Contagious Emotions

Explicit content warning

10/22/20 • 59 min

Episode 3 of an exclusive 6-episode series.
In this episode, we talk contagious emotions, how emotions are passed from one person to another, like a contagion. We catch emotions from each other, partly because of empathy. Partly because of mirror neurons that pick these things up from other bodies, partly because evolution valued the trait.
Empathy has evolved with us over time and can be contagious, like any other emotion. Fear is contagious. I'm sure you've realized. Grandiosity is contagious. Emotional pain of all sorts is contagious as is emotional literacy and emotional wellness. We pass these things to each other all the time.
Guest: Stephanie Covington Armstrong, author of Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat, a Story of Bulimia. She is a writer, speaker, mother, survivor, and advocate for healing trauma and the relationship with food. We discuss how the absorption of various messages from her family influenced her life experience.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Take the ACE Quiz (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
Brene Brown on Empathy
Richard Dawkins on Memes

Previous Episode

The Cost of Emotional Illiteracy in the Age of the Mad King

Episode #2 in a 6-episode exclusive series. This podcast began as treatment notes on election night in 2016. Without knowing much about Donald Trump, I knew some of what we as a nation could expect based on his public behaviors for decades; after all the best predictor of future behavior is past and current behavior.
What's clear from decades of direct observation of Trump is that he has a rigid idiosyncratic behavior pattern. It is predictable and it is avoidable. I thought it was clear as day, but yet this was and is not obvious to everyone -- regardless of party.
This is not about party. This is about psychology and in this case, abnormal psychology. As our culture increasingly promotes narcissism through social media and technology, this could really happen to anyone. I took it for granted before the election that obviously everyone saw what I saw; it was directly observable, but apparently not.
And over the past three and a half years, we've had to suffer as a nation. My hope in this podcast is to help you develop your own integrated psychological lens, just like in therapy, to gain insight and awareness, maybe a new perspective, a tool and grow our shared consciousness.
In this episode, we discuss the costs of emotional illiteracy. What is emotional illiteracy and what are the real costs? We'll increase our EQ by hearing from two experts to who will teach us what to look for in order to spot these types, these traits, these psychological malignancies that are identifiable, predictable and absolutely avoidable.
GUESTS:

Dr. Cynthia Lermond is a Licensed Psychologist and Community Program Director specializing in Forensic Psychology. She is an experienced professional whose skills and interests include: forensic evaluations and expert witness testimony; clinical oversight and program development of multi-disciplinary treatment teams; psychotherapy, risk assessment, crisis intervention, and treatment planning in forensic settings; and training, education and clinical supervision of staff, students and interns.
John Snibbe, Ph.D. is a retired Clinical Psychologist who began the journey called retirement in March on 2012 after 40+ years of working. He has served in variety of clinical operations like psychiatric hospitals, a psychotherapy clinics and emergency services. He has also worked with LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has authored or edited four books and many research articles. His pre-retirement assignment was managing 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Services for the southern half of Los Angeles County. Like many professionals who have worked in high-octane environments, coming to the tipping point of unlimited leisure and infinite horizons was seductive and frightening. Finding meaning in later life has been a complex learning process requiring persistence, exploration and flexibility.

Mentioned in this episode:

My Grandmother's Hands

Snakes in Suits
Client 9: Rise and Fall of Elliott Spitzer

Greater Good Science Center

Next Episode

Styles of Denial

Episode 4 of an exclusive 6-episode series.

Have you ever been toward the end of a relationship and wondered "How did I not see this?"
Denial is a little gift from our brain and comes in various styles, all meant to keep us and our fragile egos feel intact. Notice it's about feeling intact. It's not about growing.

In fact, denial and growth are contra-indicated and we have a whole host of denial styles to keep us nice and shielded from the incoming pains of the world. On today's episode, Renie talks with Dr. Gary Pearle, her mentor and psych hero who originally taught her about styles of denial and all their magnificent glory.
About: Dr. Gary Pearle has been a therapist for 26 years. Before that, he co-authored and directed the Broadway musical Tintypes and was the recipient of Helen Hayes and Joseph Jefferson awards for his work as a director in the American regional theatre.

“In both of these careers I’ve been drawn by the very same thing: the sense of meaning and purpose that arises when we're animated by something that matters. What that is, of course, is very personal to each of us—and it can change. More than anything, therapy is a way of laying out the welcome mat for unexpected possibilities. That can take patience. But the secrets that unfold there are worth the wait.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Too Much and Never Enough