September Is Suicide Prevention Month

This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text, or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You are enough. You matter.  Your life is worth fighting for. Suicide is a leading cause of death […]

Burnout and Addiction

The World Health Organization defines burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Physicians and other healthcare professionals are particularly at risk. A study presented in the December 2015 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings showed a 10 percent rise in burnout rates among physicians to 54.4 percent […]

How the Japanese Art of Kintsugi Can Fortify Recovery From Addiction

The Blanchard Institute recently expanded treatment options at its Lake Norman facility. The new evening intensive outpatient program (IOP) is building on the success of other Blanchard programs. “Our modalities are highly successful because we use evidence-based treatment,” says Jennifer Harris, CADC, who manages the new program.  One of the counselors at Lake Norman is […]

Social Media, the Ultimate Disconnector 

This article discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Back in 2017, psychologist and author Jean Twenge warned of a mental health crisis on the horizon. In her influential book iGen she […]

How Chronic Stress in a Toxic Culture Drives Addiction

“In the most health-obsessed society ever, all is not well,” wrote addiction expert Gabor Maté in The Myth of Normal in 2022. “Multibillion-dollar industries bank on people’s ongoing investment—mental and emotional, not to mention financial—in endless quests to eat better, look younger, live longer, or feel livelier, or simply to suffer fewer symptoms.” We do […]

Addiction Treatment and Co-Occurring Disorders

“Substance use disorder is a highly prevalent condition, leading to significant morbidity, mortality, and burden on the healthcare system,” wrote Muhammad Iqbal, and Charles and Frances Levin in their 2019 review of the treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) with co-occurring mental illness. “Substance use disorders are overrepresented among individuals with a mental illness. The […]

What Is Tough Love?

“You must practice tough love!”“Let them hit rock bottom!” For decades, we’ve heard these common recommendations come from the medical profession, therapists, friends, and even the recovery community itself. Unfortunately, these two themes rooted in concepts of tough love, could not be more inaccurate or hurtful to the health of our suffering loved ones and […]

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month in an effort to educate the public on the effects of mental illness, encourage those who are struggling to seek help, and to break the stigma of feeling uncomfortable talking about mental health. This month, NAMI is promoting the message of “Together for Mental Health,” to show […]

The Importance of Mental Health

One of the biggest focuses in our society today is the topic of mental health. Now, more than ever, our culture is realizing that taking care of our minds is just as vital as taking care of our bodies. The tricky part about it is, when dealing with mental health issues, it’s hard to see, […]

TBI Lake Norman is Now Open!

Everyone at The Blanchard Institute is eager to expand our outpatient services and support with a second North Carolina addiction treatment facility. This new Lake Norman location comes in part as a response to the astonishing increase in both reported cases and deaths related to mental health and substance abuse since the onset of the […]

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