Kate Motaung

God, the Creator of marriage, the first institution, has laid out His plan for marriage as a lifelong union. What happens when we stray from His intention? The Bible addresses marriage and divorce. God’s design for marriage never included abuse, violence, or coercive control. Emotional abuse can bruise or severely harm a person’s heart, mind, and soul. The apostle Paul further taught that the marital relationship is an ongoing demonstration of the sacrificial love that Christ showed His church.

There is help available for single moms who feel overwhelmed with all the tasks that they have to handle by themselves. If you are a single mom, there is encouragement for you today and we encourage you to seek out additional help from a Christian counselor. In the book, The 10 Best Decisions a Single Mom Can Make, authors Pam Farrel and PeggySue Wells outline several practical ways that moms can get help. Here is some advice on help

Breathing is a unique process that is both automatic and controllable. Even though it is something you usually do subconsciously and tend to take for granted, the way you breathe can be adjusted and manipulated. Studies indicate that paying attention to how you are breathing can have a major impact on your stress levels. They have shown that a state of anxiety or panic can be induced just by purposefully hyperventilating, which is taking short, shallow breaths from your

Sibling support for children with autism or other special needs is essential yet often overlooked. The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” is true for all children, but especially for individuals with autism or other special needs. For instance, when a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it not only impacts their lives, but also their parents and siblings. Within the United States, 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with ASD each year (CDC,

The ability to form attachments with other human beings is an essential skill that typically begins early in life. The parent/caregiver-child relationship is the first crucial relationship that an infant forms. The health of this relationship has a profound effect on the child’s social and emotional development. Attachment disorder is a term that is typically used to describe problems with the emotional attachment that occurs in early childhood. While attachment disorder can occur in adults, it is typically seen

Have you ever caught yourself eating a bag of your favorite sweet or salty snack only to realize you ate way more than you intended to? I think many of us can relate to this unfortunate experience. Consequently, this is often quickly followed by a rush of self-directed negative emotions: frustration, guilt, regret, and even disgust. Then the next day, next week, or next month we find ourselves repeating the cycle. What is going on here and how can

Codependency refers to pain caused by the sufferings we encounter during childhood but becomes expressed in adulthood, leading to a higher chance of compulsive/addictive behavior and relationship problems. Codependency can be attributed to specific feelings and behaviors, resulting in an aversive relationship full of self-loathing and self-sacrificial behaviors. Codependency is a pattern of sacrificing your needs, well-being, and self-care and putting much of your energy into enabling or supporting the people in your life. If you have been unable

When we think of relationship problems for couples, we often wrack our brains and try to figure out where we are going wrong or are falling short. Finances, extra hours at work, and raising children can all cause tension in a relationship. However, sometimes the thing we overlook most is taking the small opportunities to invest in our relationship. Vincent Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Small changes can make

Is the conversation in your relationship feeling stale? Here are reasons why good conversation is important, and practical ways you can improve it in your relationship. Why good conversation matters for couples. Good conversation is important for relationships because it helps to build and maintain a strong connection between two people. It allows you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with your partner, and to get to know them better. It also promotes trust, understanding, and intimacy, which

Dementia refers to a decline in mental functions such as memory, language, and other thought processes that is severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is the result of damage to your brain cells that impedes their ability to communicate with each other. There are many forms of dementia, each one determined by its association with a particular type of brain cell damage in a particular region of the brain. Alzheimer’s, a brain disease, is the most common

Abandonment trauma refers to the behaviors and emotional distress that come about as a result of experiences that made you feel unsafe, insecure, isolated, and/or alone as a child. It is an unhealthy fear of loss or rejection, rooted in anxiety, and may include deep emotional and psychological pain associated with memories of being left behind, physically or emotionally neglected, and/or abandoned. While abandonment trauma most commonly begins in early childhood, it can happen at any time of life.

The term “Highly Sensitive Person” (HSP for short) refers to someone whose nervous system is wired differently from others. They are deeply affected by sensory information, like excessive noise, bright lights, or violent movies. The highly sensitive person also tends to observe and “ingest” the emotions of those around them, embodying others’ feelings for long periods. This trait affects people of all ages and backgrounds and can prove to be burdensome and draining. Nowhere is it more of a