Mood: Bad

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Addiction as a Survival Strategy August 7, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Andrew Tatarski, Deborah Hillman, Dr. Harold Urschel, Emily Anthes, Roberta Maria Atzi
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, The Mind & Neuroscience

Every addiction, from food to sex to opiates, traces back to one root: the terror of being alone and unmoored. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti develop their “refugee syndrome” framework, while a recorded conversation with Dr. Harold Urschel, MD examines brain chemistry, medication, and why comprehensive treatment outperforms willpower alone.

Journeys into Emptiness with Dr. Robert Gunn July 17, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Robert Gunn
Category: Identity & The Self, Meaning, Spirituality & Philosophy

Emptiness is not a problem to solve but a journey to undertake. Dr. Robert Gunn, author of “Journeys into Emptiness,” joins Armand DiMele to trace three stages of emptiness, from painful longing through letting go to a Buddhist sense of wholeness, drawing on the lives of Dogen, Thomas Merton, and Carl Jung.

Addiction as Romance with Jonathan Berent July 16, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Jonathan Berent
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Anxiety & Fear

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.

The Felt Sense with Dr. Eugene Gendlin July 3, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Eugene Gendlin
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

The body knows more than the mind admits. Dr. Eugene Gendlin, developer of Focusing, walks Armand through how tuning into a subtle physical sensation in the trunk unlocks deeper self-knowledge, and how the same quality of non-judgmental attention transforms the way we listen to the people we love.

Fear of Success with Dr. Don Green June 18, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Don Green
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Personal Growth & Change

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.

A Nation of Wimps with Hara Estroff Marano May 15, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Hara Estroff Marano
Category: Family & Parenting, Personal Growth & Change

Overprotective parents are raising psychologically fragile children, and college counseling centers are overwhelmed with the fallout. Hara Estroff Marano, Author and Psychology Today Editor, joins Armand DiMele to argue that well-meaning parents who bubble-wrap their kids’ lives are producing adults who can’t tolerate failure, rejection, or uncertainty.

Truth Heals with Deborah King April 17, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Deborah King, Jeremy Spiegel
Category: The Mind & Neuroscience, Trauma & Healing

Self-deception is not just a psychological problem but a physical one. Deborah King, author of “Truth Heals,” shares how the lies we tell ourselves about relationships, work, and childhood wounds drain our energy and manifest as illness, drawing on her own journey through an eating disorder, bipolar disorder, cancer, and addiction. Armand DiMele and Dr. Jeremy Spiegel, Psychiatrist, join the conversation.

Dutiful Personalities and the Enneagram with Don Riso and Russ Hudson April 3, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Don Riso, Russ Hudson
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

Don Riso and Russ Hudson, authors of “The Wisdom of the Enneagram,” join Armand DiMele to map the three “dutiful” Enneagram types: the perfectionistic One, the people-pleasing Two, and the anxiety-driven Six. The conversation traces how duty hardens into resentment, hidden depression, and self-imposed slavery to an inner judge.

How Love Shapes the Body with Dr. Scott Baum April 2, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Scott Baum
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Love is not optional, it is physiologically essential. Armand DiMele and Dr. Scott Baum, PhD, Psychologist, trace how early experiences of being loved (or not) shape muscle tension, breathing, digestion, and adult sexual function, arguing that the body literally holds the record of what the heart was given.

Phobias and Secondary Gain March 20, 2013

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Emotions & Inner Life

Phobias are never just about the feared object. Armand DiMele argues that every phobia carries a hidden secondary gain, an unconscious payoff such as withdrawal from adult responsibility, and that understanding this dynamic is the real key to treatment. The episode covers agoraphobia, paranoia, and a catalogue of named phobias.