Dr. Phil Success Stories
When Della first appeared on Dr. Phil, she was arguing with her husband Paul, a self-confessed "boob man," because she wanted breast reduction surgery on her 42HH breasts. Dr. Phil told Della to stop playing the victim and realize that she did have the support of her husband, who agreed that Della could get a medical consultation regarding surgery.
What happened after the show? There's a lot less of Della these days. "I remembered Dr. Phil's advice and stopped playing the victim," says Della. She went ahead and had the surgery, but not before throwing herself a "Bye Bye Boobie" party at a spa.
Three weeks after her surgery, Della shows off her new shape: "I've gone from a 42HH to a 40C," says Della. "It's really exhilarating. I have a tremendous amount of energy. Paul is reserving his judgment about how well he likes this for six months. I'm really proud that I had the courage to go through this. I believe in myself and trust myself in ways that I never have before."
Tiffany
Years of childhood teasing about her nose caused Tiffany to go through six painful plastic surgery procedures. After suffering through several infections, Tiffany's nose implant fell out, meaning her nose would eventually cave in. Dr. Phil introduced Tiffany to Dr. James Platis, the chief of plastic surgery at Grant Hospital in Chicago, who offered to fix the damage to Tiffany's nose free of charge.
"After the show, I was almost immediately contacted by Dr. Platis," explains Tiffany. "It was an extensive surgery for the inside of a nose. But he was able to use my own cartilage to reconstruct my nose. I'm extremely happy with everything just the way it is because it's mine and it's fixed!"
Tiffany recently attended her 10-year high school reunion and says she is more confident now than she ever was in high school. "I can move on with the next chapter of my life and be forever grateful to Dr. Phil for everything that he's done for me," says Tiffany.
When she was 17, Leslie saw a classmate get killed in a car accident. She came to Dr. Phil believing that witnessing the accident may have contributed to her constant fear that someone in her family would die.
Dr. Phil asked Leslie why she was punishing herself by living in fear and got her to admit that her anxiety had nothing to do with witnessing the accident. Her husband had been married to someone else when she met him. "I think I'm waiting for something to be taken away from me," said Leslie. Dr. Phil told her to forgive herself.
"Her life changed right then and there," says her husband Matt. "I feel like I got my wife back, the person I fell in love with. The kids now have a mother they had never known."
"Since the show, I have not experienced any panic attacks," says Leslie. "I allow myself to be happy and enjoy my family. Thank you, Dr. Phil, for giving me the freedom to forgive myself and for giving me the ability to change my life."
When 18-year-old Amy (left) appeared on Dr. Phil, she wanted breast implants, a nose job and liposuction in order to gain confidence. Dr. Phil told her that at 18, she shouldn't get any plastic surgery, unless it was medically necessary. He also told Amy that she was confusing self-image with body image and needed to work on her self-perception issues before changing her body.
Amy now says she has decided to postpone making a decision on getting breast implants until she has had time to further develop, both physically and mentally. "I started working on my self-image immediately after the show," says Amy. "My mother and I made a commitment to see and love ourselves as we are instead of how we wish we could be ... Thank you, Dr. Phil for all the wisdom you gave to me on that day."
On a show about bullying, 19-year-old Tiffany admitted she thought it was fun to pick on other kids. Did Dr. Phil's advice change her attitude about her behavior?
"Being on the show was one of the hardest things I've ever done," says Tiffany. "But it made me realize that I need to change. I didn't like being called a bully. When the mother [on the show] talked about her son Brandon, who committed suicide because he was bullied, it made me realize that I need to stop taking out my anger on other people. I'm now seeing a counselor to try to figure out why I am so angry and learn how to deal with it better. I hope to get my life together and go back to college soon. Thank you, Dr. Phil for the wake-up call."
Tamaya and Tamara appeared on Dr. Phil with their mother Penny (center), who admitted to hitting and bullying her daughters.
Dr. Phil told Penny she needed to make a life decision: "You can say to yourself, 'I do have pain and come from an abusive background, but I can decide I will not bully my daughters.'" Did Penny make that life decision?
"When I saw myself on television, I thought, 'That woman looks like she chews nails for breakfast,'" says Penny. "I had a rough life, but Dr. Phil helped me realize I don't need to let that spill over to my children."
Penny's daughters say that she has not hit either of them since the show, and her whole demeanor has changed.
"I would like to thank Dr. Phil a million times over," says Penny. "This intervention has made so much difference in our lives."
During a show about bullies, Jay McGraw challenged the students and faculty at Barbara Bush Middle School in Irving, Texas to stamp out bullying. After the show aired, Dr. Phil received thousands of letters from students, teachers, parents — even members of Congress — wanting to initiate the anti-bullying pledge.
The program was such a success, Jay decided to pay a visit to the North Hills School in Irving, Texas to help them start their own anti-bullying program.
Twelve-year-old Molly wanted desperately to be a cheerleader, despite the fact that she weighed 220 pounds and couldn't do a cartwheel. Her mom was afraid Molly would be devastated if she didn't make the squad, but didn't want to discourage Molly from pursuing her dreams.
Although Dr. Phil agreed that it would be wrong to discourage Molly, he encouraged the would-be cheerleader to treat her dream like a goal and to do things that would make her more competitive.
Since being on the show, Molly has had a lot to cheer about. "Once I got home, I changed a million things," says Molly. "I've been doing pushups and sit-ups and eating healthier. My mom is my biggest support ... I made the cheerleading squad! Dr. Phil, I want to thank you so much for helping me. Cheerleading has changed my life and made me feel so good about myself."
When Cheryl appeared on a show about people pleasers, she was spending thousands of dollars trying to please her so-called friends, and her husband Roy was tired of seeing her taken advantage of.
Dr. Phil told Cheryl, "What you're saying is, 'I'm giving to them so they'll love me.' Which means that you're not giving anything to them. You're doing this for you." Dr. Phil then told the audience that Cheryl had even showed up to be on the show with a bag of gifts for him and his staff!
"A lot has changed since we were on the show," says Cheryl. "I am putting my marriage before friendships. I have stopped giving gifts ... I no longer try to buy my friends. I realized I hadn't given my true friends any credit. The people that really do care about me love me."
Cheryl has opened a gift shop and jokes, "Dr. Phil, I no longer have any desire to get you or any of your staff any more gifts. If you want a gift from now on, you can come and buy it from my store."
Julie was nominated by her husband Dave as the worst slob in America. After seeing what their clutter-filled house looked like, Dr. Phil contacted Barb Friedman of the National Association of Professional Organizers to help Julie clean up her act. Did it work?
"Welcome to my home!" exclaims Julie. "As you'll notice, I don't have clothes and toys on the floor. Dr. Phil, look at my kitchen! It's exactly the way I always wanted it, but I never could do it myself. I absolutely love it!"
While Mark was busy working 85 to 90 hours a week, his wife Rachelle complained that he was neglecting their sex life and she was tired of begging for it.
Dr. Phil told Mark: "If you're at a point where you succeed in business but you lose your wife and damage her in the process, is that OK? Relationships are like a garden. If you water and feed it, it will grow."
"After the show, little things started to change which turned into a significant change," says Rachelle.
"We started taking one morning a week off together so that we're always waking up in each other's arms," explains Mark. "I started leaving little notes for her, telling her how much I love her. There isn't a day that's going to go by where I don't do one little thing to show her how I feel. We're definitely having sex more often. As for the sex war, it's over."
"It has rekindled our love affair," beams Rachelle. "It sure makes life easier. Thanks for your advice, Dr. Phil."