Former AFL star Ben Cousins has been committed to a mental health hospital as a result of prolonged psychosis related to his battle with methamphetamine addiction.
Cousins, 33, was yesterday taken by ambulance under a police escort to the Joondalup Health Campus mental health unit, which has 10 secure beds.
Doctors treating Cousins took the decision to commit him after his mental state showed no sign of improvement after more than four days in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital emergency department.
It is understood he has been committed for his own safety.
Cousins was first admitted to hospital on Monday night after he fell and hit his head at a West Leederville drug rehabilitation facility.
He was admitted to Sir Charles Gairdner hospital with head and neck injuries, but _The West Australian _understands doctors cleared Cousins on Tuesday of any serious damage from the fall.
Ordinarily, a patient with injuries of the type Cousins had would have been discharged.
But Cousins continued to suffer from drug-induced psychosis. Symptoms of drug-induced psychosis include paranoia, agitation and delusions.
Sources with knowledge of treating cases of acute methamphetamine toxicity said a patient would typically come out of such an episode after six to eight hours.
But Cousins' episode lasted more than four days, leading to the decision to commit him.
On Tuesday night, Cousins locked himself in a cupboard in the ward and refused to come out.
Attempts to shift him to Joondalup were complicated by further episodes of paranoid behaviour, leading to the decision to send the ambulance with a police escort.
Cousins was visited in hospital this week by his brother Matt and partner Maylea Tinecheff.
Speculation about Cousins' wellbeing was rife this week, with various false reports including claims that he was addicted to heroin, had choked on his vomit, had suffered brain injuries as a result of the fall and was on a respirator.
None of those rumours is true.
Cousins was briefly fitted with an oxygen mask but it was removed by Tuesday morning.
It is understood his latest drug binge was extreme, even by his standards, a source claiming it spanned about eight days, during which time he saw off a number of party partners.
It is understood he was taken to the West Leederville rehabilitation clinic by his brother Matt on Monday.
The football champion, famous for an unmatched on-field will, has been either unable or unwilling to impose that will to help fight his addiction..
If anything, his will has worked against him. In his television documentary he spoke of his want, to "launch into" and "annihilate" as many drugs as he could.
A psychologist said a strong will should be a positive for Cousins in his fight against drugs but that Cousins had applied it, not to beat drugs and stay clean, but to take them to extreme degrees.
He prided himself on being the one who can take the most, go the hardest and last longest without sleep.
A source said that friends who once kept watch over Cousins or occasionally went along for the ride are increasingly inclined to keep their distance now, not because they want to abandon him but because they no longer want to watch or participate in what he described as "one of those movie trainwrecks in slow motion".
On the field, Cousins might have been an unstoppable football force, conquering almost all adversaries but off-field he has never come close to conquering his addiction.
As he revealed in his television documentary the exciting lure of illegal drugs has seduced Cousins since his teenage days at school. For years Cousins flew under the radar with his drug taking. Then it became a public issue and enormous pressure was brought to bear on him and his football club.
Cousins was sacked by West Coast and subsequently deregistered by the AFL at the end of 2007 for bringing the game into disrepute.
He made it back to play at Richmond but one thing never changed - his enthusiasm for drugs.
The need to be clean to play football, moderated and postponed his use but never stopped it and never killed the want.
At the time of his suspension he shocked AFL heavyweights with his blunt descriptions about his drug binges and his enthusiasm for them.
Cousins has been and remains a central figure in debates about the AFL's illicit drugs policy, the role of clubs in controlling player behaviour, footballers as role models and media reporting of players' lives.
But while he may still be relevant in those debates, those debates now bear little relevance to him in his current state.
Fifteen months after retiring from AFL football on his own terms, Cousins has not come to terms with life.
The birth of his son Bobby last year has not stopped the slide.
The one-time teenage football phenomenon who became a superstar and a human headline at the same pace had a glittering career spanning 15 years and 270 games.
Even his slip-ups led to moments that looked like triumphs.
Indirectly embroiled in a violent gangland nightclub stabbing and shooting in 2005 that raised questions about his underworld associations, Cousins rebounded to win a Brownlow medal that year and captain West Coast in a grand final. Sacked from the captaincy early in 2006 after fleeing from a booze bus, Cousins played a starring role in their premiership.
Suspended and sent to drug rehabilitation in the US in 2007, Cousins returned mid-year to have 38 possessions in his comeback match against Sydney.
One adoring fan held a banner aloft which read: "Ben we applaud what you have overcome." There was no doubting the applause. But Cousins was a long way from overcoming his addiction and now seems further from it than ever.
Anyone with personal problems can call Lifeline on 131 114
On Tuesday night, Cousins locked himself in a cupboard in the ward and refused to come out"
59Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Viper 
Need a 
WITH "DAVO" - FarRider #1
Bookmarks