Mood: Sad

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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.

How Emotions Change With Age July 12, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Linda Vanella
Category: Aging & Mortality, Depression & Mood

Serotonin may not cause depression after all. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, dig into why the serotonin hypothesis is crumbling and why neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells, may better explain how mood shifts with age and how exercise, learning, and enriched environments can counter decline.

Dependency and Autonomy July 5, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Linda Vanella
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Identity & The Self

What is the real opposite of dependency? Armand DiMele argues it is autonomy, not independence, then unpacks the dependent personality with Linda Vanella, LCSW-R. The episode covers how dependency forms, how it fuels serial relationships and narcissistic dynamics, and why genuine autonomy must be a conscious choice rather than a reaction to fear.

Addiction and Depression in the Elderly June 28, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Sherri Siegel
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Aging & Mortality

Older adults are an overlooked population of addicts, and alcohol hits them harder than most realize. Armand DiMele and Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. examine late-onset substance use, the dangerous mix of alcohol and prescription medications, the leading cause of injury death in people over 65, and how to distinguish grief and sadness from clinical depression.

Elder Abuse and the Aging Society June 21, 2011

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Aging & Mortality, Society, Culture & Current Events

Aging in America leaves too many people vulnerable to harm by those they trust most. Armand DiMele breaks down the full spectrum of elder abuse, from physical and financial exploitation to neglect and rights violations, then opens the phones to callers wrestling with the real costs of caring for aging parents.

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.

Finding Your Loving Self April 1, 2011

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

What does it mean to be your real self, and is it even worth it? Armand DiMele argues that when you love someone, you are really loving the feeling of yourself in their presence, which reframes heartbreak, authenticity, and the search for connection as fundamentally inward journeys. Callers push the question further.

How We React to Catastrophe March 16, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Amhara, Anthony, Daphne Rose Kingma, Dr. Ronald Fieve, Linda Vanella, Monroe, Pat Moffitt, Vincent
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Emotions & Inner Life

Different personalities respond to mass catastrophe in recognizably different ways: some blame, some freeze, some go numb, some take action. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, use the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami as a lens for examining these patterns, drawing on Japanese cultural values of harmony and collective responsibility along with calls from listeners.

Love Is an Emerging Process February 14, 2011

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

Love is not a state of grace you grab hold of but an aching, ongoing process rooted in childhood imitation and covered by self-protective fraud. Armand DiMele argues that couples who survive deception often reach a deeper nakedness than those who never tested their bond at all.

The Need for Affection January 18, 2011

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

Touch is not a luxury but a biological and emotional need, and its absence quietly drives depression, disconnection, and longing. Armand DiMele surveys how affection works across cultures, life stages, and temperaments, from the bonding chemistry of parent and child to what elderly people lose when their partners die.