Let's just say I'm very close to someone that's been in a psych ward multiple times. The people that are truly gone are on drugs, which is a separate issue.
I'm sure I was overreaching with my post. There are people born into a kind of very low poverty (and drug abuse) that essentially never had a chance. They don't have the mental capacity to pull themselves out.
Others fell into a pit where they no longer have the mental coherence, or - and this is the most important thing that feeds into the coherence - enough of a connection to society to look at how normal people act, and pull themselves out.
Mental illness is a meme, not because it isn't a thing, but because for the vast vast majority of people, it isn't something like herpes. It's a mental and physical / life state. And not one where you just fall of a cliff and find yourself mentally ill, it's a long road with plenty of warning signs.
Etika was mentally coherent. From what I've seen, where he wasn't mentally coherent, it was a choice because it was fun to be manic. That element of choice can't be understated enough — you saw his tweet ITT where he asks twitter when he should have his next mental breakdown. He was bored, and breaking down is a sure fire way to add excitement. Many schizophrenics also hold on to their delusions because they're exciting (at least that is certainly how they start going down that road — which can lead to a disconnection from society and a lack of mental coherence that keeps them that way).
They choose mental illness rather than choosing logic. Rather than getting themselves out.
Etika in particular was not far gone. He made the decision to die coherently. It was thought out. He could've easily chose otherwise.
That part is key.