I'm sorry I missed that episode, but I went to the website and here are some quotes I find especially interesting:
"Do you see that you cannot rely on his thinking in any way?"
Has to hit bottom: "That myth has probably killed as many people as any mistruth I have ever heard," exlains Dr. Phil. "It is absolutely untrue. Because bottom may be six feet under. He's ready for help now, because he's still alive, he's still using and there's still hope to turn this kid's life around."
“You're sitting there and arguing with him, you might as well be talking to a wall because you're not talking to him, you're talking to the drugs"
Although I know and understand and agree that we cannot or control anybody or make them stop drinking, can we really just sit around and take care of ourselves and do nothing else? I am really, really having trouble with that concept.
In a way, even if an alcoholic does not have any other diagnosed mental illness, it seems to me they are actually mentally disturbed for whatever reason. The mental health people say that the mentally ill need an "advocate"--such as a family member that can speak for them, help them negotiate the medical maze to find the most appropriate treatment, and help them make decisions, maybe even help them manage their daily affairs. But we here with alcoholics are just supposed to do NOTHING but "take care of ourselves" and hope that our mentally impaired people will use good judgment and make appropriate decisions??!!! That just doesn't make sense to me.