Are you an alcoholic?
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| Sun, 01-22-2006 - 3:22pm |
Hi folks. When I answered these questions HONESTLY, I realized that I could no longer deny the truth. I was an alcoholic. That was almost 11 years ago. Sobriety is an awesome, beautiful gift!
Anyone who is questioning their alcohol use - or abuse - this is a great assessment tool.
Are You An Alcoholic?
Ask yourself the following 20 questions "honestly" then check your score at the end of this page. These test questions are used by Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA in deciding if a patient is an alcoholic or not.
Check off Yes or No after each question then add your score at the bottom. Yes No
1. Do you lose time from work due to drinking?
2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?
3. Do you ever drink because you are shy with other people?
4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?
5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?
6. Have you ever gotten into financial difficulties as a result of drinking?
7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking?
8. Does your drinking make you careless of your family's welfare?
9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?
10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?
11. Do you want a drink the next morning?
12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?
14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?
15. Do you drink to escape from worries or trouble?
16. Do you drink alone?
17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of drinking?
18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?
19. Do you drink to build up your self confidence?
20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of drinking?
TOTAL
Results
If you answered yes to ONE of the above questions you may be an alcoholic.
If you answered yes to TWO of the above questions, you are an alcoholic.
If you answered yes to THREE or more of the above questions, you definitly are an alcoholic.

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12....at one time I could say YES to 12.....
Yep, I am Beth, an alcoholic.
When I started drinking...I had 0
When I quit.....I had 18
There is no way one escapes the progression of active alcoholism.
The solution for me is God and AA.
Works 100%.
According to this, just about every person I know MAY be an alcoholic. Hmmm.
Lucky
According to this, every 18 yo college student who drank until he/she puked because they were shy around others and was late for work the next day because of hangover and felt remorse about the whole night is definetely an alcoholic. (If you DON'T feel remorse after puking your guts out then you definetely have some kind of problem.)
According to this, every bank teller who felt stress at work and couldn't wait until happy hour to have a drink at the local, seedy cantina is definetely an alcoholic.
I have issues with this survey. Johns Hopkins would NOT use a yes/no survey to determine alcoholism. They would use a thermometer scale.
Lucky
HERE IS ANOTHER QUESTIONNAIRE
This was the questionnaire that did ME in................
The Big Book asks the following questions to help you decide if you are an alcoholic or not:
"If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably an alcoholic."
Again, any survey/questionairre worth it's weight will use a thermometer scale.
Lucky
My guess is that the "big book" has a very narrow definition of alcoholism.
Is any person living alone who has 2 drinks at home every day after he gets off work at 6pm NOT an alcoholic?
I am NOT trying to discredit your recovery. If alcohol was controlling you then you definetely needed to quit. There are those of us, however, who are not controlled by alcohol. We may be alcoholics according to all of the surveys and questionairres, but that does not mean that we need to quit altogether. We can moderate our alcohol because we want to and NOT because some group says we HAVE to.
I don't mean to debate but I am trying to find support on this board for moderation of alcohol. This board seems to be lacking in that area. I have only had two responses so far. I hope to get more responses in the future. This is my reason for debating some of the information being posted.
Not every program works for everyone. Please remember that we are all different. One size does not fit all.
Beth, I realized this post ended up being directed at you but it is meant for the whole group. After I typed it I realized I did not respond to ALL.
Lucky
HI Leslie,
My Robert DeNiro impersination, "You talkin' to me?, You talkin' to me"?
Service in recovery,
Paul
Castaway
A Friend in Recovery
Paul
Leslie
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