Just saw part of a very disappointing Dr. Phil Show. A woman with “the bipolar disorder” is abusing her teenage sons. She beats them, chokes them, screams at them, and forces the poor kids to live in a horrible, chaotic environment.
“What if she acts this way because of a chemical imbalance in her brain? What if she can’t help it?” says Dr. Phil to the sons to shame them for feeling fed up with the abuse.
This is a very convenient, comfortable imbalance, of course. It never forces the poor sufferer to try to choke or cuss out a police officer or anybody who could make her suffer the consequences. It never makes her hurt herself in any way. She is very rational, polite and quiet with Dr. Phil himself. The “chemical imbalance” only awakens when she needs to abuse the children who have no way of defending themselves.
People are so brain-washed by pharmaceutical ads that whenever they hear about “chemical imbalances” they feel guilty and unable to resist. This is why I need to tell them here, at least: whenever you hear that somebody has a “chemical imbalance” that obligates them to act in ways that are not comfortable to you, you are perfectly justified in leaving and never being in this person’s company ever again.
And if we all did that, the incidence of “chemical imbalances” would plummet immediately.
Clarissa's Blog 
She beats and chokes them, and Dr. Phil is not advocating for THEM? Wtf is wrong with that dude???
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No, they need to understand that she loves them more than anything in the world and it’s not her fault. 😦
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And if we all did that, the incidence of “chemical imbalances” would plummet immediately.
It would plummet dramatically, but I suspect not to zero. Chemical and electrical malfunctions in people’s brains do exist. But as you say, it is too convenient an excuse.
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I’m sure it wouldn’t be to zero, you are right. But it would be a big change.
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Turn off your tv and go for a walk.
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And here’s proof that some cases of derangement are very real.
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I don’t know anything about the Dr. Phil case, and I agree that it sounds dreadful.
However, I do know from personal experience that individual situations can be complex. I have always been a very “level” and calm sort of person, but some months after having my first child I started occasionally feeling irrational irritation, that built into anger. I understood that it was irrational, but try as I might to suppress it and talk myself round, it built up and built up until I would invariably pick a horrible fight with my husband about something inconsequential.
Every time, I swore to myself that I would keep it under control the next time, but every time I failed. I can’t adequately explain how distressing it feels to have this dichotomy in your head but it made me doubt my sense of self (who am I really, if my behavior can be changed so easily?). Sometimes, I just wanted to smash my head into a wall to make the anger go away.
Fortunately, my husband was a complete rock of support and did not leave, though maybe he would have been justified in doing so. Instead we tried to figure it out together and he did what he could to give me space to breath when I needed it. I eventually went to the doctor, who gave me some antidepressants but I never actually took them. We’d noticed that the moods were cyclical and approximately monthly, so figured hormonal changes might be to blame. I stopped breastfeeding and after a month or two things settled down and I left like my old self again, though shaken by the experience. I’m pretty sure the whole thing was caused by “chemical imbalances” in my brain. I don’t feel that this excuses my behavior during that time, which still unsettles me when I think back on it, but it does explain it.
“whenever you hear that somebody has a “chemical imbalance” that obligates them to act in ways that are not comfortable to you, you are perfectly justified in leaving and never being in this person’s company ever again.”
Maybe, but thank goodness some people stick around (which isn’t to say people should always stick around if they are truly being abused, and the abuser is not taking any steps to address the problem).
Apologies for the overly long comment.
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Dissapointment? Well, what is it that you expect from him?
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Dr Phil has been getting better on the subject of child abuse. I want to believe he can improve. 🙂
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