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.
April Fool’s Day becomes a lens for examining cognitive dissonance, cruelty disguised as humor, and what it actually takes to bounce back from pain. Armand DiMele, joined by Ed Zara, argues that trust is the foundation of resilience, and that trustworthiness can be established quickly even with deeply damaged children.
Childhood trauma leaves children frozen in place, and the cure often lies in the parent-child relationship, not just the child alone. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, draws on her work with traumatized veterans and young children to explain how creative tools like xylophone play, power cards, and the hero’s journey restore a child’s sense of agency alongside the caregiver’s.
Violence lives inside everyone, and Armand DiMele traces its origins from brain chemistry (serotonin, testosterone, adrenaline) to childhood trauma to personality type. Callers share firsthand accounts of growing up with domestic violence, and Armand examines how givers, perfectionists, and competitors each carry hidden aggression.
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.
Betrayal almost always involves a choice by the betrayed person, Armand DiMele argues, and the deepest wound is the one we inflict on ourselves by ignoring warning signs. With co-host Giullian Gioiello, Armand traces betrayal from Judas to war to infidelity, and takes calls from listeners working through deception in their own lives.
New Year’s Eve 2013 becomes an occasion for taking stock. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, shares her year working with combat veterans and their families on PTSD, and Armand reads an open letter from Christina McDowell confronting her father’s fraud. Callers reflect on loss, loneliness, and the quiet sustaining power of memory.
Childhood entrapment quietly drives adult fears, including fear of flying. Armand DiMele traces a caller’s claustrophobia to her violent, alcoholic home and explores why some people compulsively give advice, linking it to feelings of inadequacy and a need to feel powerful.
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.
Love is not optional, it is physiologically essential. Armand DiMele and Dr. Scott Baum, PhD, Psychologist, trace how early experiences of being loved (or not) shape muscle tension, breathing, digestion, and adult sexual function, arguing that the body literally holds the record of what the heart was given.
