Keyword: denial

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Dignity and Self-Respect with Dr. Majid Ali September 18, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Majid Ali
Category: Identity & The Self, Personal Growth & Change

Cheating the system quietly erodes self-respect, and most people mask that erosion through justification and denial. Armand traces how small compromises accumulate into a loss of dignity, links that pattern to unprocessed childhood pain, and speaks with Dr. Majid Ali, Physician, about how physical health and self-perception are intertwined.

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.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves September 18, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: John Valerio, Lisa Arnone
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

We are all method actors in stories we invented, and the stories we tell others are shaped as much by what listeners want to hear as by what we want to say. Armand DiMele and Lisa Arnone, LCSW explore how anxiety, denial, and the compulsive need to “fix” others often trace back to unfinished business from childhood.

How Defense Mechanisms Shape Our Lives January 18, 2012

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Anxiety is the antenna that triggers self-protection, and Armand DiMele and co-host Linda Vanilla walk through the full spectrum of psychological defenses, from denial and repression to dissociation and passive aggression. Caller stories ground the theory in real family pain, showing how childhood coping habits outlive their usefulness.

Betrayal Trauma and Broken Trust June 1, 2011

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Trauma & Healing

Why do we sometimes refuse to see betrayal even when it’s right in front of us? Armand DiMele examines betrayal trauma, drawing on Jennifer Freyd’s research to explain how the brain suppresses painful truths when a relationship is central to our sense of self. Callers share their own struggles with trust and control.

The Blind Spot of Self-Awareness June 24, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

When people can’t perceive their own illness or failings, the result isn’t simple denial but something deeper. Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, trace anosognosia from schizophrenia and stroke through everyday blindness to incompetence, exploring why the inability to see oneself is a root cause of violence, failed plans, and broken relationships.

Telling People the Truth August 26, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Catherine Altieri, Sherri Siegel
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Most of us say we want the truth, but go to great lengths to avoid it. Armand DiMele and guests Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. and Catherine Altieri, LCSW examine what happens when someone must deliver unwelcome news, covering everything from bad breath to terminal diagnosis, and why doctors, friends, and partners so often fall silent.

The Human Need to Be Deceived December 23, 2008

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

Why do we want to be lied to? Armand DiMele uses the Bernie Madoff scandal as a jumping-off point to argue that humans are wired for deception, both giving and receiving it. Drawing on primate research and brain science, he explores the fine line between healthy trust and paranoid suspicion.

Early Onset Alzheimer’s with Pat Moffitt June 5, 2008

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Pat Moffitt
Category: Aging & Mortality, Grief & Loss

A husband’s love story that becomes a caregiving ordeal. Pat Moffitt, author of ‘Ice Cream in the Cupboard,’ recounts his wife Carmen’s early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis at 53, the bewildering behavioral changes that preceded it, and how he learned to face a loss that arrives long before death.

Denial and Its Many Forms June 4, 2008

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

Denial is the foundation of addiction, the first response to death, and the reason heart attacks go untreated. Armand DiMele breaks down six distinct forms, from simple denial of fact to the subtler denial of cycle and denial of denial, and explains how facing reality, even in someone else’s dying moments, can be the greatest gift we offer.