Most of us do not have to think twice about this question. WE KNOW! Our whole life and thinking was centered around our addiction in one form or another – always scheming and plotting to find ways to feed our addictions. We lived to use and used to live. Very simply, an addict is a man or woman whose life is controlled by by a substance or action. We are people in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness whose ends are always the same: jails, institutions, illness, poverty, and death.
Only you can decide if you have an addiction, and whether or not a 12 step recovery program can help you. The following questionnaire may help you make this decision. If you answer YES to four or may questions, you may have a problem that can be helped by the steps. See how you do. Remember that there is no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a problem!
Answer YES or NO to the following questions.
Substitute “drinking” for your addictive behavior.
1. Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so,
but only lasted for a couple of days?
Yes
No
2. Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking– stop telling you what to do?
Yes
No
3. Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk?
Yes
No
4. Have you had to have an eye-opener upon awakening during the past year?
Yes
No
5. Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble?
Yes
No
6. Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year?
Yes
No
7. Has your drinking caused trouble at home?
Yes
No
8. Do you ever try to get “extra” drinks at a party because you do not get enough?
Yes
No
9. Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk when you don’t mean to?
Yes
No
10. Have you missed days of work or school because of drinking?
Yes
No
11. Do you have “blackouts”?
Yes
No
12. Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink?
Yes
No
What’s your score?
Did you answer YES four or more times? If so, you are probably addicted. Why do we say this? Because thousands of people in recovery have said so for many years. They found out the truth about themselves the hard way.
Try to keep an open mind on the subject. If the answer is YES, there are many recovery
organizations waiting to help you.
12 step programs do not promise to solve your life’s problems. But we can show you how we are learning to live without using “one day at a time.”