Do You Have a Problem with Drugs?

This web page contains the following three sections:

Adapted from the book 

How to Quit Drugs for Good

(for more on this book, click here)

Do You Have a Problem with Drugs?

"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."
     -Alexander Chase

Is your use of drugs causing problems for you? It's up to you to find out. Here, you can try a couple of tests to help you evaluate your situation.

You're the Best Judge

Take a look at yourself. Basically you know your own condition. Do you feel you have a problem with drugs? Somewhere deep inside, you know. Look inside yourself to see what you can find out.

Here's your first test:

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Test #1: One Question

Your intuition is almost always correct. What you answer is probably true.

     But how can a one-question test tell you anything? It's simple. Most of the time, you deny the problem or hide from it by making excuses. It's only natural to protect something so dear to you. But your defenses break down once in a while.

     So if you sometimes think you have a problem, you almost certainly do.

     Imagine yourself the morning after a night of heavy using. Your body feels brittle and weak, your defenses shattered. You're completely nauseated and you're in pain. This morning you decide not to do any drugs to calm yourself down or to pick yourself up. And, for the moment, you truly feel the misery which drugs are causing you.

     This morning, you've had it. You promise yourself you'll stop using drugs for good. But by the end of the day, your defenses return. You begin to excuse yourself for "one bad night." You "didn't eat enough last night," or you were "really mad at somebody," or else you find some other excuse for using too much. Then you allow yourself to use "just a little tonight." You say, "It's okay now...I was just having a couple of problems yesterday."

     You might go through this hundreds of times before you finally recognize the pattern. Almost everybody does. So how can you recognize the pattern of drug addiction, also called "problem using?" Here's a handy definition to guide you. Problem using means that you're using too much, too often, and you're out of control. Let's look at this 3-part definition.

     Once again, trust your own judgment. If you feel you're using too much on certain occasions, your feeling is probably correct. If you feel you're getting high too often, your feeling is probably correct. If you feel it is happening because you can't control it, you are probably addicted. If drugs eliminate your self-control, or if getting high alters your personality, you almost certainly have a problem.

     Pay attention to your deepest feelings. Try writing them down. Write how you feel about your drug-use, how you feel about how much and how often you use, and what kind of control you have over it. You don't need to analyze it. Just say what you feel...it may surprise you.

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Test #2: Do You Have a Problem?

Instructions. Answer the following questions honestly. Then score yourself according to the key.

1. Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drug use?
   [] Y   [] N

2. Do you ever use drugs when you’re alone?
   [] Y   [] N

3. Have you ever used more of a drug than you intended in a given period of time?
   [] Y   [] N

4. Have you ever used drugs for a longer period of time than you originally intended?
   [] Y   [] N

5. Have you ever used more than one drug at a time?
   [] Y   [] N

6. Concerning your use of drugs, has anyone ever told you that you use too much?
   [] Y   [] N

7. Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another?
   [] Y   [] N

8. Have you ever thought that your life might be better if you didn’t take drugs?
   [] Y   [] N

9. Have you ever felt angry at yourself or guilty because of your drug use?
   [] Y   [] N

10. Do you regularly use a drug at certain times of the day or on certain occasions, for example, when you go to bed, when you wake up, before or after a meal, or before or after sex?
    [] Y   [] N

11. Have you ever lied about your drug use to family members or friends?
    [] Y   [] N

12. Have you ever lied to a doctor or faked symptoms to get prescription drugs?
    [] Y   [] N

13. Have you ever stolen drugs?
    [] Y   [] N

14. Have you ever stolen money or material goods that you could sell to obtain drugs?
    [] Y   [] N

15. Have you ever done things to obtain drugs that you later regretted?
    [] Y

16. Has your drug use ever caused problems for you with school or with work?
    [] Y   [] N

17. Have you noticed that you need to use more and more of a drug to get you high?
    [] Y   [] N

18. Do you experience withdrawal symptoms when you go without drugs for a few days?
    [] Y   [] N

19. Do you panic when your drug supply gets low?
    [] Y   [] N

20. Have you ever done something when you were high that you felt guilty about later?
    [] Y   [] N

21. Have you ever gotten into fights when high on drugs?
    [] Y   [] N

22. Have you ever been arrested for any drug-related activity (including possession)?
    [] Y   [] N

23. Have you ever been diagnosed with a medical  problem related to your drug use?
    [] Y   [] N

24. Have you ever overdosed on a drug?
    [] Y   [] N

25. Have you ever attended a treatment program specifically related to drug use?
    [] Y   [] N

26. Have you associated with people with whom you normally wouldn’t just so you could have access to drugs?
    [] Y   [] N

27. Have you stopped associating with any of your friends because they don’t use drugs as much as you?
    [] Y   [] N

Key: If you answered Yes to any two of these questions, this is a sign that you have a problem with drugs. If you answered Yes to any three, the chances are that you do have a problem with drugs. If you answered Yes to four or more, you definitely have a problem with drugs.

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