My Son Didn ’t Have to Die from Opioids: An Interview with Bob Paff

Zach (left) and Bob (right) According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids, a two-fold increase in a decade. Opioids include prescription opioids and methadone, heroin, and other synthetic narcotics like fentanyl. Bob Paff has directly suffered the casualties of this epidemic. On January 21 of this year he lost his son Zach to an accidental overdose of fentanyl. A highly sought-after communications expert, business leader, and internationally recognized author, Bob now uses his communications platform to bring awareness to the problem of synthetic opioids in this country and to explore solutions to end the opioid crisis. Bob recently spoke with PsychCentral about Zach’s death, what he wants people to know about opioids, and on his mission to educate. PsychCentral: You mentioned that Zach suffered from depression and anxiety, in addition to addiction. How does a person begin to recover from both together? Bob Paff: Yes, Zach’s battle with depression started at age 13, after his mother and I divorced. For 20 years he suffered with the grips of depression that later turned into a substance abuse nightmare. Twelve-step support groups do a lot to help those with addiction and family members, however, to be honest, I think we need to lose the anonymity of these groups because it contributes to the stigma associated with both addiction and depression. We need to be...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Addiction General Recovery Stigma Opioid Epidemic Opioids Suicide synthetic fentanyl Source Type: blogs