Being cast out hurts in ways that go beyond simple rejection. Armand DiMele traces ostracism from its ancient Athenian roots through race, family exile, and sexual abuse survivors silenced by the people who should protect them. Callers share raw personal experiences of being pushed to the margins.
Memory loss with age is largely a myth, argues Dr. Pierce Howard, author of “The Owner’s Manual for the Brain.” Armand DiMele and Howard dig into how adrenaline fixes memories, why depression distorts recall, the four types of amnesia, and whether dramatically improving memory might actually cost us something valuable.
Five years after 9/11, Armand DiMele examines how the attacks amplified whatever psychological vulnerabilities people already carried, driving surges in anxiety, sleep disorders, PTSD, extramarital affairs, addiction, and antidepressant use. Callers share firsthand accounts, including one man who found that volunteering broke his sense of helplessness.
Armand DiMele and Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, Psychiatrist, examine why people lock away unbearable pain rather than face it, how children assign themselves blame for disasters and abuse, and why denial of death costs us empathy for suffering near and far.
Toxic shame drives addiction, numbness, and violence, and Hurricane Katrina made that truth impossible to ignore. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace how collective shame over race, poverty, and government failure sent millions into emotional deadness and substance use, and urge listeners to feel the pain rather than go numb.
Why do some people bounce back from trauma while others stay broken? Armand DiMele traces resilience to genetics, specifically the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter gene, exploring how allele variations shape depression risk across individuals and racial groups, with callers sharing their own struggles to recover.
Childhood sexual abuse is far more complex than stranger rape, and the family ties that bind a child to a perpetrator make the damage uniquely lasting. Armand DiMele speaks with Dr. Christine Courtois, author of “Healing the Incest Wound,” about definitions of incest, sibling abuse, long-term effects including PTSD and fibromyalgia, and recovery in adulthood. Callers share raw personal testimony.
Fugue states are everywhere: in drinking, meditation, marathon running, internet use, even falling in love. Armand DiMele argues that any habitual escape from the present moment is a form of dissociation, explains the neurological cost, and offers practical steps for learning to stay.
Unmet childhood needs quietly drive adult relationship failures. Armand and Portia Franklin, a New York psychotherapist trained in the methods of Albert Pesso, Co-founder, Pesso Boyden Therapy, walk through five core needs: place, support, nurturance, protection, and loving limits, and explain how their absence gets re-enacted with partners who can never truly fill them.
Getting what you want is impossible when you don’t know who you are. Dale Goldstein, author of “Heart Work,” joins Armand DiMele to walk through his nine-step process for locating buried feelings in the body, grieving unmet childhood needs, and uncovering the authentic self beneath years of numbness and distraction.
