Keyword: loss

Living With Physical and Emotional Pain June 9, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Giullian Gioiello

Physical pain and emotional pain feel utterly different, yet both demand surrender rather than resistance. Armand DiMele, joined by co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello, takes calls from listeners navigating broken bones, chronic back pain, heroin withdrawal, and the grief of losing parents, exploring how we sometimes choose painful patterns and what it takes to move through them.

When Trauma Cracks the Mind April 22, 2015

Host: Armand DiMele

Acute stress disorder is the immediate psychological fracture that follows a single catastrophic event, distinct from PTSD. Armand DiMele walks through the diagnostic criteria, from numbing and amnesia to hypervigilance, and takes calls from listeners who survived stacked traumas including assault, Hurricane Sandy, and sudden bereavement.

The 36 Dramatic Situations in Life with Jeff Kitchen January 13, 2015

All human conflict reduces to 36 dramatic situations, argues screenwriter Jeff Kitchen, and Armand DiMele uses that framework as a live diagnostic tool. Callers work through father wounds, romantic entanglement, and a longing to be loved, revealing how classic dramatic patterns play out in ordinary lives.

The Obsessive Mind in Love September 10, 2014

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Giullian Gioiello, Linda Vanella

Why can’t you get someone out of your head? Armand DiMele traces romantic obsession to the brain’s danger-detection system, arguing that the amygdala treats lost love as a survival threat. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, joins co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello as callers share raw stories of grief, betrayal, and letting go.

When the Real Self Breaks Through April 23, 2014

Host: Armand DiMele

What happens when the pressures of life crack the composed self wide open? Armand DiMele examines how rage, passive aggression, and emotional numbness ripple outward and damage others, while callers share raw stories of unloving mothers, inherited trauma, and the long work of grieving what was never given.

Climate Change and the Emotional Body April 1, 2014

Severe winters and accelerating climate disruption are doing something to us emotionally that seasonal affective disorder alone cannot explain. Armand DiMele, joined by co-host Giullian Gioiello and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, explores how environmental upheaval drives withdrawal, hormonal disruption, and a search for connection through technology, money, and music.

Hatred Vengeance and the Hateful Self March 25, 2014

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello, Linda Vanella

Hatred is not a demon to be hidden but a feeling to be explored honestly. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, trace hatred from childhood helplessness through jealousy, control, and vengeance, with a moving call from a man who lost his brother on 9/11 and has since been cut off from his nephews and nieces.

Why We Resist Change August 13, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Andrea Katz, Andrew Phillips, Giullian Gioiello

Change is inevitable, but transition is psychological and far slower than the physical event. Armand DiMele breaks down why people cling to the status quo, why being changed against your will hurts more than choosing change yourself, and how to use the uncertain in-between period as a space for growth. Co-host Giullian Gioiello joins the conversation.

Transitional Objects and Unfinished Grief January 30, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello, Lisa Arnone

When a divorced woman fell into depression the moment her ex-husband removed his things, Armand DiMele recognized a classic pattern: the husband had been buffering unresolved grief over her father’s death. Armand, joined by Lisa Arnone, LCSW, and co-host Giullian Gioiello, explores how people, music, and objects absorb original pain, and why the loss of a substitute can hit harder than the original wound.

Losing Your Mind to Find Resilience November 6, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello, Yo-Yo Ma

Reality is hard, and humans escape it through sex, rage, drugs, romance, and lies. Armand DiMele argues this is understandable but costly, then pivots to Hurricane Sandy as a case study in forced clarity. Co-host Giullian Gioiello shares his firsthand experience as an NYU student in the East Village during the storm, grounding a practical discussion of how to build resilience through pain rather than around it.