One of the most frightening questions: Am I addicted?
The thing about addiction is that the longer it continues, the more effects it has on the brain and the harder it is to address.
That’s why it’s highly recommended that you take a self-test regularly if you fear that addiction may be something you struggle with.
Find out what a self-assessment test can do for you, what it can tell you, and how you can use that information in your life.
The purpose of self-assessment tests
If you were to ask a healthcare professional if you had an addiction (a scary prospect, yes), they would want to determine if you had the symptoms listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for substance use disorders.
Because these are a well-established and simple set of criteria, a self-assessment test is designed to make the same conclusion. Do the activities and decisions of your daily life fit the criteria of a substance use disorder?
These aren’t meant to diagnose you with a substance use disorder but show you the risk of having one. A positive result doesn’t mean you have an addiction, simply that you are at risk.
How to take a self-assessment test
You can take them yourself online, there are many available, or you may find a clinician who advises and provides you with one as the initial assessment after asking for help.
They can be a paper test, an electronic one, or a multiple-choice test taken at one of the many online help centers.
Taking a self-assessment test requires honesty. Honesty with yourself and considerable self-reflection. As it doesn’t only have to do with how often you’re partaking in these activities but how much this consumption is affecting your daily life.
The World Health Organization developed an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) that many rehab centers base their own self-assessment tests on. A series of 10 multiple choice questions attempt to assess your alcohol consumption behaviors and the total score based on those answers prompts feedback as to the implications these habits have on your health and well-being.
What behaviors may be noticed by doing self-assessment tests for alcohol and drug abuse
Most of the questions found in self-assessment tests revolve around the negative impacts that drugs and alcohol have on a person’s life.
These can include physical, psychological, and behavioral changes or problems and are then classified further into mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the impact.
There are separate assessments for the use of alcohol and the use of other drugs, but the questions are similar.
AUDIT, mentioned above, has three key domains for its assessment: alcohol intake, potential dependence on alcohol, and experiences in alcohol-related harm.
Your score on this particular test can range from 0 to 40. Anything lower than an 8 is considered low risk, where a score between 8 and 14 suggests there may be a harmful problem brewing, and anything above 15 indicates the likelihood of struggling with alcohol dependence and the harm associated with it.
You’ll often find questions like:
- Do you often use drugs or alcohol in larger amounts or over a long period? More so than you intended.
- Have you wanted to cut back or stop but have repeatedly failed to do so?
- Do you spend a large amount of your time finding, using, or recovering from drugs and/or alcohol?
- Are the urges to use strong, powerful, or irresistible?
How to change the behavior
The number one way to change your behavior is to ask for help. Reach out to professionals like those at Gallus Detox and share your results with them.
A positive result on your self-assessment means you’re at risk of a substance use disorder. It’s advised that you reach out to a qualified clinician and undergo further screening.
They can help you come up with a plan to turn your life around and take your life back from drugs and alcohol.
Detecting and treating a substance use disorder early leads to better long-term outcomes and even lowers your potential treatment costs.
Waiting until your problems may become worse means there’s more risk to your mental health, which in the end, complicates your eventual treatment and recovery.
What you can gain from a self-assessment test
Early screening and intervention are the most effective way to fight addiction and reduce the potential harm of substance use disorders.
Self-assessment tests have played a key role in this as they’re a step to take on your own and are completely confidential. What you do with the results is your choice.
Finding out you are at risk could mean that further testing may be helpful to you.
Takeaway: A yearly self-assessment test can help you with an awareness of your alcohol and/or drug use.
In the end, deciding whether you have a problem with drugs or alcohol is often a personal choice.
If you want to know if you have a problem with alcohol, then participation in this quiz is a way to discover this. The questions will pinpoint your level of substance use and abuse, and the results can be used to help expand your knowledge about alcoholism, along with the impact that it has on all areas of your life, from interpersonal relationships to finances.
However, if you do suspect that you have a substance abuse problem and decide to seek help, your best bet is to embark on this journey with someone who knows what they are doing.
Your doctor, therapist, or addiction specialist can help you find the path that is right for you – one that will lead you toward a healthier, happier lifestyle.