One thing to add: I don’t know what the NBAPA offers for insurance / access to mental health. It could be that there’s help if Delonte accesses it. Unfortunately, often times people struggling with mental illness refuse help, whether it be therapy or medication. In those cases, short of committing somebody, there’s often no way to force them to get the treatment they need.
And, it’s very possible that he may have a co-occurring substance abuse issue, as well. That makes it doubly hard to treat.
Sadly, this is all true.
Adding on to this excellent post:
For those with mental illness, especially those that are young, like less than 35, coming to grips with the fact that you are ill is extremely difficult. You have felt a certain way for your whole life and think that everybody feels this way, it's just normal. So they eschew medications and therapy.
But even for those that do get on the meds and go to therapy, it can be short-lived. The meds make you feel things differently. They have side effects, too. So, it is very common for patients to stop taking the meds because you want to feel what you consider to be "normal" again.
And therapy, good therapy that makes you see how poor your decision making is and how your disease and decision making while in the throes of your disease has affected you and those around you that you love, is not easy. For those with even a lick of self-awareness, it is a sobering act that smashes you in the face with reality. Therapy of this type can be more painful than any physical therapy you can do. Most sufferers of mental illness don't last in therapy for these very reasons.
Also, addiction is very much a part of mental illness. Whether they realize it or not, those that suffer from mental illness can be aware they are suffering and turn to self medication than going to a doctor to get proper medication. Alcoholism and drug addiction, other types of mental illness, run concurrent with other diagnosis, for this reason. The person with the illness feels a relief of their symptoms through the high they get off the alcohol or drugs.
And then you can also, as a person with mental illness who adheres to your therapy and taking your meds, have bouts that are so bad, the meds and therapy do little to alleviate the suffering. Which could necessitate an addition or change to your medications and that is never simple. It means you need to get through the suffering while the doctors figure out which meds will help you and allow those meds to take full affect in your system.
Being mentally ill, to get better or to get the illness in check and under control, you must make good decisions and mental illness more than most other medical conditions affects your decision making capabilities. So making the right decision about seeking help, going to your appointments, taking your medications, applying what you learn in therapy and living your life in a productive way is enormously difficult, to many with mental illness, it's impossible.
Believe me I know. I suffer.
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