Keyword: depression

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Creativity and Human Evolution April 19, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Ante
Category: Personal Growth & Change, The Mind & Neuroscience

Creativity may be the defining trait that separates humans from other animals, and modern research suggests it has been actively selected for through both natural and sexual selection. Armand DiMele and Roberta Maria Ante argue that suppressed creativity could be a root cause of depression, and that beauty and artistic expression hold untapped healing potential.

Why Teenagers Drop Out April 18, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kent Robertshaw, Stacy Nunez
Category: Personal Growth & Change, Society, Culture & Current Events

One in three American teenagers quits high school, and Armand DiMele and Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, Psychiatrist, trace why: boredom, family poverty, drug money, and a school system that mistakes college-prep drilling for real education. The conversation broadens into adult avoidance and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in suppressing discomfort rather than addressing its roots.

Why Depressives Respond to Pain Not Pleasure April 6, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Depression & Mood, Emotions & Inner Life

Depression is not a benign mood but an active, brain-damaging condition, and cheering someone up is the wrong approach. Armand DiMele explains why depressed people respond to pain and negativity rather than pleasure, and how validating rather than contradicting a depressed person can open a way through.

The Evolutionary Roots of Depression with Roberta Maria Acchi April 5, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Acchi
Category: Depression & Mood, The Mind & Neuroscience

Depression may be a biological strategy shaped by evolution, not merely a pathology. Armand DiMele and guest Roberta Maria Acchi examine rank theory, the biochemistry of winning and losing, why men hide depression, how oppressed groups are kept docile, and how blocked creative potential rewires the nervous system toward low mood.

The Noonday Demon with Andrew Solomon April 1, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Andrew Solomon
Category: Depression & Mood, The Mind & Neuroscience

Andrew Solomon, author of ‘The Noonday Demon,’ joins Armand DiMele to explore how depression escalates across repeated episodes, why agitated depression is especially dangerous, what cortisol does to brain cells over time, and why our screen-saturated, sleep-deprived culture may be quietly fueling an epidemic.

Fear, Sleeplessness and the Medicated Mind February 8, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Anxiety & Fear, The Mind & Neuroscience

Surging sleeping pill prescriptions since 2000 point to a population kept chronically anxious by threat messaging and media fear cycles. Armand and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace how an overstimulated amygdala eventually crashes into depression, why sleep is biologically active rather than passive rest, and what simple remedies can replace Ambien.

The Power of Luck January 3, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Depression & Mood, Meaning, Spirituality & Philosophy

Is luck real, or is it a story we tell ourselves? Armand DiMele argues that so-called unlucky people are often too anxious and narrowly focused to notice opportunities passing by, while exploring how privilege, discipline, attitude, and genuine chance all get confused with luck. Callers share their struggles with lifelong bad luck, revealing the link between perceived misfortune and depression.

The Psychology of Chronic Worry December 28, 2005

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

Chronic worriers aren’t weak or dramatic; their brains are locked in a primitive survival reflex they cannot simply switch off. Armand DiMele defends the chronic worrier against dismissive “pathologically positive” people, traces worry’s roots in fragility and future-thinking, and shows how it can paradoxically drive away the very support worriers need.

Personality Types Under Crisis December 20, 2005

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Society, Culture & Current Events

A transit strike hits New York and Armand DiMele uses the chaos as a live laboratory, walking through how obsessive, narcissistic, sociopathic, and explosive personality types each respond to sudden disruption. Callers share raw feelings about getting to work, managing depression, and solidarity with striking workers.

Holiday Blues and Gift Giving December 13, 2005

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Depression & Mood, Emotions & Inner Life

Holiday cheer masks real pain, and Armand DiMele digs into why. He traces seasonal depression and Scrooge-like bitterness to absent or cold fathers, unpacks the hidden psychology of gift giving and receiving, and takes calls from listeners carrying loneliness, loss, and family estrangement into the season.