Does this make sense to you?

@dawnald (85135)
Shingle Springs, California
October 29, 2008 11:56am CST
This time is was Dr. Phil's Monday show, about a relationship where the husband had had an affair. You can read about it here if you like: http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1155 But what caught my attention was the wife. She's having problems trusting, so she's calling her husband a lot and making sure he's where he's supposed to be. And yet Dr. Phil made the comment that she had mentally "checked out of the marriage" and she agreed. Well it just seems to me that if she had checked out of the marriage, she wouldn't be calling him because she wouldn't care any more. So that just didn't make sense to me. What do you think?
2 people like this
6 responses
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
29 Oct 08
I think that Dr Phil is saying that she has checked out of the marriage because marriage is based on trusting one another. Maybe by her calling all the time shows that she has no trust in him anymore~ and she certainly has good reason. Instead of her focusing on rebuilding her marriage, she is making him feel guilty everytime she is calling him.
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@Jezebella (1446)
• United States
29 Oct 08
I agree I think checking out of the marriage would not trusting him and making him feel guilty. I understand worrying about him having an affair once more, but the trust needs to be there in order to overcome that and when you check out of a marriage, you quit working on it and developing that trust once more.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
29 Oct 08
Oh I agree. If she wants to be in the marriage, then calling him all the time doesn't send him that message. I don't think she doesn't want to be in the marriage, but I think Dr Phil is saying she has to build that ability to trust him again before she can be in that marriage.
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
Maybe she doesn't want to be in the marriage but calling him all the time is sending the opposite message, I think.
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@rusty2rusty (6751)
• Defiance, Ohio
29 Oct 08
I have to agree with you there. If she didn't care why would she bother calling him all the time? I know I surely would not care enough to check up on him. I would do my own thing and get a divorce. But once someone cheats it is really hard to be able to trust them again.
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• Defiance, Ohio
29 Oct 08
Oh I understand that. But it doesn't sound the woman you are talking about has done that.
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
Nope, sure doesn't!
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
Some people manage to do it though or at least to accept it.
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@vijigopi (991)
• United States
29 Oct 08
Maybe she is checking on him very frequently so that she can catch again red-handed and then "physically check out of the marriage" too? In other words, since she has mentally checked out she is searching for reasons to end the marriage.
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
I guess that's possible.
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@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
29 Oct 08
I didn't see that show and the link would not let me view it either (that could just be my fault). But the transcript said that she was a workaholic and had been neglecting her family. Maybe that's what he means? Who knows?
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
She did admit to being a workaholic, but the part about being checked out of the marriage had to do with the husband's cheating.
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@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
30 Oct 08
Hmmmmmm........
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
30 Oct 08
oh well I'm not the therapist lol
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@misskit (289)
• United States
29 Oct 08
It doesn't make much sense to me either. If you check out of a marriage you just don't care anymore so why would you even care where he was? I watch Dr. Phil once in a great while, sometimes he has some good insight on things, but some times I think he is way off base with what he says and suggests.
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
I think he is one big ego trip really, but sometimes he does get straight to the point and cut thru the bull.
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• Germany
31 Oct 08
I completely agree. Trust is a hard thing. I found a quote once that said "Trust is like a mirror, once broken, you can never look at it the same way". If I was in the same position as her, I don't know what I would do, but I certainly don't blame her. Dr. Phil seems to pull things outta his bum a lot though. :)
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@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
31 Oct 08
lol I don't watch him that much, but I'm sure if were practicing therapy he'd handle it somewhat differently that for his TV show.