coping with substance abuse in your family?	contact us | donate now | site map catalog | Phoenix House | home
substance abuse in your family > adults > knowing your risks > relationship with other drugs

If you’re using any illegal drug - from marijuana and cocaine to heroin, LSD or speed -then you are already taking potentially dangerous risks.

Read through these questions to help you think about whether you might have a problem with drugs.

• When you drink or use drugs, does it take more or less to get you drunk or high than it used to? (Increasing or decreasing tolerance is a sign of addiction.)

• Do you ever drink or use more than you intended to? (This indicates loss of control over your use.)

• Do you make sure you have a supply of drugs or always keep a bottle on hand? (Preoccupation with supply is a characteristic of addiction.)

• Do you have blackouts or brownouts - forget what you have done or said, or "lose time" after drinking or using? (Blackouts are indicative of late stage alcoholism or addiction.)

• Do you ever drink or use drugs in the morning to reduce anxiety or cope with a hangover? (This indicates progression of addiction, hangovers are actually the onset of withdrawal.)

• Do you ever find yourself wishing for a drink or drug to calm down or steady yourself? (This indicates preoccupation and self medication, as well as progression of addiction, as what prompts this is often physical withdrawal symptoms.)

• Do you ever drink when taking prescription medications which advise against drinking alcohol? (This shows powerlessness over your drinking.  It is also very dangerous.)

• Have you ever gone to work or school drunk or high?  (This indicates powerlessness and unmanageability in your life.)

• Do you have a history of relationships with addicts or alcoholics? ( Some alcoholics and addicts often unconsciously find addicted partners - it allows them a smoke screen to hide behind. "I may drink or use, but I'm not like them.")

• Do you find yourself using alcohol, drugs or sex to reduce anxiety or help you sleep? (Addicts medicate emotional pain, anxiety and fear. Benzodiazapine based anti anxiety drugs (Xanex, Valium etc.) are highly addictive.  Most sleeping medications are very addictive, and often have a  paradoxical effect - making sleep disturbances worse with continued use.)

• When prescribed medication, do you take more than prescribed? ("If one is good - two is better", this belief is at the center of addictive thinking.)

• Have friends, family or loved ones ever commented on or expressed concern about your use? (Addicts are usually the last to recognize their disease.  Denial is one of the fundamental features of addiction.  If people are commenting on your use and you insist you don't have a problem, you possibly do! If this makes you angry - ask yourself why.) 

• Do you conceal your use from family, friends, therapists or loved ones, or "edit" stories involving your drinking or using?  (Secretiveness, denial and lies about use are characteristic of active addicts and alcoholics.)

• Do you ever drink or use alone? (Indicates you are not a "social" drinker. Also, isolation and a feeling of "being different" or "not fitting in" are a common personality trait of addicts / alcoholics.)

• Do you do or say things you later regret when drinking or using?  (Impaired judgement from drinking or using indicate powerlessness over use. Behavioral changes when drinking or using are a sign of progression, loss of control and late stage addiction.)

• Have you ever had a DUI, driven drunk, or had a drug or alcohol related accident or injury? Drinking or drug use and driving indicates powerlessness over use, and is a part of the unmanageability of active addiction.

• Have you ever stopped or cut back on drinking or using because you felt it was causing problems in your life? (Life difficulties around use indicate a problem - many alcoholics and addicts temporarily modify their patterns of using in an effort to prove to themselves that they have control of their use. Stopping drinking or use for a period is usually not difficult, staying abstinent from all mood altering substances for long periods is nearly impossible for untreated addicts.

• Is your life increasingly chaotic and turbulent? (Unmanagability is indicated by accidents, missed appointments, unpaid / late bills and rent, work and relationship difficulties, a generalized sense of desperation, and pervasive sadness or anger.  A life out of control is often traceable to the progression of addiction.  Addicts typically blaming everything and everyone but the addiction for their problems.  Addicts drink or use because they are addicted. Difficult life events may trigger addictive acting out - but they are not the cause of an addict's use. 

• Do you switch from one substance to another, or change drinks in an effort to regain control? (Switch from Scotch to Beer? Stop drinking but start taking pills? Give up marijuana but start drinking?  Quit drinking but become sexually promiscuous?  This is called cross addiction.)

• Do you believe you're not an addict because your drug of choice is legal or prescribed? (You can be addicted to legal or illegal drugs!)

If you answered yes to any of these questions you may want to look at your using and drinking patterns. If you answered yes to two moderating your drinking or use would be a good idea; three or more you would be well advised to seek professional help.

(adapted from www.recovery-man.com)