Delonte West

[Covert Rain]

Just read this article on Delonte West. I remember thinking what a pain this guy was hitting 3's at opportune times. I remember reading about all those incidents but I don't think I realized he was bi-polar. Now it appears he is wandering the streets of Houston. Sounds like those incidents and crazy decisions he was making that led to his downfall might not have been entirely with sound mental faculties. Sounds like this wasn't a simple case of some guy being a knucklehead like so many. I know someone who is bi-polar and let me tell you it's completely two different people when things are not going so well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/delonte-west-mental-illness_us_56cb3163e4b0928f5a6c7b97

 

[Finito]

Better have my doughnuts....

 

[Phrazbit]

One semester in college I had a bi-polar roommate, he was undiagnosed at the time but we all could tell something was up. It was rough. People with mental problems need help but helping them is very difficult. We'd try to talk to him, try to get him to open up about what was wrong or just get him to go see someone and he'd only sink deeper and close off. Then his mania would reverse and he'd be a completely different (but just as unsettling) person, bouncing off the walls, close talking, euphoric.

I found him easier to talk to and deal with when he was in the depressed state, I knew what to expect, dark rooms, sad music, quiet. When he was manic it was seriously frightening. The dude was a waaaaay bigger than me, was a wrestler and football player and when he'd be on the manic side he wanted to play fight and wrestle and generally go nuts.

Later on he got with a girlfriend who was better than I or my friends were at getting him help, he got diagnosed and got medicated.

Before I met that dude I'd heard people throw around "bipolar" pretty casually, someone is just moody or hormonal and they'd toss around "I might be bipolar, hahaha"... it ain't a joke. It was difficult to live with someone struggling with it, I can't imagine actually dealing with it internally. Having virtually no ability to govern your emotions or even your energy level.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I deal with this on a daily, 24x7 basis... My wife was diagnosed with bipolar depression back in 2007. She was 41 years old at the time. We had already been together (dating and married) for 25 years and I never saw anything that would've alarmed me or made me think she was battling mental illness... nothing. Until that day in January '07, when the world turned upside down. She had to spend a week in a behavioral health facility. She was put on a variety of incredibly strong meds until we found the cocktail that seemed to work best.
They worked so well that in 2012, she stopped taking them (I was unaware). And in June of that year, bam! Another major episode that was actually worse than the first one... Another week in the behavioral health center. And now she knows she has to take the meds for the rest of her life. Docs have told me that even with the meds, there are no guarantees she won't have one or more psychotic episodes... So I live with feeling as though there is a gun to my head every day, not knowing if when I see her really UP, or really DOWN is the beginning signs of something much more tragic to come...

Faith... and nothing else but my faith, is what gets me through each day and allows me to live a productive, positive life...
I feel for Delante and for those who might care about him...

 

[sunsfan88]

His basketball career took a downward swing after he was allegedly sleeping with the mother of LeBron James. Not really a smart move on his part but I do wonder if the mental issues played a part in that.

 

[SirStefan32]

This is really sad. I wonder if Cavs or Mavs will find him and get him some help. Teams have to have some program available to help former players, don't they?

 

[Covert Rain]

This is really sad. I wonder if Cavs or Mavs will find him and get him some help. Teams have to have some program available to help former players, don't they?

Man I hope so. Seems like the NBA and the team should at least make an effort to get this guy help. He can't do it on his own. Not if he is bi-polar.

 

[Phrazbit]

I deal with this on a daily, 24x7 basis... My wife was diagnosed with bipolar depression back in 2007. She was 41 years old at the time. We had already been together (dating and married) for 25 years and I never saw anything that would've alarmed me or made me think she was battling mental illness... nothing. Until that day in January '07, when the world turned upside down. She had to spend a week in a behavioral health facility. She was put on a variety of incredibly strong meds until we found the cocktail that seemed to work best.
They worked so well that in 2012, she stopped taking them (I was unaware). And in June of that year, bam! Another major episode that was actually worse than the first one... Another week in the behavioral health center. And now she knows she has to take the meds for the rest of her life. Docs have told me that even with the meds, there are no guarantees she won't have one or more psychotic episodes... So I live with feeling as though there is a gun to my head every day, not knowing if when I see her really UP, or really DOWN is the beginning signs of something much more tragic to come...

Faith... and nothing else but my faith, is what gets me through each day and allows me to live a productive, positive life...
I feel for Delante and for those who might care about him...

Your wife is lucky to have someone like you to help her through it. Good luck man, hope that you guys and her doctors can get her a treatment that seems more stable.

 

[Covert Rain]

I deal with this on a daily, 24x7 basis... My wife was diagnosed with bipolar depression back in 2007. She was 41 years old at the time. We had already been together (dating and married) for 25 years and I never saw anything that would've alarmed me or made me think she was battling mental illness... nothing. Until that day in January '07, when the world turned upside down. She had to spend a week in a behavioral health facility. She was put on a variety of incredibly strong meds until we found the cocktail that seemed to work best.
They worked so well that in 2012, she stopped taking them (I was unaware). And in June of that year, bam! Another major episode that was actually worse than the first one... Another week in the behavioral health center. And now she knows she has to take the meds for the rest of her life. Docs have told me that even with the meds, there are no guarantees she won't have one or more psychotic episodes... So I live with feeling as though there is a gun to my head every day, not knowing if when I see her really UP, or really DOWN is the beginning signs of something much more tragic to come...

Faith... and nothing else but my faith, is what gets me through each day and allows me to live a productive, positive life...
I feel for Delante and for those who might care about him...

82CardsGrad you have all my respect and more.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Your wife is lucky to have someone like you to help her through it. Good luck man, hope that you guys and her doctors can get her a treatment that seems more stable.

82CardsGrad you have all my respect and more.

Thx guys... I admit that there are moments every now and then when I fall prey to victimhood...and ask "why me?" or "Why her?" My wife is such a great person. Would never harm a fly. A great mom to our three kids. Great friend to so many... Why!
But, I've come to understand that none of us are guaranteed a pain-free, perfect existence here on earth. Going thru this battle with my wife had made ME a better man, father, husband and friend... It's deepened my faith and I'm extremely grateful for that.
Sorry to hijack this thread... For some reason, the thread touched me.