Keyword: fear

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Anxiety as Friend and Foe with Dr. Sarah Denning March 26, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Sarah Denning
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Personal Growth & Change

Anxiety can motivate or paralyze, and the difference often comes down to catching it early. Dr. Sarah Denning, Founder of Adaptive Behavioral Therapy, joins Armand DiMele to map anxiety from low-grade nervousness to full panic attacks, introducing a stress scale and practical tools for identifying and lowering anxiety in the moment.

The Physiology of Anxiety and Fear with Dr. William Astwood March 19, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. William Astwood
Category: Anxiety & Fear, The Mind & Neuroscience

Anxiety, excitement, and fear are physiologically identical. Armand DiMele and Dr. William Astwood break down the fight-or-flight response in plain language, explaining how the sympathetic nervous system drives panic, phobias, obsessions, and social anxiety, and how understanding the body’s mechanics can restore a sense of control.

The Power of Focus with Jack Canfield December 18, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Jack Canfield, Rachel Hutt
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Focus, not talent, is the biggest obstacle between most people and success. Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and author of The Power of Focus, joins Armand DiMele and Dr. Rachel Hutt to discuss building focus through meditation and will, replacing bad habits, managing toxic relationships, and why unresolved emotions act as a brake on achievement.

The Pleasure of Moving Other People’s Emotions August 15, 2012

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

Why do people enjoy provoking reactions in others? Armand DiMele argues that our repressed emotions make us easy targets for manipulation, and that triggering someone else’s feelings is often a bid for power or a way to stay hidden. Music, trolling, lap dancing, and jealousy all illustrate the same dynamic.

How the Unconscious Mind Protects Us August 8, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lisa Arnone
Category: Identity & The Self, The Mind & Neuroscience

The unconscious exists to keep us safe, storing everything from childhood fears to inherited instincts. Armand DiMele and Lisa Arnone, LCSW break down Freud’s id, ego, and superego, using listener responses to Armand’s voice as live evidence of how unconscious associations with safety, kindness, and trust actually work.

The Fear of Being Loved July 11, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Audrey Clark, Lisa Arnone
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

What if part of you refuses to be loved? Armand DiMele and studio guests Lisa Arnone, LCSW, and Audrey Clark dig into the paradox of lovability: how people unconsciously push away love, choose cruel or unavailable partners, and replay childhood wounds in adult relationships. A listener letter about borderline personality anchors the discussion.

Dopamine Interdependence and Independence Day July 4, 2012

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

True independence is a myth, Armand argues on the Fourth of July: the body runs on interdependence, and so do we. He draws on Buddhist philosophy, fireworks neuroscience, and callers sharing family wounds to make the case that admitting need is not weakness but biological reality.

Why People Worry April 18, 2012

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Identity & The Self

Chronic worry is not random nervousness but a survival strategy rooted in childhood fears of abandonment and rejection. Armand DiMele draws on Jeffrey Young’s maladaptive schema theory to walk through the major life traps, including abandonment, mistrust, dependency, and vulnerability, showing how each one drives the worrying mind.

Safety and Danger in Love March 7, 2012

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Anxiety & Fear, Love & Romantic Relationships

Is the feeling of safety in relationships a genuine need or an illusion? Armand DiMele argues that craving safety actually signals underlying anxiety, that chronic worriers cannot truly love, and that real intimacy requires tolerating danger rather than eliminating it. Callers share stories of dependency, caretaking, and long-term relationships shaped by depression and mental illness.

The Power of Superstition January 11, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Linda Vanella
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

Superstitious beliefs shape daily life more than most people admit. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, trace how the evil eye, magical thinking, and protective rituals across cultures all stem from the same root: a childhood conviction that our minds and actions hold mysterious power over the world around us.