Acute stress disorder is the immediate psychological fracture that follows a single catastrophic event, distinct from PTSD. Armand DiMele walks through the diagnostic criteria, from numbing and amnesia to hypervigilance, and takes calls from listeners who survived stacked traumas including assault, Hurricane Sandy, and sudden bereavement.
Fear is not just a threat but a force that shapes love, loyalty, and the urge to protect. Armand DiMele and co-host Ben Starr examine when caution is wisdom and when it keeps people frozen, drawing on callers who wrestle with drama, boredom, overprotection, and the craving for just enough fire in their lives.
Constant connectivity feeds anxiety rather than relieving it: Armand DiMele argues the smartphone is a modern “stick” the nervous mind uses to scan for danger. With co-hosts Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, Giullian Gioiello, and Ben Starr, plus guest Michael Jessen, the group examines phone-checking as compulsion, passive aggression, and a substitute for real presence.
Adolescent risk-taking is rooted in brain biology: the amygdala and reward circuits mature before the prefrontal cortex, leaving teenagers flooded with sensation-seeking drive and no brake. Armand DiMele, co-host Giullian Gioiello, and Lisa Arnone, LCSW trace this from evolutionary necessity through modern dangers like cutting, substance use, and viral stunts.
Severe winters and accelerating climate disruption are doing something to us emotionally that seasonal affective disorder alone cannot explain. Armand DiMele, joined by co-host Giullian Gioiello and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, explores how environmental upheaval drives withdrawal, hormonal disruption, and a search for connection through technology, money, and music.
Fear is false evidence appearing real, Armand DiMele argues, rooted in the nervous brain’s ancient survival wiring. He walks through the five core feelings, introduces a sixth (numbness), and explains how anxiety flips between clinging to security and a quiet wish for it all to end. Callers bring these ideas to life through fears about family, children, and personal history.
Childhood entrapment quietly drives adult fears, including fear of flying. Armand DiMele traces a caller’s claustrophobia to her violent, alcoholic home and explores why some people compulsively give advice, linking it to feelings of inadequacy and a need to feel powerful.
Armand DiMele reframes addiction as a romance, arguing that substances and compulsive behaviors offer the unconditional love that people fail to find elsewhere. Social anxiety specialist Jonathan Berent then joins to discuss shyness, social phobia, selective mutism, and why avoidance only deepens over time.
Performance anxiety can freeze you at a job interview, a school meeting, or even walking into a room alone. Natalie H. Rogers, licensed clinical social worker and author of “The New Talk Power,” shares her step-by-step body-based approach: correcting your breathing, developing inner physical awareness, and building concentration so fear stops blocking speech.
Talented people often sabotage themselves not from fear of failure but fear of success. Sports psychologist Dr. Don Green, a former Green Beret and author of ‘Fight Your Fear and Win,’ shares seven skills for performing under pressure, including centering, a technique that lets anyone control mental energy in under ten seconds.
