come next. Then you have a family to take care of, and the world we live in doesn’t make it any better. There was a lot going on in the world. So when your girl and the kids leave the house, you automatically get nervous. I was in a dark place.
A lot happened. I just got to a point where I couldn’t stand on my own. It was too much. It was affecting me. So I preferred to talk to someone who was willing to listen, help me and teach me different approaches, such as panic breathing.
I want the world to know, especially in our community, that it’s okay to have a therapist. There is nothing wrong with that. People who are very successful may not have many problems, but they do have a therapist. We all need it«.
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The entry Dion Waiters, on mental health and his desire to return to the NBA appears in Basketball Giants
