Category: Personal Growth & Change

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The Shelf Life of Mental Health October 20, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Personal Growth & Change

Old fears and bad habits you thought you conquered have a way of coming back. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, explore why hard-won mental health gains can expire, from the AA concept of the “pink cloud” to the brain’s drive to keep aging people alert through worry, arguing that avoidance, not cure, is usually what we mistake for progress.

The Positive Side of Rebellion September 21, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Alex, Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella, Ramey
Category: Family & Parenting, Personal Growth & Change

Rebellion is not a problem to suppress but a developmental skill to celebrate. Armand DiMele argues that children who push back against parents are building the same muscle they need to resist dominating peers and dangerous strangers. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, shares how raising four children taught her to read defiance as a bid for independence, and callers add vivid stories of rebellion, loss, and trust.

The Shelf Life of Mental Health September 20, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Aging & Mortality, Personal Growth & Change

Why do problems we thought we solved come back? Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, examine why hard-won psychological gains fade over time, from the AA concept of the pink cloud to the body’s biological drive to reactivate old fears as we age. Callers share their own experiences of recurring fears and family estrangement.

How We Cope With Buried Anger September 1, 2011

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Buried anger is the engine behind most psychological suffering. Armand DiMele maps the strategies people develop to survive it, from repression and regression to dissociation and acting out, tracing how childhood rules about anger shape adult behavior, relationships, and even career choices.

The Psychology of Risk Taking July 20, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kent Robertshaw, Linda Vanella
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Personal Growth & Change

Why do some people seek danger while others avoid any uncertainty? Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, examine how risk perception forms in infancy, shapes adult behavior, and shifts with age. They trace the brain chemistry of thrill-seeking, the trap of compulsive avoidance, and why the mind is often the biggest obstacle to living freely.

How Emotions Evolve Over a Lifetime July 13, 2011

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Where do emotions come from, and do they follow us from childhood into old age? Armand DiMele draws on Darwin’s evolutionary theory of emotional expression and traces how traits like depression, anxiety, and hyper-excitability shift across the lifespan, with a close look at how caregiving and manic energy can spiral out of control over time.

Catching Anxiety Before It Peaks with Dr. Sarah Denning April 12, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Sarah Denning
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Personal Growth & Change

Anxiety is learned, measurable, and catchable before it spirals. Dr. Sarah Denning, Founder of Adaptive Behavioral Therapy, joins Armand to explain how a personal stress scale, breathing awareness, and resensitizing to subtle body signals can help people intervene at a level five before panic takes over.

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset with Dr. Carol Dweck February 1, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Carol Dweck
Category: Identity & The Self, Personal Growth & Change

Fixed mindset people treat setbacks as proof of permanent flaws; growth mindset people treat them as data. Dr. Carol Dweck, Professor and Author of “Mindset,” joins Armand DiMele to explore how these two orientations shape ambition, love, parenting, and even how we age.

Feelings Impulses and Behaviors December 14, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Armand DiMele draws a sharp line between thinking and feeling, arguing that most people use thoughts as escape hatches from uncomfortable emotions. He introduces his FIB framework (feelings, impulses, behaviors) and explains how expanding your emotional range reduces obsessions, phobias, and depression.

Sitting With the Question November 9, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Armand DiMele argues that the most powerful thing you can do is stop rushing toward answers and learn to sit with your own questions. Drawing on Zen koans, caller conversations about aging relationships and childhood sexual abuse, and a clip from The Jerk, he shows how the right question opens you to genuine self-knowledge.