[ryandrake]

The FAA's model definitely provides disincentives against getting help or a diagnosis, and this applies to mental and physical illnesses. I know that some pilots refuse to go to a physician (outside of the FAA-mandated physicals) because one diagnosis, even if it ends up being a false alarm, could ground them, potentially forever. Spend years getting a private pilot certificate, and/or decades working your way up to the airlines--who's going to risk having their family doctor one day say "hmm, that sounds weird..." when listening to your chest?