Keyword: anxiety

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How Attachment Styles Shape Our Love Lives December 5, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Linda Vanella
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, trace adult romantic patterns back to Mary Ainsworth’s infant attachment research, mapping secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized styles onto grown-up love. Callers share fresh breakups and repeating patterns, revealing how hard it is to outgrow the attachment wounds of childhood.

Accessing Your Real Self: What Does It Mean to Be Real November 30, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Alberto, Charles Bavona, Karen, Kelly, Megan, Monroe, Shakara, Teresa
Category: Identity & The Self

In this episode, Armand DiMele explores the profound question of what it means to be real. Through introspective dialogue and listener call-ins, he discusses how people present either strength or weakness depending on their needs, fears, or survival instincts. Armand connects the idea of authenticity with pain, vulnerability, and presence, arguing that “crazy” behaviors are often adaptations to protect fragile selves. Excerpts from The Velveteen Rabbit and quotes from E.E. Cummings, Judy Garland, and others enrich the philosophical journey. Callers share personal experiences with trauma, depression, overthinking, and strained relationships, revealing how pain, when accepted, can guide people back to their true selves. The episode urges listeners to face discomfort, question disguises, and reclaim their real identities.

The Question Behind the Question November 10, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

The questions we ask others are rarely the questions we really need to answer. Armand DiMele argues that most of our probing, deflecting, and loaded questions in relationships mask a single deeper fear: am I safe? Callers explore jealousy, marital uncertainty, and longing through this lens.

My Mind Is Not Always My Friend with Stephen Fogle September 30, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra, Stephen Fogle
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

The mind evolved to keep us safe, but its habit of replaying the past can turn it into an enemy. Armand DiMele sits down with author Stephen Fogle and co-host Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW to examine how mislabeled memories trigger overreactions, why reason rarely wins against a fired amygdala, and how body awareness can break the cycle.

Trauma and Depression After 9/11 September 14, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Depression & Mood, Trauma & Healing

Witnessing 9/11 left measurable changes in survivors’ brains four years later. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW discuss Cornell MRI research on hyperactive amygdala responses, how trauma becomes consolidated in memory, and emerging interventions ranging from video games to medication that may interrupt that process. The second half covers depression’s physical and cognitive toll.

Irritability and the Weather July 8, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Bernie Starr, Dr. Maria Grace, Karen, Patricia Miranda, Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Irritability turns out to be closer to fear than anger, and closer to tears than most people realize. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, trace how weather, hormones, serotonin, fatigue, and vitamin D deprivation all converge to push the nervous system toward that hair-trigger state, and callers weigh in with their own experiences.

The Fine Art of Catastrophizing July 1, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Angela, Christina, Reiner Heilregel, Sherry Oren King, Stephanie D'Ambra, Tony Thomas
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Depression & Mood

Catastrophizing turns small setbacks into imagined disasters, and Armand DiMele unpacks why so many people do it. Drawing on Albert Ellis, Gestalt therapy’s “and then what” technique, and co-host Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, the episode offers practical ways to interrupt the spiral before it paralyzes you.

The Gifts of Neurodiversity with Dr. Thomas Armstrong June 22, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Identity & The Self, The Mind & Neuroscience

What if autism, depression, anxiety, and ADHD carry genuine strengths alongside their challenges? Dr. Thomas Armstrong argues that reframing these conditions as brain differences rather than disorders reveals hidden gifts, and Armand and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW explore how safe relationships and tailored environments help neurodiverse people thrive.

How the Brain Evolved Emotions with Dr. Joe Ledoux June 16, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Joe Ledoux, Sherry Segal
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Fear is not just a feeling but a hardwired survival circuit, and the brain acts on danger before the conscious mind even knows what is happening. Neuroscientist Dr. Joe Ledoux walks Armand through the amygdala’s two pathways, why emotional memories feel vivid but are often inaccurate, and why it is far easier for emotions to hijack thought than the other way around.

The Paradox of Choice with Barry Schwartz April 7, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Barry Schwartz, Sherri Siegel
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

More options should mean more happiness, but psychologist Barry Schwartz argues the opposite: abundant choice produces paralysis, regret, and rising expectations that guarantee disappointment. Armand DiMele and Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. discuss how committing to a path, rather than endlessly searching for a better one, may be the actual route to fulfillment.