Mood: Bad

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Rough Childhoods and Impulse Control April 12, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Personal Growth & Change

Rough childhoods don’t just wound emotionally, they physically reshape the brain, and that is the root of impulse control problems. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace how early neglect stunts neuronal development and drives behaviors from theft and violence to binge eating and self-cutting, with a striking detour into what starvation studies reveal about compulsion.

The Psychology of Impulse Control April 11, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Emotions & Inner Life

Armand DiMele traces impulsive behavior from everyday impulse buying and advertising to serious disorders including mania, antisocial personality, and addiction. He argues that reduced sensitivity to consequences is the common thread, and that awareness alone is a powerful first antidote.

The Evolutionary Roots of Depression with Roberta Maria Acchi April 5, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Acchi
Category: Depression & Mood, The Mind & Neuroscience

Depression may be a biological strategy shaped by evolution, not merely a pathology. Armand DiMele and guest Roberta Maria Acchi examine rank theory, the biochemistry of winning and losing, why men hide depression, how oppressed groups are kept docile, and how blocked creative potential rewires the nervous system toward low mood.

Family Systems and Hidden Roles March 23, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Family & Parenting

Every family is a system, and the ‘sick’ member is rarely the only one who needs help. Armand DiMele walks through systems theory from triangulation and the rebel child to Munchausen by proxy, arguing that treating the individual without the whole family often misses the point entirely.

Pleasure in Other People’s Misfortune March 7, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do we slow down at accidents, follow celebrity scandals, and buy newspapers with tragic headlines? Armand DiMele examines schadenfreude, the universal tendency to feel pleasure at others’ misfortune, drawing on neuroscience showing the brain’s reward centers light up in response to tragedy and arguing this impulse is far more widespread than most people admit.

Limerence and the Blindness of Falling in Love February 9, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

Why do we go blind when we fall for someone? Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, break down lust, lovesickness, and limerence, the infatuation state coined by Dorothy Tenov, arguing that romantic blindness may be biologically wired and that mature love requires accepting people as they actually are.

Anorexia as a Control Issue January 31, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Christine Ulrich, Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Identity & The Self

Anorexia is not really about food but about control, perfectionism, and a refusal to grow up. Armand DiMele, joined by Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW and Christine Ulrich, traces how starvation becomes a way to freeze development, reject femininity, and rebel against family pressure without openly defying it.

The Psychology of Umami January 24, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

What if the mysterious quality that makes a person or relationship feel just right is the psychological equivalent of umami? Armand DiMele maps the five taste sensations onto human personality types and romantic chemistry, arguing that savory wholeness, not sweetness or intensity alone, is what makes love and life satisfying.

Sex Therapy and Intimacy with Dr. Judy Kuriansky January 5, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Love & Romantic Relationships, Sexuality & Desire

Passion, technique, and emotional honesty are all part of good sex, argues Dr. Judy Kuriansky, a veteran sex therapist and protege of Masters and Johnson. She and Armand DiMele, joined by Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, debate Schnarch’s raw-desire model against Kuriansky’s view that intimacy is a skill built through practice, gestalt techniques, and her three A’s: acceptance, acknowledgment, and appreciation.

The Psychology of Chronic Doubt January 4, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Identity & The Self

Chronic doubters are not simply paranoid but deeply afraid of being left alone and unprotected. Armand DiMele traces this pattern to early childhood, specifically to absent or undermining father figures, and explains why doubters simultaneously crave loyalty and resist intimacy.