WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF ALCOHOLISM? A Self-Test
Here is a self-test to help you review the role alcohol is playing in your life.
These questions incorporate many of the common symptoms of alcoholism.
This test is intended to help you determine if you or someone you know needs to find out more about alcoholism...
HONESTLY answer YES of NO
1) Do you occasionally drink heavily after a disappointment,
a quarrel, or when the boss gives you a hard time?
2) When you have trouble or feel under pressure, do
you always drink more heavily than usual?
3) Have you notices that you are able to handle more
alcohol than you did when you were first drinking?
4) Did you ever wake up the morning after drinking,
and discovered that you could not remember part of the evening before -- even though your friends told you
that you did not pass out?
5) When drinking with other people, do you try to
have a few extra drinks that the others don’t know about?
6) Are there certain occasions that you feel uncomfortable
if alcohol is not available?
7) Have you recently noticed that when you begin to
drink you are in more a hurry to get the first drink than you used to be?
8) Do you sometimes feel a little guilty about your
drinking?
9) Are you sometimes secretly irritated when your
family or friends discuss your drinking?
10) Have you recently noticed an increase in the frequency
of your memory "blackouts"?
11) Do you often find that you wish to continue drinking
after your friends say they’ve had enough?
12) Do you usually have a reason for the occasions
when you drink heavily?
13) When you are sober, do you ever regret things
you’ve said or done while drinking?
14) Have you tried switching brands or types of alcohol,
or used other plans for controlling your drinking?
15) Have you often failed to keep promises you’ve
made to yourself or others, to cut down or control your drinking?
16) Have you ever tried to control your drinking by
making a change in jobs, or moving to a new location?
17) Do you ever try to avoid family or close friends
while drinking?
18) Are you having an increasing number of financial
and work problems?
19) Do more people seem to be treating you unfairly
and without good reason?
20) Do you eat very little or irregularly when you
are drinking?
21) Do you sometimes have the "shakes" in the morning,
and find that it helps to have a little drink?
22) Have you recently noticed that you cannot drink
as much as you once did?
23) Do you sometimes stay drunk for several days at
a time?
24) Do you sometimes feel very depressed and wonder
whether life is worth living?
25) Sometimes after periods of drinking, do you see
or hear things that aren’t there?
26) Do you ever get terribly frightened after you’ve
been drinking heavily?
ANSWER KEY:
Any "YES" Answer indicates a probable symptom of alcoholism.
Yes Answers to 2 or more of the questions may indicate
the following stages of alcoholism:
Yes answers to questions 1 - 8: Early Stage of Alcoholism.
Yes answers to questions 9 - 12: Middle Stage of Alcoholism. Yes answers to
questions 22 - 26: The beginning of the final stage!
Alcoholism is repeated drinking that causes
trouble in the drinker’s personal, professional or family life. When they drink, alcoholics cannot always predict how
much they’ll drink, or what the consequences of their drinking will be
There is no known cure for alcoholism. The disease can be arrested, however,
through complete abstinence from alcohol and other addictive drugs. Once abstinent, most alcoholics recover from the damage
caused by their drinking. Over ten million Americans have a drinking problem, but only about one million are currently in
recovery from alcoholism.
If you or someone you know has a problem with alcohol or other
drugs, SEEK HELP!
Call your local treatment agency or Alcoholics Anonymous
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