<human>: Give me the gist of the text in a nutshell

This makes me feel like a jerk. I've been with my girlfriend a bit over a year, and I'd say we were "effectively" together for 6 months to a year before that. I took things very, very slowly (a rarity for me) based on a number of factors. One of them was her age. One of them was the fact that she has some very serious psychological and emotional issues and I knew it would be irresponsible of me to just dive into a relationship thinking I could fix them (I've had a long string of issues with trying to "fix" girls in the past).

After courting for a very long time and getting to know each other very well, I believed I was ready for the relationship, despite everything. She has so many positive qualities that I believed were worth the effort. I also believed her issues would get better. I'll be honest, I really didn't come close to understanding the depth of how serious these things can be. I've learned a huge amount about depression, eating disorders, and a host of other issues. I've gained a huge amount of empathy on the subjects.

With that said, I just don't feel like I can take it anymore. Nothing is getting better. She's making little or no effort to get better, and often claims she doesn't want to get better. I know these are symptoms of the very diseases she's trying to treat, but I'm not a psych professional. I don't know what else I can do other than offer support and encourage her to seek treatment.

I have a laundry list of reasons and excuses ranging from bullshit to (I believe) legitimate, but none of them are stopping me from feeling like a complete bastard for abandoning someone who's still in need. I know I'm the only pillar of emotional strength that she has, and the idea of just leaving her high and dry makes me sick. But it's killed all the passion and love in the relationship. I don't think I want to be here anymore, but I'm scared to leave.

I don't think this is an especially novel situation. I'm sure a lot of people have been through it. Maybe some perspective or some advice will help me figure out what I should do.
<bot>: Thought I was prepared for girlfriend with mental illnesses, feel like I've been battered down and want to leave but feel like a bastard.