When most people picture someone struggling with severe depression, crippling anxiety, or a substance use disorder, they imagine a life in total visible disarray—missed deadlines, lost jobs, strained relationships, or an inability to manage daily...
Living with a spouse who struggles with both a mental health disorder and a substance use issue—a combination known clinically as a dual diagnosis—is one of the most exhausting, confusing, and heartbreaking experiences a person can face. You may...
If you were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you would not hesitate to take insulin. If you broke a bone, you would wear a cast without a second thought. Yet, when it comes to the complex organ that is the human brain, we apply a completely...
In the behavioral healthcare space, there is a profound difference between a life of active sobriety and a life of mere abstinence. Abstinence simply means an individual has stopped consuming a substance. Sobriety, on the other hand, implies a...
Living with a spouse who is trapped in the self-reinforcing cycle of a dual diagnosis is one of the most painful, exhausting experiences a partner can endure. You watch the person you love disappear behind a wall of severe mood swings, intense...
Operating in a constant state of internal friction is an exhausting way to live. When a severe mental health condition like chronic anxiety, major depression, bipolar disorder, or unresolved trauma collides with a substance use disorder, life...
Walking into a local Durham convenience store, vape shop, or gas station, it is common to see vibrant, professional packaging marketing a new herbal extract derivative known as 7-hydroxymitragynine, or simply "7-OH." Often sold under the guise of...
If you have ever reached for a drink, a prescription pill, or an illicit substance simply to quiet a racing mind, stop your chest from tightening, or escape a sudden wave of panic, you have experienced firsthand how deeply mental health and...
Sending a young adult off to a North Carolina university is a milestone often filled with pride and excitement. Parents focus on the typical adjustments: heavy academic workloads, dorm life, and the social scene at institutions like Duke, UNC...
Walk into almost any smoke shop, gas station, or convenience store around Durham or the greater Triangle area, and you will see shelves lined with brightly colored bottles, capsules, and green powders. Marketed widely as an all-natural herbal...
