As a therapist, I’ve seen how much energy people spend trying to control anxiety. They breathe deeply, avoid triggers, and repeat positive thoughts — yet the more they try to calm down, the worse it feels. It’s not because they’re doing something wrong. Their minds are simply doing what they were designed to do — protect them. But in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — the approach I use in counseling at Vineyard Counseling — we look at anxiety differently. We don’t tre

As a therapist, I’ve seen how much damage words can do. Sometimes the wounds my clients carry aren’t from physical pain or traumatic events, but from sentences  — spoken years ago and never forgotten. A single comment from a parent, a cutting remark from a friend, a careless word from a pastor or spouse — these fragments of speech can live inside us for decades, shaping how we see ourselves and others. Words leave fingerprints on the soul. They can either help us heal or hold

It’s not always shouting matches that break relationships apart. Sometimes it’s the quiet drift — sitting at the same dinner table but feeling miles apart. Conversations become transactional. Eye contact fades. The laughter that once came so easily now feels forced or forgotten. Many couples reach this point not because they’ve stopped caring, but because they’ve stopped connecting. Daily stress, unmet needs, and emotional withdrawal quietly erode what was once strong. In the