Keyword: commitment

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How Men Fear Love and Intimacy June 12, 2013

Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

Men fear intimacy more than they lack interest in it, and that fear drives most of their confusing behavior. Armand DiMele argues that testosterone, social conditioning, and the terror of vulnerability combine to keep men walled off from real connection, tracing the pattern from adolescent sexuality through the lone-cowboy model of manhood.

The Eight Phases of Love September 1, 2011

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

Armand DiMele lays out his own framework for the eight phases romantic love passes through, from the chemistry-driven honeymoon to the seven-year itch, selective immobility, and beyond. Co-host Stephanie joins the discussion, and Helen Fisher’s work on love and brain chemistry gets a nod along the way.

Freedom from Definitions of Love January 27, 2011

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

No therapist can hand you the right formula for love, and Armand argues that freedom from definitions is the real gift. Neurotic love, dishonest love, unconventional love can all work. What matters is noticing your own sensations, from longing to satisfaction, and trusting what fits you.

Exit Strategies in Love and Relationships April 29, 2010

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

Most people enter relationships with an unconscious escape plan already in place. Armand DiMele argues that children, debt, sexual withdrawal, hobbies, and infidelity all serve as built-in exit strategies, and that the people who suffer most after a breakup are those who never had one.

The Eight Phases of Loving Relationships March 1, 2008

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

Armand DiMele lays out his own eight-phase framework for how romantic love evolves, from the chemistry-driven honeymoon phase through reality testing, lost adolescence, the seven-year itch, and selective immobility. Callers share their own relationship struggles, grounding the theory in lived experience.

The Meaning of Loyalty December 19, 2006

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

What does it actually mean to be loyal, and to whom do we owe it? Armand DiMele works through loyalty in its many forms, from romantic fidelity and family bonds to political allegiance, arguing that real loyalty is a felt sense of devotion, not a pledge or an oath.

ADHD and the Science of Commitment Undated

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Love & Romantic Relationships, The Mind & Neuroscience

Living with a partner who has ADHD often breeds nagging, resentment, and a damaging parent-child dynamic, and Armand DiMele explains why the disorder is a brain chemistry issue rather than laziness or selfishness. The episode also examines genetic research on vasopressin and why some people are biologically wired toward infidelity.

Why Men Marry Their Mothers Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Linda Vanella, Ori Amini Morrison
Category: Family & Parenting, Love & Romantic Relationships

Trauma-induced intimacy disorder shapes who we choose to love. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, and Ora Yemini-Morrison, LCSW, join Armand to unpack why men unconsciously replicate the mother bond in romantic partnerships, why women do the same with fathers, and how early boundary failures drive fear of commitment, enmeshment, and the mama’s boy pattern across cultures.