Topic : 12/29 Drunken Mistakes

I totally agree... I was sitting on my couch very confused as to why she was just passed over. Not only is she drinking when she obviously has her own issues with alcohol, but she is also serving to her underage children. Her 16 year old admitted that she drinks at the house and mom said it was "only" wine coolers. Does it matter what it is? She was also drinking with her now 22 her old when she was 19 and got the DWI. Then the father that was not on the show blew into her breathelizer so that she could drive when she was still drunk from the night before. What is wrong with this family? No matter what happens at this rehab it will not help if she goes back to this life style.

On a positive note though I know Clint personally and his sister Heather. I am very glad with how Dr. Phil dealt with his killer. That is what he is no matter how he feels about it. He should get just as much time as if he shot Clint. I think he is very self absorbed to feel that he should get out early so he can go talk to schools. He had no plans at all on what he would say or where he would speak or how he would get there. I also feel that his comment about being away from his own child now why did he not spend time with the child before he was sentenced then? Instead he went out to party with friends on more then one occasion at bars.

I didn't get to watch the show. However knowing how both Dr. Phil and Robin feel about this subject I hope Dr.Phil gave them the wake up call they so deserved. 

Turkeybaby

In Denmark we have recently introduced a new law, which enables people above 16 to boy alcohol and tabacco in stores. (First we did not have a limit and then it became 15, but was raised because it could be damaging for their health if they did start to smoke too soon.)

 

People under 18 must have a ID-card to proving to the shopowner that they have the demanded age. The ID-card has to be bought at the town hall and most children get it as a delayed birthday present from their parents.

 

However, no public bar can serve alcohol for people under 18 or they will be shot down for the night.

 

These two law enables the Danish parents to influense their children about what is a healthy consumption and what is not at their home. It is much easier to influense a 16 year old than a 21 year old. An intake of more than 21 beers per week for males and 14 beers per week for women are regarded as unhealthy.

 

Those precautions has been so good, that the blood alcohol level for DUI is now 0,5 instead of 0,8 and just to make sure that people remember the limit, the fine is a months pay multiplied with the measured blood alcohol level. A person convicted of DUI also has to attend a special course and take the drivers licence over again.

 

So my adwise is to allow the youth some adult supervised drinking within the private home and go after those people who breaks the law. It would reduce both drinking and DUI.

I didn't say put them away...I say MAKE them go to treatment. At least we tried a little harder than giving them a break from life on house arrest!!! Here put on this bracelet, go to work, come home, go see a probation officer, hit a couple AA meetings, and this will cure you. In the mean time when you aren't doing that during the day while you are sitting at home on house arrest drink some more. I mean come on!! Get them away from what enables them for more than 8 hours at work and try to hit it home. Make them visit a funeral from a drunk driving accident. Make them go visit a guy paralyzed from neck down due to a drunk driver. make them watch a family suffer from a drunk driving accident. let them feel the anger from a family affected.  I am speaking from the experience of watching family memebers on house arrest or having their hands smacked over DUI's!! It angers me!! I have children and don't wat to have to worry about a drunk affecting their lives! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!

Ok, here you have a young women drinking behind the wheel, unfortunately, she is playing Russian Roulette with her life, but what is the root of the Problem? In many cases like hers you will see there is a problem deeper than her drinking that is causing this bad behavior. A serious problem that have her on this road of destruction. There can be a number of things wrong with her and with professional help it will be discover. I,m not a Dr. however I believe when some people have problems they turn to alcohol  to relaxes themselves to  take their minds off of their problems, but this innocent behavior is a serious problem for some, and unfortunately they don't realizes it until it is too late. It can be a simple glass of wine at the end of a hard working day, or a simple glass of wine at the end of a hard working week.  The addiction starts off simple and it creeps up on you slowly. You don't even have an idea what is happening. That one very glass turns into two glasses and instead of once a week drinking it turns into 2, or 3 days of drinking.  The addiction starts now  and trouble is right behind it. Your body starts to crave for the alcohol and you give in, and now you feel you can't function without it. A small problem you once believed you had, and you believed a little drink would just take your mind off of your problems, subsequently down the line it turns out into a bigger problem. Now this doesn't happen to everyone which is great, but it does happen to some people. This young women must find the root of her problems, so this destruction's behavior can stop. If, she is honest with herself and Dr. Phil she can get through this serious problem,unfortunately if not she is gonna wind up destroying her life, or someone Else's. 

I am part NA and I KNOW what it does to them. I know what it can to to OTHERS who have it pass down as my father was an alchoholic. HE was brave enough to stop COLD TURKEY ON HIS OWN when I was 5 or 6yrs old. I can remember. HE NEVER TOOK a drink after that but I remember what it did to us. The arguments, fights and worries about money an accidents he had. That was ONE BIG reason we didn't have a car for many years. He had an accident that could have killed him and his friends.

 I realize the show is only an hour long, but I agree that four things should have been addressed in today's show.

1. Carly's mother needs rehab too. And maybe some parenting classes. Don't LET your 16 year old drink!
2. Carly's sister needs more help than a verbal wake-up call also. She needs someone to walk through quitting with her.
3. Cliff knew Michael's drinking habits  and still participated with him. His choices might have saved his own life if he'd been prepared to make better ones.

To Cliff's family: I'm sorry for your pain, for your loss, and especially for Cliff's son. I think you have a better chance than Michael of sharing your loss to help educate young people about their choices and consequences. It is YOUR story that might help others.  At this point in Michael's life, his desires seem to be selfishly motivated. I'm glad Dr. Phil was straightforward with him. May God comfort you and give you strength and power to live the life He plans for you.

I must agree with you about clint getting in to a car with someone who was drunk, while Michael should take responsibility and accountabitliy for his friends death, Clints family must realize that his judgement  was wrong to get in to a car with someone who was drunk,.

We always taught our children that "Friends don't let Friends drive drunk" we also had a no questions asked rule if they phoned for a ride home, no matter what time of night or morning it was.  I was very proud of the fact that several times we woke up on a Sunday morning to a strange car in the driveway because our youngest son not only would not let someone drive under the influence but insisted on driving him home and returning his car to him later in the day.

There will come a time when people will have to decide what is more important. Safety for the majority or individual freedoms. If someone was on a busy highway overpass about to jump into traffic would you just walk by or would you try to help? Would you try and stop traffic down below? Would you do it every day? Addiction is suicide. Something has got to give. Interventions might work with people that have admitted they have a problem, but for millions that epiphany never comes.

That all being said you missed the point. The point was perception. We (in the general societal sense) have to decide what we believe, and then get together and save some people.