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Getting sober, especially from opioids, means getting into a program or clinic that offers Medication-Assisted Treatment. Addiction treatment can be expensive for people who self-pay or have no insurance. For many people who struggle with addiction, Medicaid is the lifeline that helps them get the help they need. In North Carolina, Addiction Epidemic Still Raging […]

Addiction in America is a public health crisis, especially when it comes to opioids. Sadly, the pandemic has only worsened the addiction epidemic. And for many people who were new to sobriety or had fragile coping skills, the pandemic was a time of isolation and relapse. For many people with opioid use disorder (OUD), it […]

Late last month, North Carolina authorities arrested a young woman with enough fentanyl to kill a million people. Police say that 24-year-old Karen Garcia Euceda, of Winston-Salem, was driving with two kilograms of the potent drug, which is at least 50 times as powerful as morphine. Her daughter was strapped in the back seat at […]

Medication-Assisted Treatment is considered the “golden standard” for people recovering from opioid use disorder (OUD). Medication can help people get through tough cravings, but not all MAT regimens are the same. A recent study shows that people with OUD are happier when they can take the extended-release version of buprenorphine, also known by the brand […]

North Carolina leaders, including Governor Roy Cooper and NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, recently spoke at this year’s 2021 Opioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention Summit online. The event was hosted by the NCDHHS Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services. During the conference, health officials revealed that opioid deaths in North Carolina, like […]

The Biden administration has paved the way to increase Medication-Assisted Treatment access by reducing the barriers to prescribing a popular treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Last week, they announced new guidelines for prescribing buprenorphine, also known under the brand name Suboxone. The new guidelines eliminate long hours of extra training to prescribe the drug. […]

In North Carolina, like many parts of the country, the impact of COVID-19 has been so much more than the lockdowns. Addiction and mental health struggles have become more common. People have felt grief over the loss of loved ones, jobs, or simply the present or future they planned on living. Isolation has also taken […]

Gratitude and Positive Psychology During the month of November we tend to name things we’re thankful for (hence Thanksgiving), and even into the Christmas and Holiday season we may continue being grateful.  But then January rolls around with its cold weather, rain, and lack of sunshine, and it can be hard to keep up the […]

Self-Care What is self-care? And why does it have an impact on our mental health? Self-care means doing things for yourself in order to take care of your physical and mental health. The National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) tells us that in order to take care of the ones we love, we have to […]

Stress Management and the Holiday Season Holidays are a stressful time because of all the family gatherings, work parties, spending money on gifts, baking 3 dozen cookies.  It can be especially stressful and emotional if you have lost someone.  No matter the situation, it’s good to have some tips under your belt to help you […]