by Tony Catalano

Created on: January 09, 2010

It can be difficult to self diagnose one self especially with something as serious as alcoholism. If you are having second thoughts at all, investigate your self. There are certainly plenty of questions however which you can simply ask your self and find out what is really going on:

-Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking?

-Is it possible for you to have just one drink and stop?

-Do you ever have to lie to people to hide your drinking habit?

-Do you have any family members or close friends who are worried about your drinking?

-Do you often drink to 'relax' or improve your mood?

-Do you ever or dare I say often black out when drinking, forgetting the night's events?

The CAGE questionairre is one that is often used to screen someone quickly and it goes:

-Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?

-Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
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-Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?

-Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

-Do you feel the need to drink every day?

-It might sound obvious, but do you ever drink at work?

-Do you spend a large amount of time trying to find alcohol, drink alcohol, 

-Regardless of any acknowledgment of a problem, have you ever tried to stop drinking?

-Do you only find your self in arguments when you are drinking?

-Do you budget your time and revolve your day around drinking?

-Have you ever tried to quit drinking and not been able to?

-Do you use alcohol to help get over your shyness in social situations?

It alleges that two positive answers point to alcoholism.

To perhaps get a more accurate estimation try the alcoholism quiz at http://www.recoveryconnection.org/alcoholism_test/  If you think that you or someone you know is in need of some serious help try calling the help line at http://www.recoveryconnection.org/ A hotline is a neutral party of people who know how to help you with the problem or to recognize it. You need to talk with someone for help. There are many things you can do to solve this problem, however you have to take action. Admittance and acceptance is the first step to realizing any factual goal of sobriety.

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