Are You An Alcoholic - Part 2?

[Neeranam]

The last test was made up by Alcoholics Anonymous many years ago.

Here is another, more recent test by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence

What are the Signs of Alcoholism?

The NCADD Self-Test

Here is a self-test to help you review the role alcohol plays 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; it is not intended to be used to establish the diagnosis of alcoholism.

Yes No

1. Do you ever drink heavily when you are disappointed, under pressure or have had a quarrel with someone?

2. Can you handle more alcohol now than when you first started to drink?

3. Have you ever been unable to remember part of the previous evening, even though your friends say you didn't pass out?

4. When drinking with other people, do you try to have a few extra drinks when others won't know about it?

5. Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable if alcohol is not available?

6. Are you in more of a hurry to get your first drink of the day than you used to be?

7. Do you sometimes feel a little guilty about your drinking?

8. Has a family member or close friend ever expressed concern or complained about your drinking?

9. Have you been having more memory "blackouts" recently?

10. Do you often want to continue drinking after your friends say they've had enough?

11. Do you usually have a reason for the occasions when you drink heavily?

12. When you're sober, do you sometimes regret things you did or said while drinking?

13. Have you tried switching brands or drinks, or following different plans to control you drinking?

14. Have you sometimes failed to keep promises you made to yourself about controlling or cutting down on your drinking?

15. Have you ever had a DWI (driving under the influence of alcohol) violation, or any other legal problem related to your drinking?

16. Do you try to avoid family or close friends while you are drinking?

17. Are you having more financial, work, school and/or family problems as a result of your drinking?

18. Has you physician ever advised you to cut down on your drinking?

19. Do you eat very little or irregularly during the periods when you are drinking?

20. Do you sometimes have the "shakes" in the morning and find that it helps to have a "little" drink, tranquilizer or medication of some kind?

21. Have you recently noticed that you can't drink as much as you used to?

22. Do you sometimes stay drunk for several days at a time?

23. After periods of drinking do you sometimes see or hear things that aren't there?

24. Have you ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking?

25. Do you ever feel depressed or anxious before, during or after periods of heavy drinking?

26. Have any of your blood relatives ever had a problem with alcohol?

Any "yes" answer indicates you may be at greater risk for alcoholism. More than one "yes" answer may indicate the presence of an alcohol-related problem or alcoholism, and the need for consultation with an alcoholism professional. To find out more, contact the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in your area.

What Kind of Disease Is Alcoholism?

Medically defined, alcoholism is a disease in which there is impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, continued use of alcohol in the face of adverse consequences, and distorted thinking. Generally speaking, alcoholism is repeated drinking that causes trouble in the drinker's personal, professional, family or school life. When alcoholics drink, they can't always predict when they'll stop, how much they'll drink, or what the consequences of their drinking will be. Denial of the negative effects of alcohol in their lives is a common in alcoholics and those close to them.

Like other diseases, alcoholism is an interaction between the host (the person who gets the disease and his/her genetic and biological makeup), the agent alcohol or other mood-altering chemicals, and the environment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence

of the Central Mississippi Area, Inc.

5846 Ridgewood Road

Suite C-101

Jackson, MS 39211

Edited August 29, 2006 by Neeranam

[GracelessFawn]

Ohhhh yeah, I'm definitely alcoholic! Poor Me!

[Crushdepth]

Well I did even worse on this test - 8 out of 20 (instead of 5). Maybe I'm on a downwards spiral?

[robitusson]

The questions in this test are obviously much more clearly thought out than the other questionnaire.

The "disease" definition is much more plausible here too, although still vague enough to define almost anyone.

Obviously specific professional knowledge from a psychiatrist or doctor is required to assess an individual. There's also a conspicuous absence of the term 'spiritual' or 'religious' or 'God' in this definition.

Edited August 29, 2006 by robitusson

[Thaddeus]

The "disease" definition is much more plausible here too, although still vague enough to define almost anyone.

I skipped the questions and read the last three paragraphs..... actually I stopped reading after the first one...... then I went back and read the questions.

2. Can you handle more alcohol now than when you first started to drink?... my hands are bigger now.... I can carry four pints on each palm (they are usually not all for me)

4. When drinking with other people, do you try to have a few extra drinks when others won't know about it?.... Yes, I pack in a few bags of crisps too when no one is looking (for the merikans... that's potato chips)

5. Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable if alcohol is not available?..... In a Bar, yes, stupid bloody question.

16. Do you try to avoid family or close friends while you are drinking?..... Yes of course I do, it's my beer

21. Have you recently noticed that you can't drink as much as you used to? .... yes, but then again, I can't carry as much as I used to.

23. After periods of drinking do you sometimes see or hear things that aren't there?........ A. Yes, but it is usually Donz.

What a pointless waste of time this is in my opinion.... I just spent twenty minutes trying to come up with a little bit of humour and when I read it back. realised that I had just wasted twenty minutes.

Anyone fancy a pint?

[Neeranam]

What a pointless waste of time this is in my opinion.... I just spent twenty minutes trying to come up with a little bit of humour and when I read it back. realised that I had just wasted twenty minutes.

It might not be for someone with a drinking problem. If you don't, then you ARE wasting everyone's time with you pathetic attempts to be humerous.

[sabaijai]

Agree, much better test, from an intuitive perspective at least. I just read on the NCAD website that the New Jersey branch is leading a client-directed, outcome-informed (CDOI) treatment improvement project, very encouraging, and they publish a bimonthly Perspectives: A Journal on Addiction Research and Public Policy. Good stuff.

There's a link to one of the journal articles, "A Theory of Rational Addiction," very interesting. Some excerpts on the theory:

In our theory of rational addiction, "rational" means that individuals maximize utility consistently over time, and a good is potentially addictive if increases in past consumption raise current consumption. We show that steady-state consumption of addictive goods is unstable when the degree of addiction is strong, that is, when the complementarity between past and current consumption is strong. Unstable steady states are a major tool in our analysis of addictive behavior. Consumption rises over time when above unstable steady-state levels, and it falls over time, perhaps until abstention, when below unstable steady states.

Addiction is a major challenge to the theory of rational behavior. Not only cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and cocaine are obviously addictive, but many other goods and activities have addictive aspects. We do not claim that all the idiosyncratic behavior associated with particular kinds of addictions are consistent with rationality. However, a theory of rational addiction does explain well-known features of addictions and appears to have a richer set of additional implications about addictive behavior than other approaches. This is the challenge posed by our model of rational addiction.

Could be the basis of a future diagnostic, who knows.

[PREM-R]

A few years ago, whilst still in UK, myself and a group of friends discussed the amount of alcohol(beer) we drank. The result was that we decided that some people 'live to drink' ie they can afford to do it, they enjoyed it and it did not affect their ability to conduct the other areas of their life. We further concluded that there were another group of people who 'drink to live', these would be alcoholics who may or may not consume more alcohol than the first group, but their drinking had a detrimental effect on their lives ie they missed work, got into fights and in some cases became 'incontinent' whilst drinking. Now I am in Thailand I drink a large amount on some days and not at all on others. My drinking seems to have only one detrimental effect on me.... It makes me FAT.

[robitusson]

Agree, much better test, from an intuitive perspective at least. I just read on the NCAD website that the New Jersey branch is leading a client-directed, outcome-informed (CDOI) treatment improvement project, very encouraging, and they publish a bimonthly Perspectives: A Journal on Addiction Research and Public Policy. Good stuff.

There's a link to one of the journal articles, "A Theory of Rational Addiction,"

Could be the basis of a future diagnostic, who knows.

Good article sj. This struck me from the article:

"A rational addict might postpone terminating his addiction as he looks for ways to reduce the sizable short-run loss in utility from stopping abruptly. He may first try to stop smoking by attending a smoking clinic but may conclude that this is not a good way for him. He may try to substitute gum chewing and jogging for smoking. These too may fail. Eventually, he may hit on a successful method that reduces the short-term loss from stopping. Nothing about rationality rules out such experiments and failures. Indeed, rationality implies that failures will be common with uncertainty about the method best suited to each person and with a substantial short-run loss in utility from stopping.

The claims of some heavy drinkers and smokers that they want to but cannot end their addictions seem to us no different from the claims of single persons that they want to but are unable to marry or from the claims of disorganized persons that they want to become better organized. What these claims mean is that a person will make certain changes-for example, marry or stop smoking-when he finds a way to raise long-term benefits sufficiently above the shortterm costs of adjustment."

[Thaddeus]

What a pointless waste of time this is in my opinion.... I just spent twenty minutes trying to come up with a little bit of humour and when I read it back. realised that I had just wasted twenty minutes.

It might not be for someone with a drinking problem. If you don't, then you ARE wasting everyone's time with you pathetic attempts to be humerous.

Can I just point out that at no time have I ever tried to be a spelling mistake or the bone of the upper arm.

I am entitled to my opinion in open forum, and as far as I am concerned, statistics gathered by an association with a particular topic and questionnaires written by supporters of a particular topic are heavily weighted in their favour..... and therefore, a total waste of time.

That's my opinion..... I didn't insult you for having, what in my view, is a pointless crusade.... now kindly do me the favour of not insulting me for having an opinion that differs from yours.