167: Guy’s Guy Radio with Robert Manni - Episode 167167: Guy’s Guy Radio with Robert Manni - Episode 167
UK Health Radio Podcast
Robert Manni talks with Dr Kenneth R. Lackritz about ageing, midlife discontent and the journey from ego-driven living to genuine elderhood. The conversation touches on Jungian ideas, shadow work, conscious relationships and practices that can help people reconnect with a deeper sense of self.
46:52•19 Jul 2026
Remembering Self: Aging, Shadow Work and Becoming an Elder
Episode Overview
- Midlife unease, including depression and anxiety, is framed as a natural stage of development and a potential doorway to deeper transformation.
- Cultural roles that tie identity to career, money and status can block people from reconnecting with a deeper self, especially in later life.
- Eldering means becoming someone who has remembered and relinked with their true self and can guide others, rather than clinging to an old ego identity.
- Shadow work involves welcoming and reintegrating rejected parts of oneself with compassion, rather than continuing to bury them in the unconscious.
- Practices such as psychotherapy, meditation and other inner-focused methods are suggested as ways to create space to hear the subtle voice of self.
“What if midlife isn’t a crisis, but it’s a spiritual awakening?”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on UK Health Radio’s Guy’s Guy Radio zooms in on ageing, identity and inner growth with a focus that many midlife and boomer listeners will recognise instantly. Clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst Dr Kenneth R. Lackritz joins host Robert Manni to talk about his book *Remembering Self: Seasons of the Soul Rediscovered Through Mystical Experience and Depth Psychology*.
Together, they look at why so many outwardly successful people hit midlife feeling flat, restless or spiritually drained, even though their careers, bank accounts and status all look good on paper. You’ll hear Dr Ken explain how Western culture pushes a tight script: student, worker, consumer, retiree, then “get out of the way”.
He contrasts mere “getting old” with “eldering” – becoming someone who has reconnected with a deeper self and can act as “a lighthouse to others who are searching for this path”. For anyone rebuilding life after alcohol or other addictions, that idea of becoming a grounded elder rather than a sidelined older person lands with extra weight.
The chat breaks down Jung’s idea of individuation (becoming whole), the role of shadow work, and why symptoms like depression, anxiety or increased drinking in midlife might actually be signals from the psyche asking for reconnection, not just problems to medicate away. Dr Ken and Robert also touch on conscious partnerships versus purely romantic relationships, and how meditation, psychotherapy and other practices can support a shift from ego-driven living to a more self-aware, integrated way of being.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your midlife wobble could be more of a spiritual turning point than a crisis, this episode offers language and concepts that might make your own journey feel less random and more meaningful. How might your life change if you treated your unease as an invitation instead of a failure?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.