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

Why do we sometimes feel as though we've returned to an emotion we thought we had moved past? In this episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele takes us through five floors of an emotional elevator, exploring how memory, grief, fear, and growth can bring us to unexpected places. Wherever the foors open, the question is not "Why am I back here?" but "What might this floor be showing me?"

The Elevator Effect is a metaphor for emotional experience, not an established psychological theory.

References and Resources

1. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.

Foundational sociological theory explaining how acquaintances connect otherwise separate social networks.

2. Sandstrom, G. M., & Dunn, E. W. (2014). Social interactions and well-being: The surprising power of weak ties. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(7), 910–922.

Research examining relationships between everyday interactions with acquaintances, happiness, and belonging.

3. Sandstrom, G. M., & Dunn, E. W. (2014). Is efficiency overrated? Minimal social interactions lead to belonging and positive affect. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(4), 437–442.

An experimental investigation of brief interactions with coffee-shop employees.

4. Epley, N., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Mistakenly seeking solitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5), 1980–1999.

Experiments examining commuters' predictions about, and experiences of, interacting with strangers.

5. Aron, A., Melinat, E., Aron, E. N., Vallone, R. D., & Bator, R. J. (1997). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(4), 363–377.

Research on structured, reciprocal self-disclosure and feelings of interpersonal closeness.

6. Altman, I., & Taylor, D. A. (1973). Social Penetration: The Development of Interpersonal Relationships. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Foundational theoretical work on how relationships develop through changing patterns of self-disclosure.

7. Conway, M. A., & Pleydell-Pearce, C. W. (2000). The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychological Review, 107(2), 261–288.

A theoretical model of how autobiographical memories are organized and constructed.

The Savory Reader Stack & Movie Recs

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Before Sunrise (1995) - Directed by Richard Linklater.

Lost in Translation (2003) - Directed by Sofia Coppola.

Journal Prompt

Think of a stranger or acquaintance whose brief presence in your life remains memorable.

What do you remember about the encounter? What did the person actually say or do? Has the meaning of that interaction changed over time?

Optional exercise: Notice one ordinary social interaction this week. Without forcing conversation or changing your boundaries, reflect on how it affects your sense of connection.

Disclaimer

This episode is intended for educational and reflective purposes. It is not a substitute for individualized psychological or mental-health care. Social interaction is not universally beneficial, and personal boundaries, safety, accessibility, and individual needs should always be respected.

If you are experiencing emotional distress or need immediate support in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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

What if the seasons of our lives that feel darkest are not empty, but transformative?

In this episode of The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores the myth of Persephone as a psychological story of descent, grief, identity, feminine power, and becoming. Beyond its familiar explanation of the changing seasons, Persephone’s journey offers a powerful metaphor for the moments when life interrupts who we thought we were—and asks us to become someone new.

Through mythology, psychology, and the symbolism of autumn, we explore what it means to descend into difficult seasons, live for a while in the space between identities, and eventually return—not as the person who left, but as someone changed by what happened in the dark.

Because sometimes transformation does not begin with blooming.

Sometimes it begins underground.

References and Further Reading

• The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the earliest surviving extended literary account of Persephone’s abduction, Demeter’s search, the pomegranate seed, and Persephone’s return: University of Houston translation
• Helene P. Foley, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Translation, Commentary, and Interpretive Essays: Princeton University Press edition
• C. G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
• Pauline Boss, The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change
• Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence G. Calhoun, research on post-traumatic growth
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
• Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow
• Susan David, Emotional Agility
• The Fitzwilliam Museum’s overview of the Demeter and Persephone myth: The Story of Demeter and Persephone

Brief Disclaimer

This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individualized mental-health care, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are struggling with grief, trauma, depression, or another mental-health concern, please consider seeking support from a qualified professional.

If you are in the United States and experiencing a mental-health crisis or thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.

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

As school schedules, children’s activities, and holiday preparations begin to replace summer’s slower rhythms, the autumn equinox offers a fleeting image of balance—day and night almost perfectly divided before everything changes again.

In this episode of The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores why balance is not a fixed destination, but an ongoing process of adjustment. Drawing on the psychological concept of allostasis—or achieving stability through change—she considers the difference between healthy adaptation and simply becoming accustomed to circumstances that may not be good for us.

References & Resources

• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times⁠ by Katherine May⁠
• The September House⁠ by Carissa Orlando⁠
• The Seasons, Equinoxes, and Solstices — National Weather Service⁠
• Allostasis and Allostatic Load: Stability Through Change⁠
• Work-Life Harmony, Flexibility, and Healthy Boundaries — American Psychological Association⁠

This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

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

What if grief became weather, memory became architecture, and hope bloomed beneath our feet? In this two-part exploration, Dr. Allison Sucamele examines how magical realism makes our inner lives visible through metaphor, symbolism, archetypes, memory, imagination, and story. Discover why the impossible can sometimes reveal what is most humanly true—and help us understand ourselves in ways facts alone cannot.

As always, this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes and is not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis, or individualized mental health care.

If today’s conversation brought up difficult emotions, please give yourself permission to pause, ground yourself, and reach out for support.

If you are in the United States and experiencing a mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide, call or text **988** to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you are in immediate danger, call **911**. If you live outside the United States, please contact the crisis or emergency resources available in your area.

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

Certainty gives us answers. Curiosity gives us room to discover whether those answers are actually true.

In this bonus episode of The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores why the brain is so eager to resolve uncertainty—and how our need for cognitive closure can sometimes turn assumptions into conclusions before we have all the information.

We’ll look at confirmation bias, the psychological power of saying “I don’t know yet,” and how curiosity can change the way we approach conflict, relationships, and even the stories we tell about ourselves.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

🍋 The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast — Where inner work meets everyday life.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988lifeline.org

In the U.S., you can also call or text 988 for 24/7 crisis support.

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

What happens when you still love the work—but the environment surrounding it becomes impossible to love?

In Episode #178 of The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast, we explore a particularly complicated kind of workplace grief: when a toxic culture changes your relationship with a job that once gave you meaning, purpose, identity, and joy.

We’ll talk about chronic workplace stress, burnout, psychological safety, loss of trust, moral injury, and the strange grief of realizing that sometimes you didn’t stop loving the work—the conditions around the work made loving it unsustainable.

The World Health Organization describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, characterized by exhaustion, increasing psychological distance or cynicism toward work, and reduced professional efficacy. Research and guidance from the American Psychological Association also point to the significant psychological toll toxic workplaces can take on employees.

This episode is about separating the job you loved from the environment that hurt you, grieving what was lost, and considering an important possibility:

Maybe losing the environment doesn't have to mean losing the part of you that loved the work.

📚 Related Reading

• The Burnout Challenge — Christina Maslach & Michael P. Leiter
• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle — Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski
• The Fearless Organization — Amy C. Edmondson
• Set Boundaries, Find Peace — Nedra Glover Tawwab
• Man’s Search for Meaning — Viktor E. Frankl

🔎 Additional Resources

• World Health Organization — Burn-out as an occupational phenomenon
• American Psychological Association — Toxic workplaces and employee well-being
• American Psychological Association — Understanding workplace burnout

🎧 The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast
Where inner work meets everyday life.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, diagnosis, legal advice, or individualized mental-health treatment. If workplace experiences are significantly affecting your mental or physical health, consider reaching out to a qualified professional for support.

💛 Need support? In the United States, you can call or text 988 or use the 988 Lifeline's online chat for free, confidential crisis support.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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

Why do societies so often hold victims responsible while overlooking those who caused the harm?

In this bonus episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores one of the most psychologically significant aspects of Ovid's Metamorphoses: after Medusa is assaulted by Poseidon, it is Medusa—not Poseidon—whose life is permanently altered.

Drawing on psychology, Dr. Sucamele examines victim blaming through Melvin Lerner's Just World Hypothesis, Judith Herman's work on trauma, and the concept of institutional betrayal. Together, these ideas help explain why people sometimes focus on the behavior of those who were harmed rather than the actions of those who caused the harm.

Using Medusa's story as a symbolic lens, this short bonus episode invites listeners to consider where accountability belongs, how trauma changes the way people are perceived, and what it means to build communities that protect rather than punish.

Books Mentioned

• Metamorphoses — Ovid
• Trauma and Recovery — Judith Herman
• The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion — Melvin J. Lerner

Resources

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): https://www.nami.org
• Psychology Today Therapist Directory: https://www.psychologytoday.com
• Open Path Psychotherapy Collective: https://openpathcollective.org
• Therapy for Black Girls: https://therapyforblackgirls.com
• Therapy for Black Men: https://therapyforblackmen.org

Disclaimer

The Lemon Tree Coaching Podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, psychological, or mental health advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, please seek support from a licensed mental health professional or your healthcare provider.

Crisis Resources (U.S.)

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. If there is an immediate emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department.