Disappointment is the hidden threat to political activists: it slides into apathy, rage, or depression if left unexamined. Armand DiMele, joined by Lisa Arnone, LCSW, and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, uses the Occupy Wall Street moment to explore what happens psychologically when passionate effort seems to yield no visible result.
Unmet expectations trigger a threat response in the brain far stronger than the pleasure of getting what we want. Armand DiMele examines how to stay adaptive when life diverges from the plan, drawing on callers dealing with job searching, a father’s death, and a partner’s crack addiction.
Obama’s announced surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan prompts Armand to ask not what listeners think about the war, but what they feel. Callers including a Vietnam-era veteran and an Afghan-American woman share grief, disillusionment, and the numbing silence that replaces protest.
