Episode #51: Overcoming Addiction: Michael Blanche

Hi everyone! I am very excited to share my podcast conversation with my friend Mike Blanche who is an expert in the alcohol and substance abuse recovery industry in Philadelphia. Mike has been clean and sober for 26 years (high five to that!). He is the co-founder of Ethos Treatment with locations in West Chester, PA and Philadelphia, PA. At the Ethos Treatment centers, Mike is on the front line each and every day as he helps to prevent alcoholism, substance abuse, and many other forms of rising addictions, such as the addictions that are developing from the impacts of technology. Mike also spends his time giving prevention talks at schools throughout the Philadelphia area.

Throughout our conversation, Mike was kind enough to share his personal journey in overcoming addiction, which is an inspiration to others that recovery is possible. We continue on to talk about the creation of OxyContin in 1996 and how it triggered the deplorable opiate epidemic that we have been fighting the past decade. Lastly, Mike talks about the major effects that technology is having on our culture. Given that we are exposed to technology in some capacity throughout every day, Mike offers different ways we can build a healthy relationship with our devices. Also, I interviewed Mike’s wife and my friend, Caroline, in the fall of 2017 — her podcast was one of the most downloaded podcasts I have ever done. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Caroline and Mike who are fighting every day to help people. Please give their episodes a listen!

Website: https://www.ethostreatment.com/

Book: Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

NPR Podcast on the History of Opioid:
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709767408/a-history-of-opioids-in-america