Quote From: our4sonsThe addiction tends to progress so that it's really not a surprise that he saw sex with a 15 year old as appropriate.
I am a SA and when I was 16, I too was involved with adult men. And yes, I was fully aware of what I was doing & the potential consequences. Whether Dr. Phil is willing to admit it or not, some people just are more aware at an earlier age than others.
My addiction allowed me to do the things I did despite my full awareness of the consequences & despite my desires to not do them. That's how addictions work!
It really bothers me that Dr. Phil made a point to passively suggest he doesn't believe in the diagnoses of SA. Most in the psychiatric community do not recognize it as an actual diagnoses, yet. But it is being investigated & worked towards. It is a true & actual experience that just should not be denied anymore. It was once a common & professional belief that alcoholism was not a true addiction, as well as shopping, food addiction, gambling. They were just "character issues" & "impulse problems". Those lines of thinking totally ignores the fact that many of those addicted would a/o even through their own disgust, regret & true desire to stop & not repeat... just the way drug addicts do. IMO, it's just yet another addiction, especially with the prevalence of porn today, that will be recognized soon & handled appropriately.
It's not just a character issue. Those chemicals in your brain that people get hooked on are real & sex can bring them out in some of the strongest forms! Opiates replicate those same reactions within a person's brain. Replicate! Opiates are undeniably addictive & all they do is replicate what's already there..
It is real.
And, just as with all addiction that are left untouched & not handled/dealt with appropriately, it will escalate.
He could have helped many with this show but I am afraid he won't. I am afraid he will perpetuate what is quickly becoming an out-dated ideal, that SA is not real. I would love for him to have Dr. P. Carnes on his show to address this, educate the audience & himself.
I don't think he said the diagnosis didn't exist, I think he questioned the guy giving himself the diagnosis. The man did sound like he was getting his defense ready for when he goes on trial for statutory rape or whatever the charge is. ("I can't help it, I have this addiction, and by the way, it was her fault because of the way she dressed, blah, blah, blah").
I seriously hope that his wife keeps their daughter safe from this pervert. As my father found out, it's easier when it's a child in your house. For some strange reason, when he did it to me, it would have been called molesting. When strangers did it to me, it was rape. No charges were ever filed, but I always wondered why that was the semantic case. I think it was worse when a parent did it and it should have been called the more serious charge.
