Delonte West doesn't sound like he's doing well...

[crownsy]

Talk about a crooked and corrupt industry...Can you say Attention Deficit disorder...The biggest fraud in the history of the medical field?   How many people have been overmedicated and turned into zombies by this recent "discovery". 

Are you from the school of thought that thinks depression isn't a disease?

Cancer is disease.  Depression is a condition.  Bipolar is a theory...And not a very old one.

None of this rationalizes endangering people by carrying weapons into  an airport.  I like Delonte.  I love his game.  He must face consequences for endangering the lives of so many people.  Stop rationalizing the behavior.  Or it will repeat itself. 

Ever had a friend deteriorate before your eyes from a fun loving, outgoing person to someone who can't even function without his meds from severe schizophrenic bi-polar?

I'm going to guess no eh?

as one who has, please don't mock a serious disorder. It's ok to have an opinion, but there's no need to act like those who have the condition are faking a medical condition.

Do some people get misdiagnosed? sure, mental issues are the toughest to correctly diagnose. but that doesn't change the fact that it's a serious illness.

[Evantime34]

Talk about a crooked and corrupt industry...Can you say Attention Deficit disorder...The biggest fraud in the history of the medical field?   How many people have been overmedicated and turned into zombies by this recent "discovery". 

Are you from the school of thought that thinks depression isn't a disease?

Cancer is disease.  Depression is a condition.  Bipolar is a theory...And not a very old one.

None of this rationalizes endangering people by carrying weapons into  an airport.  I like Delonte.  I love his game.  He must face consequences for endangering the lives of so many people.  Stop rationalizing the behavior.  Or it will repeat itself. 

I'm not rationalizing his behavior, I'm saying that he needs help, and encouragement as well as treatment to deal with his condition. Your solution to his behavior seems to be vilifying him so that he will stop (which in all actuallity would make his problem worse). I am saying that in order to stop his behavior he needs help.

ADD might be over diagnosed but what is wrong with Delonte is much worse than ADD. If you knew anyone with depression or Bi polar disorder you would have a much tougher time telling them to "face the consequences" mainly because it would not solve any problems but only create more.

[Evantime34]

Anyway if anyone has any information on how we could show our support for Delonte, please let me know. Maybe the mods could find out from a Cavs board.

[Finkelskyhook]

Talk about a crooked and corrupt industry...Can you say Attention Deficit disorder...The biggest fraud in the history of the medical field?   How many people have been overmedicated and turned into zombies by this recent "discovery". 

Are you from the school of thought that thinks depression isn't a disease?

Cancer is disease.  Depression is a condition.  Bipolar is a theory...And not a very old one.

None of this rationalizes endangering people by carrying weapons into  an airport.  I like Delonte.  I love his game.  He must face consequences for endangering the lives of so many people.  Stop rationalizing the behavior.  Or it will repeat itself. 

Ever had a friend deteriorate before your eyes from a fun loving, outgoing person to someone who can't even function without his meds from severe schizophrenic bi-polar?

I'm going to guess no eh?

No.  But I've had a family member deteriorate before my eyes. From a crooked industry so overmedicating him that it would have been [dang]ed near impossible for a controlled environment to medicate him at the times and doses these wackos required.  They wanted him to fail.  Guess what, he did...and is right where this hideous industry wants him...Their life long laboratory rat.  So eh yeah.

He was only a schizophrenic according to them.  Imagine the fun they would have had with him if bipolar, quad polar, tripolar, or whatever other concocted condition existed then.  Coming up with all of this stuff gives them all kinds of new toys to play with.

What's next, Bi-ADDophrenic?  

Punish the behavior first.  Treat him during if you want.  But hold him accountable.

[crownsy]

Talk about a crooked and corrupt industry...Can you say Attention Deficit disorder...The biggest fraud in the history of the medical field?   How many people have been overmedicated and turned into zombies by this recent "discovery". 

Are you from the school of thought that thinks depression isn't a disease?

Cancer is disease.  Depression is a condition.  Bipolar is a theory...And not a very old one.

None of this rationalizes endangering people by carrying weapons into  an airport.  I like Delonte.  I love his game.  He must face consequences for endangering the lives of so many people.  Stop rationalizing the behavior.  Or it will repeat itself. 

Ever had a friend deteriorate before your eyes from a fun loving, outgoing person to someone who can't even function without his meds from severe schizophrenic bi-polar?

I'm going to guess no eh?

No.  But I've had a family member deteriorate before my eyes. From a crooked industry so overmedicating him that it would have been [dang]ed near impossible for a controlled environment to medicate him at the times and doses these wackos required.  They wanted him to fail.  Guess what, he did...and is right where this hideous industry wants him...Their life long laboratory rat.  So eh yeah.

He was only a schizophrenic according to them.  Imagine the fun they would have had with him if bipolar, quad polar, tripolar, or whatever other concocted condition existed then.  Coming up with all of this stuff gives them all kinds of new toys to play with.

What's next, Bi-ADDophrenic? 

I'm very sorry for your loss, and your mistrust of the medical industry is understandable, but that doesn't address or explain my situation or invalidate people with the legitimate condition we were discussing.

Also, neither me nor evan ONCE said his behavior should be excused because of his condition. Thats a motivation you are ascribing to us.

Sorry again for your loss, and understand where your coming from, but i don't think we can have a productive discussion on the validity of this mental illness based on where we both are coming from on this issue. This thread is going to go down the same road as the current event thread from early this year about mental illness, and i for one want no part of that.

[nickagneta]

Regardless of whether Delonte is bi-polar, he's always had a very urban, inner city, way of looking at things and explaining himself. It's....unique but I can't say that I don't personally know anyone who talks like that because I do. A few. But just because we don't understand what "One plus one is two and C always comes out to A and B" means it most certainly means something to Delonte and maybe the people he hangs with.

Maybe it means some things are just inevitable. Maybe it means some things you just can't change or do anything about. Maybe it means something completely different. I don't know. But I don't think the way he expresses himself reflects upon whether he is mentally incapable or insane.

[Finkelskyhook]

Also, neither me nor evan ONCE said his behavior should be excused because of his condition. Thats a motivation you are ascribing to us.

Respectfully, you may not be excusing it....But you're rationalizing it by attributing it to a condition. IMHO, it's one in the same.

I'd be in front of the line of contacting Delonte and wishing him well.  I'd also be in front of the line of holding him accountable for endangering the lives of others.

I think he'll need to play for another team when this shakes out.  Especially if there are no tangible consequences.  Treatment is not a tangible consequence, IMHO.

[nickagneta]

Listen, I am bipolar. It's no big secret. I've mentioned it here more than a couple of times.

And please, no TP's because I admitted it. If I admitted I was diabetic or had a heart condition or were epileptic or short or bald you wouldn't be handing out TP's. I am what I am.

I take 4 different psychotropic drugs to maintain my equilibrium. It took five years of changing drugs and experimenting before getting the mixture correct. I also lost a good decade of my life and nearly lost everything I own and as well as my family due to the effects of untreated and improperly treated bi polar disease.

That said any consequences I had to pay for the bad decisions I made and the actions I took I had to pay for. There's no excuse for using the disease as a crutch against paying the consequences for bad actions and decisions. As a matter of fact the best way of eventually getting "better" is taking responsibility for your former actions. Accountability is a huge part of the therapy that is necessary in eventually leading towards an equilibrium that means being mentally healthy.

[Neurotic Guy]

His so-called illness is irrelevent.  I disregard it because firstly, I don't believe in it.  Business is slow...So an industry changes the name of an old condition and all of a sudden that crooked industry has 10 times the people "suffering" from the "condition"?  Sorry.  I don't buy it.  I'm tired of people rationalizing dangerous behavior to hypotheses.  

Punish the behavior.  See what actual accountability accomplishes.  Then treat the so-called "condition".  I'll bet you won't have to.

Geez.

Geez -- that is about the most narrow thinking I have ever witnessed.  You do understand that punishment or accountablility -- while effective sometimes -- is not the panacea for effective response to problem behavior.  There is just too much evidence against this idea for me to believe that I would need to argue the point. Note prison recitivism rates.

Further, I wonder if you would have equal nerve to stand in front of a fellow C-blogger who has bipolar disorder or has a parent, spouse or child with bipolar disorder and deny it to their face.  You haven't yet denied Downs Syndrome or Autism, but you probably don't accept these either -- or, perhaps you decided to accept these diagnoses using whatever anecdotal criteria for belief you use.  Many of your C-blog friends are living daily with loved ones with these diagnoses. You freely insult these people with outright denials of things you simply decide not to accept.

[Brickowski]

Has Delonte hurt anyone?  Ha any of the guns he carried gone off, even accidentally?  So far, the only person Delonte has hurt is himself.

What baffles me is why he isn't getting appropriate medical treatment.  I would think that the Cavs would insist on that.

[Evantime34]

Also, neither me nor evan ONCE said his behavior should be excused because of his condition. Thats a motivation you are ascribing to us.

Respectfully, you may not be excusing it....But you're rationalizing it by attributing it to a condition. IMHO, it's one in the same.

I'd be in front of the line of contacting Delonte and wishing him well.  I'd also be in front of the line of holding him accountable for endangering the lives of others.

I think he'll need to play for another team when this shakes out.  Especially if there are no tangible consequences.  Treatment is not a tangible consequence, IMHO.

You are absolutely correct that he needs to take responsibility for his actions. I was just trying to say that he needs to be supported not punished. You think he will do it again if there aren't consequences. Two different ways to solve a problem support helps some people, while others need tough love. I'm sorry that this discussion became personal and I am more sorry for what happened to your family member.

[Redz]

Listen, I am bipolar. It's no big secret. I've mentioned it here more than a couple of times.

And please, no TP's because I admitted it. If I admitted I was diabetic or had a heart condition or were epileptic or short or bald you wouldn't be handing out TP's. I am what I am.

I take 4 different psychotropic drugs to maintain my equilibrium. It took five years of changing drugs and experimenting before getting the mixture correct. I also lost a good decade of my life and nearly lost everything I own and as well as my family due to the effects of untreated and improperly treated bi polar disease.

That said any consequences I had to pay for the bad decisions I made and the actions I took I had to pay for. There's no excuse for using the disease as a crutch against paying the consequences for bad actions and decisions. As a matter of fact the best way of eventually getting "better" is taking responsibility for your former actions. Accountability is a huge part of the therapy that is necessary in eventually leading towards an equilibrium that means being mentally healthy.

No TP  , but I agree with all this Nick.  I good buddy of mine growing up has a similar situation.  I was put in some seriously compromising situations just from being near him several times, and I grew to really resent it.  I ended up having to distance myself from him (which was hard because we had many mutual friends, and I was very close with his parents). 

A few years back we had a long heart to heart talk.  He told me of his diagnoses and of the steps he was taking to get things back in order.  I never got an actually apology, just an admission of some really stupid things he'd done and a promise to not do stupid things in the future. 

My response was that I was happy that he'd recognized it, and was taking steps to take care of it, but that I needed for him "show me, don't tell me" for a while before I trusted him again.

Almost 4 years later he's doing great, and I'm glad to have him as a friend.

[nickagneta]

Listen, I am bipolar. It's no big secret. I've mentioned it here more than a couple of times.

And please, no TP's because I admitted it. If I admitted I was diabetic or had a heart condition or were epileptic or short or bald you wouldn't be handing out TP's. I am what I am.

I take 4 different psychotropic drugs to maintain my equilibrium. It took five years of changing drugs and experimenting before getting the mixture correct. I also lost a good decade of my life and nearly lost everything I own and as well as my family due to the effects of untreated and improperly treated bi polar disease.

That said any consequences I had to pay for the bad decisions I made and the actions I took I had to pay for. There's no excuse for using the disease as a crutch against paying the consequences for bad actions and decisions. As a matter of fact the best way of eventually getting "better" is taking responsibility for your former actions. Accountability is a huge part of the therapy that is necessary in eventually leading towards an equilibrium that means being mentally healthy.

No TP  , but I agree with all this Nick.  I good buddy of mine growing up has a similar situation.  I was put in some seriously compromising situations just from being near him several times, and I grew to really resent it.  I ended up having to distance myself from him (which was hard because we had many mutual friends, and I was very close with his parents). 

A few years back we had a long heart to heart talk.  He told me of his diagnoses and of the steps he was taking to get things back in order.  I never got an actually apology, just an admission of some really stupid things he'd done and a promise to not do stupid things in the future. 

My response was that I was happy that he'd recognized it, and was taking steps to take care of it, but that I needed for him "show me, don't tell me" for a while before I trusted him again.

Almost 4 years later he's doing great, and I'm glad to have him as a friend.

TP for that great story as it hit home all too close. I did apologize. To family, to friends, to co-workers, to business associates. I lost some business contacts. I alienated many friends for years. I lost my wife and family's trust for years. Luckily I got the proper help, I made up overwhelmingly to those I hurt and I made life better and things are great now.

I think this can happen for Delonte too. Really anyone who has a mental illness. But you have to be patient. You have to be honest with yourself and those trying to help you even if that means telling them when you've had a setback or did something stupid or wrong. You have to be diligent to take your meds how and when you are supposed to. You have to go to all your doctor and therapy appointments. And you have to be accountable for all your actions both past and present.

If Delonte gets help and realizes there is no quick magic pill, that it takes experimentation and doing all the things I said previously and Delonte atones for his actions, he will eventually be fine. It might take years. It might mean giving up professional basketball, who knows. It might mean paying huge fines, doing some community work, staying away from certain people, doing 6 months in jail and/or sacrificing the limelight. But he will become a better, healthier person if he does.