The Voyage Cast: Real Talk on Marriage, Mental Health, & Emotional Growth

Send us Fan Mail The Voyage Cast Top Three In today’s Top Three : Illinois becomes the first state to mandate mental health screenings for all students — but with Big Pharma fingerprints on the test, is this protecting kids or feeding a system that overdiagnoses and overmedicates? Two cancer drugs show shocking potential in reversing Alzheimer’s in mice — could hope for memory restoration finally...

Send us Fan Mail Resentment & Release, Part 3: Living Beyond the Offense — Practical Steps to Reclaim Your Story In this final installment of the Resentment & Release series, we turn from understanding and forgiveness to the hardest part, actually moving forward . Resentment may have shaped your story, but it doesn’t have to define it. We’ll explore: Why living beyond an offense is more th...

Send us Fan Mail Forgiveness is often misunderstood—and for many, it can feel impossible. In Part 2 of Resentment & Release , we explore why letting go can feel like losing control, why grief and anger are valid parts of healing, and why forgiveness is never about excusing harm or staying in unsafe situations. This episode features the extraordinary real-life story of Mary Johnson, a Minneapol...

Send us Fan Mail Part 1 of 3: The Prison We Build — Understanding Resentment What if the thing keeping you stuck isn’t what they did, but what you’re still carrying? In this powerful first episode of The Voyage Cast , host Eddie Eccker unpacks the quiet captivity of resentment, how it forms, why it lingers, and what it’s secretly costing you. This isn’t just about anger. It’s about identity, pain...

Send us Fan Mail Why do so many women struggle with feeling “not enough”? In this episode, Ed explores the often unseen but powerful influence of the father-daughter relationship —how a father’s presence, absence, or emotional availability can shape a daughter’s self-worth , attachment style , and even her view of God. We unpack the psychology of the father wound , what the research says about a f...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Voyage Cast , Eddie sits down with licensed marriage and family therapist Dupre’ Rouse, LMFT — author of Kingz & Queenz , Army veteran, trauma specialist, and founder of the Belief Center for Family Therapy. Together, they unpack the deeper emotional patterns that sabotage relationships and explore how individuals and couples can heal through vulnerabili...

Send us Fan Mail When Love Feels Like a Threat: Healing Anxious Attachment What if the ache you feel in love isn’t insecurity, but a survival response? In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Eddie unpacks the painful reality of anxious attachment: when love feels more like holding your breath than exhaling. From the spiral of “Do they still care?” to the deep nervous system wiring behind your need fo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Voyage Cast , host and therapist Eddie Eccker explores how the need to be “right” in your relationship might be quietly sabotaging your connection. If you’ve ever walked away from an argument feeling victorious but emotionally distant, this one’s for you. Eddie unpacks how our obsession with being right often stems from deeper fears—like being misunderstood,...

Send us Fan Mail You don’t need a weekend retreat or a five-hour heart-to-heart to reconnect with your partner. Sometimes, all it takes is six seconds of presence. In this episode, Eddie unpacks the surprising power of two tiny but transformative rituals—the 6-second kiss and the 20-second hug. Backed by research from Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Paul Zak, and rooted in lived relational wisdom, this c...

Send us Fan Mail Your Relational Memory Sucks! The Peak-End Rule & Love Are you remembering your relationship accurately, or just holding onto the emotional high and the painful goodbye? In this episode of The Voyage Cast , host Eddie Eccker unpacks how our brains actually remember love, heartbreak, and everything in between. Drawing on powerful research from Nobel Prize-winning psychologist D...

Send us Fan Mail Anxiety doesn’t just hijack your thoughts—it takes over your body. In this episode of The Voyage Cast , Eddie Eccker breaks down what grounding really is, why it works (spoiler: it’s neuroscience, not just self-help), and how to start using it right now to stop panic in its tracks. You’ll learn: What grounding is and how it helps regulate anxiety and trauma The science behind why...

Send us Fan Mail Why Did We Stop Talking? Episode Description: It didn’t end in a fight. There was no explosion. Just less. Less laughter. Less eye contact. Less reaching across the bed—until eventually, there was silence. In this episode of The Voyage Cast , Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker explores the quiet unraveling of modern relationships and how communication often dies,...

Send us Fan Mail The Mountain of Intimacy: How Separate Growth Heals and Strengthens Marriage - To Read the Full Article Click here What if the way to build deeper intimacy in your marriage isn’t by fixing your partner—but by growing yourself? In this episode of The Voyage Cast , host Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie unpacks The Mountain of Intimacy —a powerful metaphor for how separat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Voyage Cast , Eddie explores the invisible stories shaping how we experience marriage, politics, and everyday life. Most of us don’t realize we’re swimming in narratives we’ve built—narratives that can trap us in blame, outrage, and certainty without ever questioning if they’re true. Through relatable examples from political debates and common marriage confl...

Send us Fan Mail Is marriage really a scam, or is that just the pain of failed relationships talking? On this episode of The Voyage Cast , we’re tackling one of the most polarizing questions about modern relationships. Join host Eddie as he digs into the myths surrounding marriage, why so many people feel disillusioned by it, and what true commitment is really about. From cultural misconceptions t...

Send us Fan Mail Feeling exhausted, unmotivated, and like you’re constantly behind? You might be facing more than just stress—you could be burned out. In this episode of The Voyage Cast , therapist and host Eddie Eccker breaks down real burnout recovery strategies for professionals who are done with surface-level advice and self-care clichés. Forget the bubble baths and breathy Instagram quotes. T...

Send us Fan Mail Independence is a virtue—until it turns into emotional isolation. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker explores what happens when self-focus, over-functioning, and “I’ll do it myself” mindsets quietly erode connection. You’ll learn how hyper-independence affects intimacy, why emotional decline often masquerades as strength, and ho...

Send us Fan Mail Knowing how you feel is one thing. Knowing what to do with those feelings? That’s emotional intelligence—and it can make or break your relationship. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker explores why emotional intelligence (EQ) is essential for relational health—and why so many of us were never taught how to use it. You’ll discover...

Send us Fan Mail We all say we want the truth—but do we really? In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker unpacks the emotional and relational cost of avoiding honesty. Whether it’s pretending everything’s fine, avoiding conflict, or withholding your real thoughts to “keep the peace,” comfortable lies slowly fracture connection. You’ll learn how to spo...

Send us Fan Mail Not all lies are loud. In marriage, it’s often the quiet, everyday phrases—“I’m fine,” “It doesn’t bother me,” “I’m over it”—that do the most long-term damage. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker explores how small, self-protective lies quietly erode emotional intimacy and relational trust. These aren’t betrayals you read about i...

Send us Fan Mail Behind every family is a story—and sometimes, a secret. In this special interview episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker sits down with the author of The Housekeeper’s Secret to unpack a deeply personal narrative of family trauma, silence, and redemption. Together, they explore how generational pain gets passed down, how forgiveness reshape...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when we try to control everything—including how we love, protect, or isolate ourselves? In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker reflects on the subtle but costly drift toward self-worship—what happens when we place ourselves at the center of every decision, emotion, and relationship. Through honest insight and a grounded...

Send us Fan Mail Blame feels good—for a moment. But over time, it chips away at trust, prevents growth, and creates emotional distance in even the closest relationships. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker breaks down the hidden cost of blame and how it becomes a defensive reflex that shields us from vulnerability but isolates us from connection....

Send us Fan Mail We throw the word “love” around a lot—but not all love is created equal. In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Eddie Eccker walks through The Four Loves as outlined by C.S. Lewis: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. With both depth and practical insight, this episode explores how each love shows up in our lives—and what happens when we co...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Voyage Cast, co-creator and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Matt Johnson unpacks the concept of “love tests”—those subtle, often subconscious ways we test the people closest to us. Whether it’s expecting a partner to “just know” what we need or withholding connection to see if they’ll chase us, these patterns often lead to misunderstanding and emotion...