Guest: Lauren Sykes

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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 Family Secrets Scar Us August 17, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Family secrets don’t just hide the truth, they divide families, freeze emotional development, and corrode trust for generations. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, walk through four ways secrets damage families and offer practical guidance on breaking destructive triangles, with callers sharing their own experiences.

The Many Ways We Ignore and Get Ignored August 16, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Being ignored can wound, protect, or punish depending on who is doing it and why. Armand DiMele traces the impulse from passive aggression and childhood family dynamics to the shame many women feel at puberty, drawing on observations from Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, and calls from listeners navigating neglect in their own relationships.

Why We Fall in Love with a False Self June 14, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kenny Baron, Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella, Sherri Siegel
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

What if people don’t fall in love with who you really are, but with the polished self you perform? Armand DiMele argues that revealing your true self often drives partners away, and that therapy’s push for authenticity can backfire. A caller’s story of kibbutz bullying, suicide, and bulimia recovery gives the theory raw, unexpected weight.

Feeling Good Is a Chemical State January 13, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Elemy, Lauren Sykes, Richard Christensen
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Feeling good is not a vague mental state but a precise chemical one, and Armand DiMele breaks down how everything from exercise to eating to orgasm is really the body engineering its own neurochemistry. The episode also reframes feeling good as often just the absence of pain.

Overreaction and Emotional Flooding September 29, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Elisa, Feli Stengel, Lauren Sykes, Marcus, Thelma Wingate
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

Why do people overreact, and what can you do when someone you love is on a tear? Armand DiMele examines the biology and culture of emotional flooding, from the moon cycle to reality TV’s exploitation of raw feeling, drawing on office manager Thelma Wingate’s experience managing flare-ups in dementia care. Callers weigh in on phobias, past life regression, and partners carrying divorce pain.

The Power of Yearning August 26, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes
Category: Depression & Mood, Emotions & Inner Life

Yearning is not a weakness but a biological imperative, as fundamental as photosynthesis. Armand DiMele explores how suppressed yearning shapes depression, stunted sexuality, and lopsided love, and why grief research now identifies yearning, not denial, as the defining feature of loss.

Growing Up in the 20-Something Generation August 25, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Identity & The Self, Personal Growth & Change

Why are so many young adults delaying marriage, careers, and commitment well into their 20s and beyond? Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, dig into shifting milestones, the rise of the “hipster” lifestyle, political disillusionment, and whether prolonged adolescence reflects freedom, avoidance, or something in between.