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Author: Paul Fuhr

Home Author is Paul Fuhr (Page 3)
Paul Fuhr
33 posts, 0 Comments
Paul Fuhr is a married father of three young children who lives in Columbus, Ohio, along with a bossy cat named Dr. No. He's written for The Fix, AfterParty Magazine, The Literary Review and The Live Oak Review, among others. He also runs the addiction recovery book publishing imprint Zephyr Bookshelf and recently published Bottleneck, a memoir about his addiction and recovery.
Sugar addiction

Just How Addictive and Dangerous is Sugar?

August 7, 2017addiction, cane juice, dextrose, glucose, lactose, sucrose, sugar, syrupPaul Fuhr

Sugar Addiction? Many surprising food products can contain high amounts of sugar. Cheese, salad dressings, soy milk, tomato sauce and canned soups are just a few examples. Most Americans have now heard the standard advice from nutritionists that excess sugar consumption can lead to obesity. But, what might not be clear is how to avoid

Health Problems Caused By Alcoholism

What are the Health Problems Caused by Alcoholism?

August 4, 2017addiction, alcoholism, depressing, rehab, therapy, treatmentPaul Fuhr

Health Problems Caused by Alcoholism Given the increasing opioid epidemic that’s currently plaguing the millennial generation, it’s important to remember the negative consequences of alcoholism. While opioid use often manifests with visible physical symptoms even in its early stages, alcoholism is called the “silent killer” because its effects are less obvious right away. However, the

Alcoholism Disability

Is Alcoholism a Disability and Protected by Law?

August 4, 2017addiction, alcoholism, depression, rehab, therapy, treatmentPaul Fuhr

The Disability Discrimination Act states that alcoholism is not included under its list of protected disabilities, however, courts in the U.S. and Canada have ruled on a case-by-case basis that alcoholism is a disability that is protected by law. This means that alcoholics maintain certain rights and privileges. For example, it would be legally questionable

How Does Addiction Affect Families?

How Does Addiction Affect Families?

August 1, 2017addiction, anger, behavior, bitterness, compulsion, drinking, drugs, family, relationships, resentment, sex, traumaPaul Fuhr

You don’t necessarily have to be an addict in order for your drug and alcohol use to annoy members of your family or have a negative impact on your family’s dynamics. However, an addiction often forms around dysfunctional family behavior that can be aggravated by the addictive behavior. Families in which parents are addicts have

How Addictive is Fentanyl

How Addictive is Fentanyl and Why it is so Dangerous?

August 1, 2017Dangerous, Fentanyl, heroine, morphine, opioids, painkiller, pharmaceuticalsPaul Fuhr

Fentanyl comes from the same family of drug that contain heroine, but—if you can imagine—it’s actually much worse. It’s about 100 times more potent than morphine. Until recently, few people had heard of how dangerous it is. But now the media has begun to pay attention to the rising death toll from its use. After

how does addiction start

How Does Addiction Start?

August 1, 2017addiction, alcohol, drugs, marijuana, nature, nurture, substancesPaul Fuhr

Many people think that addiction begins by use of a gateway drug. This is the notion that addictions are formed by first trying a seemingly innocuous recreational drug, like marijuana, which leads to seeking greater physical highs with harder substances. While that can often be true, what is perhaps a greater reality is that addictive

Alcoholic woman

What Are Some Signs That You Might be an Alcoholic?

August 1, 2017addiction, alcohol, drugs, rehab, therapy, treatmentPaul Fuhr

Many people, at some point or another, question how much alcohol they are consuming. Maybe a friend or loved one has suggested there might be a problem. A drunk person might do something wrong that he will regret eventually. Either way, it’s important to consider the distinction between healthy alcohol consumption and troubling, addictive behavior.

Addiction Recovery

Overcoming Addiction: Can Alcoholism Ever be Cured?

July 28, 2017addiction, alcohol, drugs, rehab, therapy, treatmentPaul Fuhr

If someone is to recover from an addiction, the first step is admitting that there is a problem. A mental health professional, such as a therapist, should be consulted. They can offer a tailored treatment plan for an addict. They will address the underlying issues that led to the addictive behavior in the first place.

Addiction is a Disease

Is Addiction a Disease? Why and Why Not?

July 25, 2017addiction, alcohol, depressing, drugs, rehab, therapyPaul Fuhr

Is Addiction a Diseas? There are many schools of thought about whether or not addiction is a disease or a life choice but the American Medical Association (AMA) decreed that alcoholism was an illness in 1956 and a disease in 1966. Those who believe that addiction is a disease subscribe to the notion that sobriety

Overcome Addiction

How do You Overcome Addiction?

July 22, 2017addiction, alcohol, drugs, morphine, rehab, therapyPaul Fuhr

How to Overcome Addiction? Many schools of thought on how to overcome addiction are existing nowadays. Some believe in the harm reduction model. Noted addiction expert Gabor Mate supports the theory that addiction is the result of trauma. Addicts use drugs in order to manage the feelings around what they’ve experienced. They believe that the

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An Open Letter to Anyone Struggling with Addiction
By Joe Polish
First I want to say how sorry I am that you or someone you love is struggling with addiction. I know firsthand how painful it is. Addiction nearly killed me when I was 18 years old.
What I’ve learned since then is that almost all addiction stems from trauma. This can be difficult for some people to understand; they assume trauma has to mean a person was beaten, molested or in a life-threatening accident. But we all have different levels of sensitivity.
Addiction is something you are driven to do—anything you crave that gives you temporary pleasure or relief but then causes negative consequences. Addiction is something you are unable to give up, despite the suffering it causes.
The challenging thing for people that don’t have this to understand is how someone could have that craving in the first place. They wonder why the addict can’t just make a better choice.
I’m of the belief that addiction is not a choice. Once the addict goes into a craving state, it’s beyond willpower or intelligence. Intelligence can actually be a detriment because the smarter people are, the more they believe they can think their way out of the problem.
What many don’t understand is that addiction isn’t a problem—it’s actually a solution. If you’re in pain, angst, anxiety, fear, rage, depression, sadness, loneliness or experiencing any other form of suffering, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be out of that pain. It’s how we go about scratching the itch that causes the issue.
Ultimately, addiction is a connection disorder. It’s feeling incredibly disconnected and uncomfortable in your own skin. You just want to numb out, or escape. You want to feel something—anything except the dread that comes with that craving state…a state that always has compulsivity or impulsivity attached to it.
Looking at addiction from a state of compassion, as opposed to judgment, is critical. We cannot punish or beat addiction out of somebody. Sure, we can throw people in prison, scold them or run away from them, but that doesn’t help make the cravings go away. Love and compassion are critical—though, of course, those can be difficult emotions to embrace when dealing with addicts. The symptoms of addiction can be ugly; they often involve activities like cheating, disrupting, lying, stealing and other egregious acts. That’s because addicts will do anything to get out of the pain they are in. The addict brain has an appetite for destruction and is fueled more by chaos than harmony. In other words, it’s hard for addicts to feel okay. And it’s not easy to feel compassion for someone who’s leaving shrapnel in their wake. But the more you can understand that the addict is in pain and just trying to get out of it, the easier it can be to deal with the recklessness and chaos that comes with it.
Addiction is also biochemical. You are dealing with serotonin and dopamine. Once you quit the drug or behavior, you may have to fix and repair the gut. You have to get the body back to a state where it produces “feel good” chemicals in order to cope with the uncomfortable feelings. This means exercise, yoga, meditation, float pods, the right nutrition, and more. The issues are in the tissues, and if you can incorporate movement and communities, it can help heal. Building a rapport by being around other addicts is critical. It doesn’t have to be a 12-step meeting; you just need a community—an ongoing, consistent community.
It’s a lot of work—but not nearly as much work as active addiction. And if you’re willing to do the work, there’s freedom on the other side that most addicts and their families probably haven’t ever experienced before. The bottom line: help is available. There are many people and resources available at little or no cost.