Do I Have a Drink or Drug Problem?
If you are unsure if you have a problem with alcohol or drugs and whether or not you need help, ask yourself the following questions:
1 - Have you ever made the decision to quit drinking or using for a week, but only lasted for a couple of days? Or tried to cut down only to find that you couldn't?
Most of us made all kinds of promises to ourselves, to our families and to our friends. Sadly we discovered that we could not keep them.
2 - Have any of your friends and family suggested that you may have a problem? Do you often wish people would mind their own business about your drinking or using and stop telling you what to do? Is this intrusion bothering you more than you can put into words (guilt, remorse, depression)? Is this causing conflicts within your family, friends and your own conscience?
Within most treatment facilities you will find the opportunity to talk about your own experiences, the trouble you found yourself in, how it affected us and what we did to try to stop. By sharing the difficulties we've experiences to one another we are able to take a better look at ourselves.
3 - Have you ever drank or used more than you intended to? Have you ever regretted taking that first drink or line or pill? Have you ever had to take a drink or drug just to overcome or enhance the effects of the previous one?
When we consider our own experiences, we come to see how it was always the first drink or drug each day that set us off and really caused the damage. Once we had started drinking or using for the day, there really was no telling where it would lead us. Sometimes we used things we were unfamiliar with just to try to find a feeling we were more comfortable with.
4 - Have you begun drinking or using alone? Have you begun to realise that you need a drink or a drug to get started, or just to stop shaking in the morning? Or do you find it completely necessary to have that last drink or hit before going to bed? Are you using larger doses of drink or drugs just to get to that same feeling of comfort you crave?
This is a pretty sure sign that you are no longer drinking or using "socially" ...and that you have a serious problem.
5 - Do you envy people who can drink or use without getting into trouble? Is your drinking or using interfering with your job, friends or family? Are you spending more time with people or in places you would have considered undesirable but for the availability for drink and drugs? Are you drinking or using in your bathroom, car, workplace, or other public places? Or maybe you have begun to avoid socialising with people you know disapprove of your drinking / using.
At one time or another, all of us at www.stopdrinking.org.uk and www.stopusing.org.uk have wondered why we were not like most people who can take it or leave it, and we asked ourselves where we went wrong. We need to learn new ways to deal with our drink or drug problems, since it was thoughts and actions that contributed to the amount of trouble we found ourselves in previously.
6 - Have you had any health problems connected with your drinking or using and still carried on doing it? Are you happy with your current sex life?
Be honest with yourself! It doesn't take a Doctor to tell us that our drinking or using is causing us some serious damage. Even though we fear it may be permanent and will only get worse, never better, we still found we couldn't stop by ourselves. The only hope is to stop drinking and using altogether, but that has proved to be impossible so far. During rehabilitation you will discover how to stop and stay stopped - how to recover!
7 - Has your drinking caused you trouble and grief at home? Have you ever stolen money to finance your next binge? Is your drinking / using habit causing you financial difficulties? Have you been lying or misleading those around you the exact amounts you are consuming? Have you manipulated a Doctor in order to obtain prescription drugs? Do you feel defensive, guilty or shameful about your behaviours and feel that people don't listen to your point of view?
Before we began recovering, most of us said that it was the people or problems at home or in life, that made us drink and use. We could not see that our drinking/using just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere or anytime. We spent so much time covering up our drinking and using, because we felt it was so important for our sanity. This is the basic outline of the insanity within our behaviour.
8 - Do you ever try to ensure you get an extra drink / line / hit than those around you are in because it wasn't enough; or you have a more important need / tolerance for it? Or did you use whatever supply you had almost continuously until the supply was exhausted, always making sure you got the lions share, but without the ability to save any for the next time?
Most of us used to have a few drinks / lines / hits before we even left the house for an evening. If drinks / drugs were not shared fast enough, we would go some place else to get more - often somewhere alone. We were rarely able to save much more than enough to get us through the next morning.
9 - Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking / using any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk / high / stoned when you didn't intend to?
Many of us kidded ourselves into thinking that we were still drinking / using because we wanted to. What we have discovered is that once we had one, we couldn't stop. When we wanted to stop, we couldn't stop long enough for our bodies to recover sufficiently before the next binge.
10 - Have you missed days off work because of your drinking or using? Or are you afraid that if you stop drinking and using that your quality of work will suffer - you will lose your energy, motivation, confidence etc?
Many of us can now admit that we "called in sick" plenty of times when the truth was that we were hung-over or on a binge. In actuality, once we have got into a sober and clean lifestyle, we find that we are far more capable of achieving our goals than we could possibly have imagined.
11 - Do you have an obsession to drink and use despite making firm promises to yourself that you will not start again? Are these thoughts so overpowering that you find it difficult to focus on your daily chores?
It is this obsession that makes it virtually impossible for us to stay stopped, despite our desires. Our freedom and will-power is completely absorbed by this overwhelming thought of getting drunk / high / stoned once again.
12 - Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink or take drugs? Or the flip side - are you afraid of what will happen to the quality of your life if you stop drinking or using?
Does someone I care about have a drink or drug problem?
Sometimes the problem is obvious. However, often it is hidden or denied out of shame, guilt and remorse.
Ask yourself the following:
Have you noticed a marked change in behaviour (including coming home late, missing appointments, changing habits and routines)?
Does he/she have severe mood swings that are out of the ordinary?
Have you noticed a change in bodily appearance (including weight, poor skin, sweating, hand shakes, etc)?
Has there been a change in financial circumstances or have you noticed items have gone missing, possibly sold? Is he/she committing crime?
Does he/she isolate and/or seem depressed?
Is he/she obviously intoxicated but denies it?
If you have answered 'Yes' to any of these questions it is likely that you will benefit from our impartial advice.
Call 0845 686 0337 now for a no obligation, confidential chat.
Request a Callback
