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Why do people call in to Dr. Laura?

Joy at Home
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Joy at Home

Joy at Home

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Because of the shifts I've been working this week, I've listened to parts of Dr. Laura on my way home. Boy, does she chew people up. I've always agreed with a lot of her perspectives on home and family, but boy she is one rude and self-righteous woman on the radio! I had to finally shut it off after she continued to give terse, over simplified and condescending advice to complex situation. Yuck.

 

Blessings,

Lisa

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Joanne

Joanne

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I've asked myself that question. I also don't know why people would go on Judge Judy, Supernanny, or Dr. Phil. Desperation, maybe?

 

I knew a couple who went on Phil. I knew her, mostly. They were part of that relationship/couples series he did a few years ago with a group of couples. I never watch him, but I watched that series. She was married to him as a result of an affair. Before that, she wanted *my* husband. :lol: If I had known then what I know now, I would have let her have him.;)

 

She was on it to look like she wanted to change, she wanted help, she wanted growth. The truth is that she had all that available to her in person support groups. She just didn't like what we had to say. It was more fun to sign up for Dr. Phil, look like she was dramatically and pubically trying to change.

 

She's divorced from that guy now. :glare:

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G5052

G5052

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I've asked myself that question. I also don't know why people would go on Judge Judy, Supernanny, or Dr. Phil. Desperation, maybe?

 

DH was talking about this today. He was listening to Dave Ramsey while doing errands, and said that a guy called in that had bought a $30,000 truck with almost nothing down on a $50,000 salary and was in all kinds of financial trouble (something like that, I don't remember the details). What did he think Dave Ramsey was going to say -- "Keep the truck and go down the hole financially?" Of course Dave Ramsey told him to sell the truck!

 

I think in general though that their screeners pick-and-choose their cases for that kind of show. If it was all people that needed minor tweeks, they'd lose their audiences. They need people with BIG problems to keep people listening.

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OnTheBrink

OnTheBrink

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Because everyone is a victim, everyone is right, the other person is a monster and by crackee, they're gonna go on TV and get sympathy and vindication from some self-proclaimed expert and go home thumbing their nose as the person they're mad at.

 

Except Supernanny. I find that show's a bit different from the call-in/tv psychobabble. I think those folks are truly at the ends of their ropes and lack the skills to get control of their family back. When it's parent/child, it's a different relationship model than that of those who are just mad at their spouses.

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Suzanne in ABQ

Suzanne in ABQ

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Because of the shifts I've been working this week, I've listened to parts of Dr. Laura on my way home. Boy, does she chew people up. I've always agreed with a lot of her perspectives on home and family, but boy she is one rude and self-righteous woman on the radio! I had to finally shut it off after she continued to give terse, over simplified and condescending advice to complex situation. Yuck.

 

Blessings,

Lisa

 

 

If you were listening yesterday, and that was your main exposure to Dr. Laura, I don't blame you for being baffled. She was exceptionally abrupt, to be sure, but most of the people who called during the hour or so I listened were completely "out there", if they even bothered talking at all! It was crazy!

 

I enjoy listening to her, but I too wonder why some people would call her. Have they never listened to her points of view? What did they expect?

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LibraryLover

LibraryLover

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I have a theory. Since it is mostly women who call into the show, I think some believe that Dr Laura is really not an opinionated blowhard/ jerk, just that the perfect mother and wife has not yet called into the show. Some callers hold the fantasy they will be that person! They will be vindicated at last. At last!

 

Of course, my dh also has a theory, and it is that Dr Laura is actually a dominatrix. He says most women simply won't call a 900 number and pay to be humiliated, so they just call Dr Laura.

 

;)

Edited by LibraryLover
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Cindyg

Cindyg

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I think they want to be on the radio. Or on TV. (Depending on which show they participate on.) I think many of them have waited all their lives to be in a drama worthy of getting on a show.

 

Others....

Maybe some of them seriously have no one else to turn to.

 

Maybe they are fans and seriously want to talk to her.

 

Maybe they're new to this type of trouble and don't realize their situation is actually cliche.

 

I think LibraryLover has a good insight too -- that they think Dr. Laura will sense their sincerity, sense that they are as righteous as she, and will agree with them and, thus, vindicate them.

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Joy at Home

Joy at Home

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I think LibraryLover has a good insight too -- that they think Dr. Laura will sense their sincerity, sense that they are as righteous as she, and will agree with them and, thus, vindicate them.

 

Well said, I think you might be on to something there. I think that could definitely be the case with some of the callers.

 

Blessings,

Lisa

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Ohdanigirl

Ohdanigirl

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I don't listen very often, but I always assume that the callers are looking for some tough love. They want to be told they are wrong. I suppose that appeals to some people, it's just not my cup of tea.

 

:D LOL I almost choked on my milk when I read this. LOL LOL LOL

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ThatCyndiGirl

ThatCyndiGirl

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No idea, but I do have a deep distrust of anyone who calls themselves "Doctor" followed by a given name.

 

 

As well you should be, particulary in the matter of the two aforementioned.

 

"Dr. Phil" lost his license years ago.

 

"Dr. Laura" holds a Ph.D in Physiology. She is more qualified to tell you about how your body works than about ANY psychological issue. It's like a person with a Ph.D in math talking AS AN EXPERT in matters of medicine. Unethical, if you ask me.

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lovemyboys

lovemyboys

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I don't listen very often, but I always assume that the callers are looking for some tough love. They want to be told they are wrong. I suppose that appeals to some people, it's just not my cup of tea.

 

:iagree: I haven't listened to her in a decade, but I used to think that some people called when they wanted that final kick in the right direction. They sort of knew what they should do, but didn't want to have to do it. She's tough, she cuts to the chase, she doesn't coddle or sugar coat.

 

I heard her say once that if the caller wanted someone to agree with (them), (they) can call their friends.

 

They want the tough truth, so they call Dr. Laura when they're ready to face it.

 

Part of it is her schtick. Part of it is the medium of call-in radio, there are only a few minutes to cover the problem and solution, so it's going to be somewhat terse. It would be interesting to see what the results are. I'd bet that she's had a positive dramatic effective for a fair number of people.

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Ellie

Ellie

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I don't understand why people call because if you listen for a few days you can figure out what she is going to say to any given situation and you could save yourself the tongue lashing.

No kidding! Sometimes a caller would start in with his story, and my mouth would fall open and the hair raise on the back of my neck 'cuz I KNOW WHAT'S COMIN'!! And golly, some people have to wait on hold for a loooong time, and I can't believe they still ask their questions even after listening to her chew people out for the same thing!

 

Over a period of time, though, even though some of her answers do seem condescending and all that, she grows on you. And there have been calls where I wept because of her intuitiveness and kindness....not many, lol, bet enough to keep me coming back. I haven't listened to her in serveral years because she's not on when I'm in the car. :-)

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PollyOR

PollyOR

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I've never listened to her, but I am reading her book The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands. It includes many of her phone conversations and I have wondered the same thing. She jumps straddle of people telling them who they are or are not with very little background. I'm trying not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I am having a hard time reading this book with an open mind. :glare:

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ThatCyndiGirl

ThatCyndiGirl

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While I don't disagree with the spirit of your post at all I did want to point out that not maintaining a license in a particular state doesn't negate the doctoral level degree that someone has obtained. ie. Dr. Phil will always be a doctor because that indicated his level of education. As for Dr. Laura, even physiologists specialize in something and I believe her intern years were working in the psychiatry side of physiology and I think she is/was a marriage and family therapist, but I could be wrong. It has been a long time since I paid either of these people much attention.

 

 

Absolutely, Phil McGraw HAS attained a Ph.D level education in Psychology and no professional board can take that away from him. Of course he can still call himself "Dr", but....should people listen to his advice? That is up to each individual.

 

As far as Dr. Schlessinger, her doctoral thesis was on "Effects of Insulin on 3-0-Methyglucose Transport in Isolated Rat Adipocytes".

 

So, while I WOULD ask her expert opinion on the effects of insulin and other matters of physiology I would not defer to her judgment on matters of psychology.

 

 

And, of course anyone has the right to declare and publish and pontificate in matters of love, relationships, etc, but when you preface what you are saying with "Dr" there seems to be the implication that you are a Dr. of ....the subject at hand. If I earned a Ph.D in English Lit and someone, in a medical setting, asked my opnion on matters of a medical nature I would preface my response with, "well, since my educational background is in literature I can only give you my PERSONAL OPINION." To do otherwise is, in my opinion, unethical.

 

ETA:

Edited by ThatCyndiGirl
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Tap

Tap

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I think some people just want the attention...good, bad or ugly. I suspect that many, many callers have made up stories or added crazy details, just to get on the air.

 

I think others want a bit of honesty. Most distressed people get platitudes from friends and family. The caller doesn't want platitudes, so they go looking for the bit of brutal honesty they know they need. They perceive the talk show host as an expert who gives the style of advice they, themselves would like to get, so they ask for, and get it.

 

I don't see it as much different than all of us coming to a message board. We have put all of our issues, insecurities, and questions on display. We all have different reasons for being here. Some people are shut-ins due to location or lifestyle. Some are here for honesty that they don't get anywhere else. Some are here for compassion...they don't get anywhere else. Some are here for a pseudo-family. Some are here for advice 'out-side the box'. Some are looking for someone to give advice, who understands the 'homeschooling' part of the equation. There are many, many reasons we all come here...just as there are for people on the shows. A person can get torn up here just as much as on one of those talk shows. There have been many a thread started here that seemed very innocent at first, just a mom asking for advice, that turned nasty and vicious.

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WishboneDawn

WishboneDawn

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One more suggestion - they feel they have nowhere else to turn.

 

There are a lot of people that either have no resources available to them when they are in trouble or crisis or don't know what resources might be available. Dr. Laura may seem like a horrible choice but it may seem like the only one for some.

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