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Sometimes the bravest thing we do isn’t starting over…
It’s starting over again.

In today’s five-minute bonus episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele offers a gentle guided meditation for anyone in a season of rebuilding, recalibrating, or beginning again - not because you failed, but because your life is calling you back to honesty.

This is a quiet place to land if you’re tired, tender, and still willing to try.

Together, we explore:

• why resilience is a process, not a personality trait
• how perfectionism often shows up as protection
• why renewal isn’t an interruption - it’s a cycle
• and a simple 3-breath ritual to help you release, forgive, and begin again gently

If you’ve been carrying pressure to “do it right this time,” let this episode remind you: growth is allowed to be messy… and you are allowed to be human.

Resources Mentioned / Related Listening & Reading

📚 Books

• The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
• Self-Compassion — Dr. Kristin Neff
• Mindset — Dr. Carol Dweck
• Atomic Habits — James Clear (for gentle rebuilding, identity-based change)

🧠 Psychology & Nervous System

• Polyvagal Theory work — Dr. Stephen Porges
• Anchored — Deb Dana (nervous system regulation + safety cues)

🎧 Supportive Practices

• Breathwork for grounding + regulation
• “Rupture and repair” reflection: Where can I return to myself with gentleness?

Gentle Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational and supportive purposes and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. If you are struggling or in crisis, please contact your local emergency services. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

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The Seven Year Itch is often remembered as a playful 1950s comedy, but psychologically, it’s something much deeper. In this episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores what the film reveals about repression, fantasy, projection, and the emotional restlessness that can arise when identity stagnates inside a life that feels too small.

We unpack how postwar gender roles created “contained” lives where desire wasn’t discussed, only displaced, and how fantasy can become a coping strategy when agency and self-expression feel unsafe. Through a psychodynamic and Jungian lens, we explore projection and the loss of personhood, especially in how Marilyn Monroe’s character becomes a symbol rather than a fully seen human being.

This episode also reframes the cultural concept of the “seven-year itch” through developmental psychology, exploring Erikson’s generativity vs. stagnation and how the psyche often demands movement when growth has been postponed. Ultimately, this isn’t an episode about judging desire - it’s about listening to what desire is trying to say beneath the surface.

Because sometimes the real temptation isn’t another person.
It’s the version of you that wants to come alive again.

📚 Resources Mentioned / Aligned

Books (Identity, Desire, Meaning)

• Untamed — Glennon Doyle
• The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
• Man’s Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl
• Women Who Run With the Wolves — Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Psychological Frameworks (Referenced in Episode)

• Psychodynamic theory (repression, unconscious conflict)
• Jungian psychology (projection, shadow, disowned self)
• Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development (generativity vs. stagnation)
• Attachment theory (especially avoidant patterns + fear of vulnerability)
• Existential psychology (authorship, responsibility, meaning-making)

Extra Depth

• Donald Winnicott — False Self / True Self concepts
• Objectification + trauma-informed perspectives on identity erosion

⚠️ Brief Disclaimer

This podcast episode is for educational and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you are struggling or in emotional distress, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional or a trusted support resource. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. International listeners can visit findahelpline.com for local support.

Ask The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast a Question. Text the TLT Pod today.

In this episode of The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores the psychology of why micromanaging doesn’t work, and why, in education especially, it often creates the exact opposite of what teachers are trying to accomplish.

Micromanaging may look like responsibility, but psychologically it doesn’t produce capable, confident learners. Instead, it activates a threat response in students.

When students feel watched and evaluated, their nervous systems shift out of learning mode because learning thrives under safety, not surveillance.

Resources

Teachers Pay Teacher - The Lemon Tree by AKS

Instagram @thelemontreecoaching

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, mental health treatment, or professional advice. If you are in crisis, struggling with thoughts of self-harm, or need immediate support, please call or text 988 (U.S. Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room.