“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Madison was not writing about marriage. He was defending the U.S. Constitution, making the case for checks and balances in government. Yet the moment I read that line, my mind drifted to relationships.

I’m still chasing accomplishment, approval, clarity, healing. Even now, while I’m typing this. There’s this voice in my head that doesn’t quite quit: “Just one more insight… one more breakthrough… then you’ll make it.” So no, this isn’t me on top of some peaceful inner mountain, giving a TED talk and handing out three easy steps to bliss. This is me mid-climb. Sweaty. Slipping. Wondering sometimes, "am I even on the right path".

Cut through the noise with practical strategies tailored to your kind of anxiety—whether it’s racing thoughts, social dread, panic attacks, trauma loops, or the fear of not measuring up. No fluff. No filler. Just what actually helps.

You don’t always realize you’re staying too long. Not at first. You tell yourself you’re being faithful. That this is what love does. That walking away would make you selfish, ungrateful, dramatic. You swallow things. You make excuses. You wait.

Most couples think the presence of conflict means something’s broken or that they are suddenly incompatible. But research shows the opposite. The absence of conflict usually means avoidance, resentment, or emotional disengagement.

Empathy is a virtue. But no virtue is immune to distortion. When empathy becomes a strategy—to manipulate, guilt-trip, or control—it stops being empathy. It becomes performance. And yet, the name remains.

There’s a reason a dad’s presence (or absence) leaves such a distinct mark. For a daughter, the father figure is often the first external source of masculine attention, and therefore the first unspoken answer to the primal questions: Am I safe? Am I chosen? Am I delightful, just as I am?

Discover how neurofeedback therapy can help retrain your brain for better focus, emotional balance, and overall well-being. Learn how this non-invasive approach supports mental health and peak performance at Voyages Counseling.

...as much as it sounds romantic, love as a god isn’t sustainable. It leads to anxiety, obsession, idealization, and eventually, emotional burnout. It makes people feel insecure, resentful, and/or avoidant. Not because they don’t care, but because they were never meant to carry the weight of being someone’s all-in-all, their “salvation.”

When attachment becomes enmeshment, we stop relating to others and start losing ourselves in them. That’s when love starts to feel like pressure. That’s when care turns into control. That’s when you stop saying what you really think, because you’re too afraid of rocking the boat.