Lakers' Artest now on list of good guys.

I’ve done some things that I could have never predicted I would do. Being on the radio. Getting into sales. Getting into pharmaceutical sales, which I’m quite sure shocked my science teachers. This post has to be added to the list.

Ron Artest has had a tumultuous basketball career. For all of his talents as a player, he has been far more known for his erratic and uncontrollable behavior. Artest has not been high on the list of people you would want your kids to look up to. Until now.

Minutes after the Lakers won the 2010 NBA championship, Artest thanked his therapist. He has since gone public with the fact that he saw a therapist when in middle school to deal with his parents’ divorce. He stopped when funding dried up for the program. Artest embodies two things becoming more and more common among kids. Dealing with divorce and mental illness.

On September 9^th Artest paid a visit to the Eastmont Intermediate School in Montebello, CA.  He spoke to the kids about dealing with issues and making sure that they find someone to talk to. A relative, a friend, a teacher, a counselor. He went with Rep. Grace Napolitano of California who has introduced the Mental Health in Schools Act in the House of Representatives. The Act would provide funding for preventive mental health services in schools.

While it may be getting better, it’s still uncomfortable to talk about and deal with mental illness. While mental illness is a disease like diabetes and high blood pressure, there are no quantifiable tests like taking blood pressure or pulse rates or blood sugar levels. No reading that says this person is depressed or has obsessive compulsive disorder or anxiety. To many that person looks fine but just acts “weird”. After all we all have issues, just suck it up and deal with it.

It’s not that easy, especially for kids. And unlike high blood pressure or diabetes, medicine alone is not the answer. Therapy is critical in the treatment of mental illness. In this age of taking a pill and making everything better, that’s very hard to convince the patient of.

No matter what Artest has done in the past, his stepping up and raising awareness of this issue impresses me. Rumor has it that he is going to auction off his championship ring to raise money to help fund programs in schools for kids to have someone to talk to. Nice job Ron.