Friday 25 January 2008

Obsessive Love... How sick must one be...?




Obsessive Love...
Every afternoon we can watch Dr. Phil. Every now and then I have some time to do so. Today I saw the programme about a husband who is so obsessed with the idea that his wife is having an affair.Obsessive Love: The Drama Continues
The complicated and intense story of Jennifer and Jeffrey continues. Jeffrey is so obsessed with his wife that he follows her every move. He has locked her in the basement, taken inappropriate pictures of her while she sleeps, tapped her phone conversations, tracked her with a GPS, alienated her from friends and family and isolated her at home financially, physically and socially. He had the whole house bugged from top to bottom, he checked her e-mails. He is excessively violent if he suspects Jennifer of having an affair.

Caught in the Middle of the Madness
Jeffrey and Jennifer's three kids suffer the consequences of their parents' fighting. Their eldest child has watched his father track his mother and listen to her conversations. Is there any boundary Jeffrey won't cross in his efforts to control Jennifer?
"I don’t want my girls to think that they have to put up with something like this."
Jeffrey goes backstage so Dr. Phil and Jennifer can speak one on one. Without her husband sitting next to her intimidating and controlling her, what does Jennifer reveal about her situation?
"This isn’t love that does this."
Backstage Meltdown
As Jeffrey waits in the green room, he becomes physically ill. Dr. Phil confronts him and offers a solution.
"Are you man enough to step up and do it?"
Moving Forward
Both Jeffrey and Jennifer join Dr. Phil onstage. How does Jennifer feel after watching Jeffrey's breakdown? Can they both agree on a plan for the family?
"I don’t see an evil guy when I look at you."


Final Thoughts
At the end of the show, Dr. Phil explains why he isn't telling Jennifer to leave Jeffrey right now. “I think the healthier we can get him, the better this union is going to be for the children who are involved,” he says. “If, [after he receives help], she makes the election to divorce him and move on — which she very well may — then at least he will come to it with some focus and some stability to be a good partner with her in raising these children as divorced man and wife, if that’s where we're headed.” In the meantime he had to be taken into care and to submit himself to psychiatric treatment, but nevertheless he kept phoning his wife from midnight till 4 am, now threatening her, then apologizing for his anger and promising her that he wanted to change. Jennifer expressed the wish to get a divorce to Dr Phil. He then arranged for her the best legal help and protection, because he and the psychiater feared that Jeffrey could be dangerous.The programme ended with the husband, who was not allowed to see Jennifer, was still believing that he could be united with his wife. He wasn't told yet that Jennifer had filed a petition for divorce. I should like to know if she really got a divorce and if she was protected sufficiently. After all how sick must one be, to get treatment? And does it help

4 comments:

Patty said...

That man has to be sick. I wonder how she has lived that way for this long?

Reader Wil said...

The woman was so nervous and really at her wit's end.

Unknown said...

I know this man. I worked with him for 4 or 5 months. It was only after about 10 months after we stopped working together that I caught wind of this episode. It gives me chills to think that I interacted with this man daily without even knowing about this side of him.

Unknown said...

I know this man. I worked with him for 4 or 5 months. It was only after about 10 months after we stopped working together that I caught wind of this episode. It gives me chills to think that I interacted with this man daily without even knowing about this side of him.