Delonte West battling depression

[Smitty]

Let me first say that I appreciate NickAgenta's self-disclosure.  That indeed takes a ton of courage!!!  Tommy point!!  

That being said, I have done a ton of research on the side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's).  Our American society and insurance policies have sadly discouraged long-term therapy and truly often gets to the root causes of issues such as depression and replaced it with a five minute of less consultation with a psychiatrist as he writes out a prescription for an anti-depressant.  Many of these medications have severe side effects and many are also rather addictive to boot.  Another sad note is that we give these SSRI's to kids under 18 when they have NOT been tested on this population.  The tests are usually very short term and these studies throw out participants that have to drop out due to suicidal thoughts or other serious side effects.  These drop outs are conveniently NOT counted in the final data and studies.  When tend to do the same with Ritalin and similar drugs as well.  For more information about a very depressing result, see ritalindeath.com.  Also, the FDA receives kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies.  Just follow the money and it will lead you to some sad and scary conclusions.

That being sad, those that suffer from severe depression do indeed need medication in many cases, as was the case with NickAgenta.  Please do not take this personally Nick, as I wish you only the best.  I am so very proud of you and your courage to address this difficult period of your life.  I simply write this to encourage others to research this for themselves.  I have no agenda and stand to benefit zero from this other than trying to help others be informed!!!

Peace,

Smitty

[gar]

While depression is a serious issue, I am very upset if I am the Cavaliers. I am a psychology major who is soon to study the subject at the masters level. Not only do I study it, but I have lived with the problem most of my life as well. There is no doubt, depression is debilitating, and can potentially be incapacitating. However, how severe is Delonte's depression? I do not have that answer in particular. But Delonte claims he has battled with the problem most of his life. So why is he taking a leave of absence now? It is fair to assume that his depression must have recently escalated to an almost incapacitating level. But, if he is not dealing with an a incapacitating level of depression I am furious if I am the Cavilers. Why? Because millions of Americans are dealing with depression. Not every person with depression is on serotonin reuptake inhibitors and receiving counseling. These people are carrying on with their their lives. Dolonte is not a special case and he should not be treated like a brave warrior. I am not unsympathetic towards Delonte, and I wish him the best, but these are just the facts.  

Without doubt, there is some scientific evidence for neurotransmitter imbalances which cause mental illness. But the fact is that personal experiences contribute about 50 - 60% of a persons depression. Depression is far from being a strictly genetic illness as some have articulately deemed it. 

Unfortunately, for people suffering from depression, medication is often not the answer. SSRI's often have bad side effects. The worst being that it does not actually correct your depression, it works to make a person feel detached and numb. No highs, no lows, to briefly sum up how a SSRI's works in people, you could say it strips your personality from you. SSRI's are one of the most heavily marketed drugs today. They are also one of the most heavily prescribed. Despite the fact that people suffering from depression are more likely to kill themselves when they initially start an anti-depressant regimen. The drug companies are interested in collecting maximum profits because depression has suddenly increased. The problem is, they are prescribing, marketing, and making huge amounts of money off these drugs without knowing too much about how they work. There is still so much to learn about depression.

I hope Delonte gets better. But clinical depression is hardly ever a disease that will completely free its grip from you. Some days it can get better and some days worse.

So in conclusion, the whole point of the words above was that it would be possible for Delonte to just "suck it up and play ball." That is, unless he was suffering from incapacitating clinical depression. I don't think anyone but Delonte knows what state he is at mentally. But there are a lot of myths about depression that get perpetuated. Unfortunately, many people think that when they hear the word depression the person is a sad tortured soul who cannot function. Or, they believe that depression is feeling "blue" because it rained on your birthday. These are both myths of the extreme regarding depression. There are many different levels of depression, and many people can be productive at the lower levels. Lets hope Delonte is okay, but in my opinion he could be on the court right now if he truly wanted to. Plus, vigorous exercise will relieve depression for a short while! Play ball Delonte!

Don't know how anyone who has really suffered depression or studied the illness can say the things above. There is a strong genetic predisposition and the severity has everything to do with the ability to suck it up and soldier on. If Delonte has suffered with the condition all his life he has clearly done a lot of that already. Cannot imagine being under the kind of pressure the NBA puts on someone and having to deal with such a potentially serious condition. My prayers go out to the guy. Money and fame has nothing to do with it!

Have never quoted myself; but in relation to the trade, I think the fame can promote a more self centered view that can feed the kind of paranoia and hyper critical tendencies that can come with depression. Being on a team that is focused on a superstar can feed that kind of thinking. Am I letting the king down, etc. Being part of a team like he was with the C's and at St. Joe's you can get out of yourself and loose yourself in the team. This can be great consolation. Also think that one's support network has everything to do with it. We don't realize all the little things and all the people that contribute to that until they are gone. So yes, I do think he misses the C's and that it was a difficult adjustment. Losing in the playoffs could not have helped that, and then dealing with that in a new environment can create a perfect storm of sorts. He is clearly very hard on himself in spite of outward appearances.

[nickagneta]

Let me first say that I appreciate NickAgenta's self-disclosure.  That indeed takes a ton of courage!!!  Tommy point!!  

That being said, I have done a ton of research on the side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's).  Our American society and insurance policies have sadly discouraged long-term therapy and truly often gets to the root causes of issues such as depression and replaced it with a five minute of less consultation with a psychiatrist as he writes out a prescription for an anti-depressant.  Many of these medications have severe side effects and many are also rather addictive to boot.  Another sad note is that we give these SSRI's to kids under 18 when they have NOT been tested on this population.  The tests are usually very short term and these studies throw out participants that have to drop out due to suicidal thoughts or other serious side effects.  These drop outs are conveniently NOT counted in the final data and studies.  When tend to do the same with Ritalin and similar drugs as well.  For more information about a very depressing result, see ritalindeath.com.  Also, the FDA receives kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies.  Just follow the money and it will lead you to some sad and scary conclusions.

That being sad, those that suffer from severe depression do indeed need medication in many cases, as was the case with NickAgenta.  Please do not take this personally Nick, as I wish you only the best.  I am so very proud of you and your courage to address this difficult period of your life.  I simply write this to encourage others to research this for themselves.  I have no agenda and stand to benefit zero from this other than trying to help others be informed!!!

Peace,

Smitty

You couldn't be more right about the therapy. My mom always looked and is still looking for the miracle pill or pills. She abhors therapy. 40 years later they finally made a drug that works for her multiple problems. She's like new.

I also believe that is she went the therapy route she wouldn't have wasted so much of her life or destroyed so much of mine or my siblings. My medication is important. My therapies are more important. At least to me. And I do many.

Personal one on one therapy.
Couples therapy.
Group therapy.
Relaxation therapy.
Exercise(yes this is a therapy).
Schedule regimentation(okay I try with this but don't do well with it.busy business and home life does that).

[KungPoweChicken]

Unfortunately, many people are taking general truths from my post out of context. I never diagnosed Delonte in my post, nor was that ever my intention. The point of my original post was that it is important for Cleveland to know the severity of Delonte's illness. It is important for Cleveland to know from a business perspective. I agree 100% that if Delonte has taken a leave of absence from a game that he loves, I assume his depression has escalated to a very debilitating point.

In regards to my comment of  "in my opinion he could be on the court right now if he truly wanted to." The meaning was that depression is not going severely attack a hosts body to prevent normal physiological functioning. I wrote that sentence in sequential order after I talked about depression myths. One of the myths being that some people believe a person who is depressed is a complete tortured soul. Depression does not attack a body harshly enough to prevent someone from playing basketball. To illustrate an example, Late stage cancer, and late stage AIDS are progressive diseases that would prevent someone from playing basketball if left untreated. Depression would never prevent someone from physically playing basketball. However, it is fair to assume that Delonte is dealing with a profound case of depression. His case is bad enough that a mental barrier is preventing him from doing something he loves. What is not preventing him is his lungs, heart, brain, ect. That is what was meant by that comment. I certainly did not intend to make a diagnosis on whether he was mentally with it to play basketball. That is why it is so important for Cleveland to know the intricacies of Delonte's situation. And, I am sure that Cleveland is well informed on his status. But, my whole point was that depression is not going to severely eat away at Delonte physically. Philosophically speaking, depression could never stop anyone from playing basketball.

I do not want to give the impression that there are no physiological or physical side effects of depression. Because there are certainly many ailments that accompany depression. But none of these effects are debilitating enough to physically prevent someone from playing basketball. Unless the depression helps accelerate another problem. A simple example would be anxiety contributing to high blood pressure and heart disease. But that is much too complicated to get into here. And depression is never solely to blame in cases like the one from above.


I do not believe I passed judgment on Delonte in my original post. Also, I do not believe I attempted to assess where he was at mentally. Many times in writing different people can look at the same sentence and see several meanings.

Depression is a complicated issue and I briefly touched on the topic from a few different angles.

Depression is treated person by person. There is a general outline that doctors, and others in the field follow that has generally shown optimum results. But to sit here and argue about what is the best method of action to use to alleviate depression is silly. This is because depression is treated person by person. And of course, every person is different. Every person will need a slightly modified form of treatment. This is all common sense, and the medical field can do great things to help someone who is depressed. But, above all, a depressed person has the most control on how they think and feel. Not a psychiatrist or a social worker.

[Roy Hobbs]

I do not want to give the impression that there are no physiological or physical side effects of depression. Because there are certainly many ailments that accompany depression. But none of these effects are debilitating enough to physically prevent someone from playing basketball.

I think you're severely underrating the mental aspect of basketball, especially the need to be focused.

[dark_lord]

I do not want to give the impression that there are no physiological or physical side effects of depression. Because there are certainly many ailments that accompany depression. But none of these effects are debilitating enough to physically prevent someone from playing basketball.

I think you're severely underrating the mental aspect of basketball, especially the need to be focused.

i agree hobbsy!

kungpowe.....depression would interfere with one's motivation and approach towards playing basketball and all the grinds that go along with professional sports, both on and off the court. im not a psychologist, just a measly sith lord , but it seems like common sense to me that depression would interfere with one's ability to perform on and off the court.

[carlherrera]

KPChicken,
I hope for your sake but most of all for the sake of the many patients you may potentially treat in the future, that you read the feedback that many people in this post have given you, that you have the capacity for sincere, self reflection, and hopefully, you will realize that maybe your posts on this very important topic have not been well thought out...

[KungPoweChicken]

From the quote on this forum, it was my understanding that Delonte has been battling depression for a good portion of his life. Delonte has been a basketball player for most of his life. And of course there is a mental aspect of basketball. But generally speaking, depression would not significantly effect ones ability to make mental decisions on a basketball court. Depression certainly causes an inability to concentrate and a loss of motivation. But this is unlikely  to translate to a professional basketball player, who has obviously played the game being depressed,
(judging by the quote on this thread) and he also has been highly competitive. Again, like i said before, Depression is person by person. Yet, you keep insisting that I am diagnosing Delonte as being fit to play basketball, Roy. I am not doing this.

I would prefer not to argue semantics on this forum. I would also prefer to not deal with people who find joy in being contrary for the point of being contrary. I could also do with out the pointless snide remarks. Are you attempting to sanEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. me off this forum because you are a moderator?

Your response on mental focus had nothing to do with anything I said in my previous post.

[Smitty]

Gar,

You quoted my post and then said this:  "Don't know how anyone who has really suffered depression or studied the illness can say the things above. There is a strong genetic predisposition and the severity has everything to do with the ability to suck it up and soldier on."

Maybe you got what I said confused with someone else.  I NEVER EVER said anything about sucking it up and soldiering on my friend.  NOR did I deny that depression has a genetic component. 

Please help me understand:-)

Once again Nick Agenta, you are to be commended.  You are a real man to acknowledge your struggles and also to give credit to those that stuck with you during those times!!  You also deserve to take time and pat yourself on the back for your determination and perseverance and for using your personal struggle(s) to help others.

[Roy Hobbs]

Your response on mental focus had nothing to do with anything I said in my previous post.

You said that depression wouldn't / shouldn't keep a player from playing basketball.  In my opinion, that opinion is dead wrong.  To play basketball at an elite level, there is a huge mental element.  I'm also not at all sure that you're correct that there isn't a physical element to depression, as I believe many, many mental health professionals would say it can have a debilitating effect on one's capability to perform athletic feats.  From a common sense standpoint, less energy and less focus may very well effect one's ability to play a sport at an elite level, something you seemed not to be factoring in. 

I would prefer not to argue semantics on this forum. I would also prefer to not deal with people who find joy in being contrary for the point of being contrary. I could also do with out the pointless snide remarks. Are you attempting to sanEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. me off this forum because you are a moderator?

I'm not sure what "semantics" we're arguing.  Rather, we have two differing viewpoints.  I find no "joy in being contrary for the point of being contrary".  Instead, I'm going to speak up when I hear somebody making irresponsible and, in my opinion, poorly reasoned arguments regarding somebody else's mental health.  Obviously, many other people agreed with my take on the situation.

Moderators and other staff members are allowed to have opinions.  Obviously, if you feel sanEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ged because somebody disagreed with you, then yes, an internet forum might not be the best environment for you.

[Scribbles]

boo hoo i worked my way out of the ghetto, and now im making millions of dollars to play basketball...whaaaah!!

I'm not sure if that comment is jealousy or stupidity. 

[KungPoweChicken]

"You said that depression wouldn't / shouldn't keep a player from playing basketball.  In my opinion, that opinion is dead wrong." You keep insisting on taking words from my post out of context and arranging them into your own thoughts. 

These are the words I actually wrote on the matter. 

"The meaning was that depression is not going to severely attack a hosts body to prevent normal physiological functioning. I wrote that sentence in sequential order after I talked about depression myths. One of the myths being that some people believe a person who is depressed is a complete tortured soul. Depression does not attack a body harshly enough to prevent someone from playing basketball. To illustrate an example, Late stage cancer, and late stage AIDS are progressive diseases that would prevent someone from playing basketball if left untreated. Depression would never prevent someone from physically playing basketball. However, it is fair to assume that Delonte is dealing with a profound case of depression. His case is bad enough that a mental barrier is preventing him from doing something he loves. What is not preventing him is his lungs, heart, brain, ect." -  "Philosophically speaking, depression could never stop anyone from playing basketball."


So as you can see, all I said was that it is physically possible to play basketball if you are depressed. A depressed person is not at any increased risk for stroke, heart attack ect. I never said - "You said that depression wouldn't / shouldn't keep a player from playing basketball.


"I'm also not at all sure that you're correct that there isn't a physical element to depression, as I believe many, many mental health professionals would say it can have a debilitating effect on one's capability to perform athletic feats.  From a common sense standpoint, less energy and less focus may very well effect one's ability to play a sport at an elite level, something you seemed not to be factoring in."


As I stated in my last post, I clearly mentioned that there was physiological and physical effects. This is evidenced by this line - "I do not want to give the impression that there are no physiological or physical side effects of depression. Because there are certainly many ailments that accompany depression."

Also, never in my post did I say that less energy and less focus would not effect an athletes ability to perform well. Again, the only point I was making was that a depressed person COULD play basketball, unlike someone who has heart disease. It seems that you have once again succeeded at taking my words out of their context.

Once again, to some up the difficulty of evaluating the prognosis of major depression, I started on my varsity basketball team while on anti-depressants. Yet, I knew other people at the time on SSRI's who could not get out of the bed in the morning. Roy, you do not seem to factor in the personalities of individual people. Again, depression is not cancer, it strikes everyone a little differently. Also, you seem to be insisting that you know Delonte is completely incapable of playing basketball. If you would take the time to re-read my post I never said Delonte "should" play basketball. So I really have no idea what exactly you are trying to argue. Your point is completely moot.

You should re-read the posts, or read them more thoroughly before you are so quick to criticize. If you would have done that you would have realized that we do not have a disagreement. Because I never suggested that Deonte "should" play basketball, as you have quoted me. I said it would be physically possible for him to do so. Delonte has most likely played basketball depressed in the past. And Delonte will most likely return to the game with some lingering depression. Depression is rarely ever all black or all white. People who have lived with depression, or people that have dealt with the illness in some way understand this burden.


"Obviously, if you feel sanEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ged because somebody disagreed with you, then yes, an internet forum might not be the best environment for you."

This was a perfect example of a pointless snide remark. 

[nickagneta]

Depression once physically kept me from leaving my bedroom for almost four weeks. The idea of getting out of bed and just taking a shower and going on with the day literally hurt. It caused me actual pain. Real pain.

So depression can in fact physically impair a person. I am telling you that I am proof of that. All psychiatrists and psychologists should be able to tell you the same thing.

Don't jump all over KPC too much(okay maybe a little ). Generally speaking he was right about just about everything he said. It's just that he seemed to imply definiteness about generalities to specific individual cases which just is not the case. 

[arambone]

"Obviously, if you feel sanEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ged because somebody disagreed with you, then yes, an internet forum might not be the best environment for you."

This was a perfect example of a pointless snide remark.

KPC,

Philosophically speaking, you should suck it up

[ACF]

I have bi-polar depression and Delonte's illness has zero to do with being happy or sad. A simple explanation is that emotions are a byproduct of the chemicals that secrete from the neurons in the brain and then are absorbed back into the neurons. In people with depression the neurons that absorb the chemicals get blocked causing certain emotions to last longer because those chemicals are not being discharged out of your system. As more and more of these chemicals secrete into your system but are not absorbed out emotions tend to last longer and start to effect a person's decision making process.

There is "no snapping out of it". People like myself are not crazy. Properly medicated, like diabetes patients, people with depression lead normal lives. Unfortunately due to the stigma of being labeled "crazy" most people will not go to receive the treatment they need and deserve.

And here's a little known fact about depression, when you have it it starts slow, as a child, as short moody episodes. As you grow into a teenager the episodes become longer and deeper. Untreated, as life goes on the depressions continue to last longer and get increasingly deeper in severity. Untreated, later episodes can last year and later decades.

When one has a chemical imbalance that leads to mental illness it is a horrible way to live as one has to learn to control one's actions regardless as to how one is feeling. When happy, I can't go manic and feel indestructible and do foolish things and spend money I don't have. When depressed I can't try to overanalyze everything someone says to me looking for hidden meanings and insults. Hope can never be abandoned no matter how bleak things appear to be. Emotions need to be replaced by cool, calculated thinking and grounding into reality. And medication can never stop being taken.

That's easy to write and easy to read but for someone with depression or other mental disease, it's as hard a thing as can be accomplished at times.

Lastly, your pain is mine Delonte. Take care and best of luck.

Have a TP for baring your soul, nick.
The best of luck to you and the best
of luck to Delonte, as well.

And oh, I don't think Roy was out of line
at all. No need to comment if your comment
is no good. Yes, this is the Internet but
it's also a community where we should try
to be respectful. An NBA player is a person
and NBA players have problems, too.