TexasCHLforum.com

I have such a hard time with this aspect. My brother took his own life a while back. He was going through a hard time, nothing outrageous, mild depression, but he mentioned it to his doc at his yearly physical. Doc convinces him to speak to therapist. Therapist says that meds are the answer. His hard time suddenly became a psychotic time on prescribed meds. He regretted that decision from the get go. Said his hard time was a cakewalk compared to the med trap. Docs kept insisted that it took a while to see which meds were just right and that everyone's body reacted differently blah blah blah&to give it some time. We begged him to just check into a hospital before things got out of hand, he refused. He agreed that a stay in a facility might be the only way to get off the prescription roller-coaster that was being chalked up as normal, but his biggest objection was because of the eternal "label" the government would then have on him. His refusal to do so was because the domino effect that he assumed would happen after losing his right to live as a free man in this country and what it would mean for his future. We lived in Mass., he owned his own construction company, that he slaved for years building on his own, and had finally been approved to carry a firearm(which is an almost impossible feat there). He had been roughed up so many darn times over the years trying to maintain a non-union business by the disgusting thugs that own that city, so they finally issued him one after a legit threat was documented by cops on his wife and children. When this med-induced depression spiraled, we as a family struggled so hard with the decision on whether to call authorities when we suspected that he was a danger to himself and get him "pink slipped". We knew that getting a bunch of bureaucrats involved was also a death sentence to him in a different sense, because his ability to earn a living and collapse of his company would then be taken away when his carry license would be without a doubt revoked. It was a catch 22.
Hindsight is often painful, and I understand that there are people who might read this and question our judgement on not involving the "authorities", but it's always easier being on the outside of a situation and looking in. Making the decision to take away a person's freedom that you love is not as easy a decision as it might seem. But I stand firm in knowing that if the option of receiving proper mental help didn't automatically equal my brother's 2nd amendment rights being revoked, he might still be here today. (And yes, we tried to secure his firearms when this all started, but when there is a will...there is a way) Just my two cents.