Video: Lebron James former teammate Delonte West is now homeless and severly mentally ill

Do you suffer from mental illness? Not making a joke either, serious question, cause I believe I do and would like suggestions on how I can get the right help I need.

My girlfriend is a mental health professional and she recommended (without further info) to go to a psychologist and ask about getting a psychological evaluation. If you receive a diagnosis they could then go about treating you / offering support.

So, I would do that!

And, you know, if you don't trust doctors in this situation, that's fine... but they could at least give you some insight into your mind and maybe help with some social hangups you might have.

Mental illnesses usually revolve around social/relational issues. There's also psychiatry (pills) which can help.
 
Shouldn't be a for profit model. Everything is grotesquely over inflated so big pharma can cash in. They're using a subscription model instead of really trying to stabilize people. Every medical event shouldn't bankrupt you unless you have top tier insurance.
Did your hospital have any kind of financial hardship program?

Years ago I had acute total kidney/liver failure and spent 4 days in the ICU and a week total in the hospital. The Cleveland Clinic in South Florida, a private medical center/hospital. My total bill was over $300k but I applied for the hardship and they wiped out all but a few grand and put me on a non-interest repayment plan for that

The state-run medical system/hospital in my county (Broward Health/Broward General Hospital) also has a hardship program which includes monthly psych treatment, you just have to jump through more hoops to get the assistance

There's a lot of stuff about Florida that sucks, but the financial assistance offered for both medical care and higher education has been a godsend in my life
 
I agree with you 100%^

But that's not the American way.

The American way is, "You can't afford healthcare? Screw you, here's some bootstraps. You're lower income? Screw you, work 3 jobs and still have to make the choice between food or medicine. Can't afford a lifesaving surgery? Screw you, go to your church and ask them. You're mentally unstable and your treatment is taking pills ad-nauseam? Screw you be a MAN and gut it out!"

And if you even THINK about everyone getting free healthcare?

"Screw you, Socialist!"

That's the American way.
Yeah having lived here my entire life, the most amazing thing is how unsympathetic people are. Seems like a holdover from an older culture based on self reliance, but the thing is all of these predatory systems didn't exist generations ago.

There are so many complex systems designed to just ruthlessly punish you for making a mistake or being in a vulnerable situation. And people are SO quick to say well you shouldn't have been in that situation. But do we want to live in a society where we just shrug and watch people fail. Taking empathy out of the equation, it's also a waste of resources.

People that could be doing something beneficial to society are in jail, drugged up, or on this poverty treadmill too focused on making ends meet to care about anything else. Or they're dead. And who does that benefit, other than the one percent.

We are headed in the wrong direction as a culture imo, but everyone is either thriving in this system or too busy struggling to survive in it, to change it.
 
Did your hospital have any kind of financial hardship program?

Years ago I had acute total kidney/liver failure and spent 4 days in the ICU and a week total in the hospital. The Cleveland Clinic in South Florida, a private medical center/hospital. My total bill was over $300k but I applied for the hardship and they wiped out all but a few grand and put me on a non-interest repayment plan for that

The state-run medical system/hospital in my county (Broward Health/Broward General Hospital) also has a hardship program, you just have to jump through more hoops to get the assistance

There's a lot of stuff about Florida that sucks, but the financial assistance offered for both medical care and higher education has been a godsend in my life
Not the one I went to the psych ward for. There is a large catholic owned one where I'm from, that I tried to go to as much as possible because they did have hardship programs.

I wish I still had the bills I'd post them. They were absolutely fucking wild. You're in there doped out of your mind just following instructions, then you get home and you're like FUCK those mini Shasta colas were $20?!?
 
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people think mental health is having a bad hair day, this shit right here is mental health
 
This dude had tons of other teammates but Lebron is the one that's supposed to help him? lol

Clickbait lol. They played together all of two years and then there’s the whole rumor of how he was banging LeBron’s mom. Jameer Nelson and Phil Martelli both tweeted about it and both have long money so he should be getting all the help he needs if he wants it.
 
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I wonder if he has a real mental illness or if he’s just on drugs.
 
My point is that there does not seem to be any evolutionary advantage to psychosis, at least not presently in Western culture. Although, as I mentioned, there may be a fight/flight component (e.g. a psychotic break may very well stem from an individuals mental/emotional/physical imbalance, and in a way help to reorient them and their support system so that they can regain health). In other cultures, psychotic individuals are sometimes revered and held in very high esteem... those cultures don't view the psychotic individual as "mentally ill" or defective, nor do they try to "fix" them with heavy duty medication regimens and psych hospitals (both of which likely exacerbate or prolong psychotic symptomatology).



I didn't claim that trauma automatically leads to psychosis or that psychosis stems solely from trauma, just that there is a close association between the two according to our knowledge at this time. I believe the literature shows a closer association between psychosis and trauma than any of the other factors you mentioned (outside of clearly biologically based factors- e.g. tumors, drugs, sleep, etc).
Of note, your article mentions what may very well have been a traumatic situation, namely being a friggin child genius in an environment not supportive of the same. Basically, his mental needs were neglected... and in the case where you have a next level genius we should not discount the potential impact.

"His only mild complaint was that his childhood home in the Appalachians was not a very intellectual place, and he had to become an avid reader to learn what could not be taught in his own community. This hardly seems like the type of childhood trauma that some researchers associate with later schizophrenic episodes."

Now I'm not making any hard claims that he was traumatized (that is a very individual thing and different for virtually everybody) and I agree that trauma is not necessary for a person to experience psychosis... Here I'm mainly playing devils advocate, and if there is one thing I've learned it's that people can be traumatized by all sorts of things.

Here is an excerpt from an article supporting a trauma/psychosis association:
"They have examined hundreds of published academic papers using meta-analysis—a statistical technique for aggregating the results over many studies—and what they have concluded is that ‘social inequality and racial discrimination drives people crazy'... Other early traumas in life, such as child sexual abuse, physical abuse and bullying, increase the risk of psychosis, Professor Bentall explained. Their results show that, those who are traumatized in early life are three times at greater risk of becoming psychotic in adult life... And in another study it was found that those who had experienced childhood sexual abuse were ten times at greater risk of having hallucinations... This new work builds on research over the past decade by Professor Bentall and others such as Professors John Read and Mark Shevlin which has also begun to illuminate the links between early abuse, trauma and psychosis... Professor Bentall cautioned that while early trauma increased the risk of psychosis, not everyone who has had early trauma will develop psychosis, and importantly, not everyone who has psychotic experiences has experienced childhood abuse."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-doesnt-kill-us/201111/trauma-and-psychosis



I pretty much agree with everything you wrote here, although I'd caution against the science supporting supposed psychiatric drug efficacy... As you mentioned, we can generally sedate the psychosis away, however, the use of these medications too often comes at a very hefty price.

Interestingly enough, there are other countries who do very well treating psychosis without medications, and these folks argue largely against any use of psychotropic medications as they believe it interferes with the natural processes necessary for symptom resolution (which goes back to a possible evolutionary benefit as noted above).

Thanks for responding in detail. I was most interested that social inequality and racial discrimination lead to mental illness.. I haven't heard that before, but it makes sense.

As discussed with my gf, trauma is such a subjective term that it really seems muddy ..To point to it as a cause for something as serious as mental illness is unsatisfying to me. Not trying to argue with you, just expressing my thoughts.

I agree with you that the stigma of mental illness that sprung out of nowhere, when in tribal cultures it would simply turn someone into a spiritual advisor or shaman, is perplexing taken at face value.. and more people speaking about that shift's roots might be in order.

For me, as someone who believes in God and can understand a bell curve I ultimately see it as a fact that doctors need patients, and will always have them. If someone is unlucky enough to need medical treatment for mental illness it was a case of bad luck combined with God's will. Doctors need to eat. The future is a plan. And, everyone feels suffering one way or another, there's no way to escape it.

That said, as others have posted in this forum, if you want to understand the mysteries of the universe it may come at a hefty price... and pills / treatment might be the cost. But, there's nothing that says you have to divulge that information to anyone...
 
I'm feeling at a very low point. I've reached out for help on here but get ignored

I reached out for help through at least 7 different places for mental health and they either don't accept my insurance or tell me they will call me back and never do

I'm tired of feeling all alone and stuck
Fuck you @Mike for feeding me bullshit saying I could message you for help and ignore me. Fuck you all
 
I'm feeling at a very low point. I've reached out for help on here but get ignored

I reached out for help through at least 7 different places for mental health and they either don't accept my insurance or tell me they will call me back and never do

I'm tired of feeling all alone and stuck
Fuck you @Mike for feeding me bullshit saying I could message you for help and ignore me. Fuck you all

If you call your insurance provider they can help you find a clinic that will cover you.

My gf said most insurances cover a psychological evaluation.

Hospitals can take forever to get back to you regarding insurance questions, you need to start at the insurance provider and go from there. Also, Mike may be out somewhere dude, you never know.

With something like this I think the best advice I can give is to worry less about the money and more about your mental problems, sincerely! Let us know if you get an appointment squared away Sherbro!
 
I'm feeling at a very low point. I've reached out for help on here but get ignored

I reached out for help through at least 7 different places for mental health and they either don't accept my insurance or tell me they will call me back and never do

I'm tired of feeling all alone and stuck
Fuck you @Mike for feeding me bullshit saying I could message you for help and ignore me. Fuck you all
I've been busy this week. Did get your message and read it thoroughly a couple 9f times. There's a lot to unpack there and I'm still working on a reply. Sorry if you feel ignored I am listening but am busy with my own life as well.
 
I'm feeling at a very low point. I've reached out for help on here but get ignored

I reached out for help through at least 7 different places for mental health and they either don't accept my insurance or tell me they will call me back and never do

I'm tired of feeling all alone and stuck
Fuck you @Mike for feeding me bullshit saying I could message you for help and ignore me. Fuck you all
Sent you a pm. I did recommend calling your insurance company as the other poster said. I've found that to be the easiest way to find out who will accept your coverage. I also commented on some of the personal things you mentioned in your pm.

As I told you there, I actually have been through pretty similar situations so I really do sympathize. I'm here to offer what help and advice I can.

I'm busier these days than I used to be, so I may not respond immediately, but I won't ignore you either. Offer still stands drop me a message whenever you need to and I promise I will respond when I have time.

I hope you're able to get in with a good therapist, you ARE dealing with some tough stuff but others are in the same boat. We CAN get through this.

Talk to your insurance, find a doctor and schedule an appointment. I know it feels overwhelming but focus on one step or goal at a time. And make that list! For me at least, my thoughts were to chaotic to make any progress until I started organizing my thoughts that way. It helped me tremendously, maybe it'll help you too
 
why associate lebron james with this guy? not lebron's fault that this guy is a fuck-up.
 
Clickbait lol. They played together all of two years and then there’s the whole rumor of how he was banging LeBron’s mom. Jameer Nelson and Phil Martelli both tweeted about it and both have long money so he should be getting all the help he needs if he wants it.
I take it you have no sympathy for the guy
 
I take it you have no sympathy for the guy

Not really he was a goof long before he was “crazy”. He has/had access to the best help available and refuses to utilize it because he’s a common crackhead. He’s a burden on society. I was going to say threat too but the way that old dude beat him senseless after West attacked him with a glass bottle proves otherwise.
 
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I'm feeling at a very low point. I've reached out for help on here but get ignored

I reached out for help through at least 7 different places for mental health and they either don't accept my insurance or tell me they will call me back and never do

I'm tired of feeling all alone and stuck
Fuck you @Mike for feeding me bullshit saying I could message you for help and ignore me. Fuck you all
If you're seeking help, that's generally not the way to go about it. If you really need help, as stated contact your insurance provider. If you want to blame the entire community, at least voice your issues so the community may have a clue as to where to start the help...
 
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