Process of Addiction                                                                                                 STAR - Week 1

 

Student Worksheet

 

 

 

ARE YOU AN ADDICT?

 

Directions:

Circle the number at the beginning of those questions to which you answer "yes". Count "sometimes" as a yes. If you answer "yes" to any of the questions where there are two or more parts of the questions after a number, count it as a "yes".

 

1. Are any of your blood relatives addicts/alcoholics?

 

2. Do you drink/use more than your friends do? Are you the last one to leave the party?

 

3. Do you like to "party" by drinking/using and look forward to the occasions when you can?

 

4. Is it hard for you to stop drinking/using sometimes after just one or two, even when everyone else has stopped?

 

5. Do you find that your drinking/using patterns have changed? (Increased         frequency? Drink alone more often? Switched to something "stronger"?)

 

6. Do the people closest to you complain about your using?

 

7. Do you get anxious or angry when a nondrinking/nonusing occasion comes up like visiting a home where drinks/drugs aren't offered?

 

      8. Do you ever wonder why your friends are drinking/using so slowly or are stopping after one or two? In order to keep the party going, do you ever buy drinks?

 

9. Do you start out by drinking/using fast and in lager quantities and then slow down to match the pace of your friends when you begin to feel the effects?

 

     10. Are you apologizing to friends and family more often about how you have behaved while drinking/using? Do you say things that you wish you hadn't said when "under the influence"?

 

11. So that you could prove to yourself that you could do it, or because it was good for you, have you ever stopped drinking/using for a week or a month?

 

12. Do you break promises to yourself about cutting back or controlling your drinking/using?

 

(cont)

Process of Addiction                                                                                                        STAR - Week 1

 

13. Do you drink/use more now than you did a year ago? Five years ago? Do you

      Find that you are drinking/using more?

14. Have you had any problems with blackouts when you were drinking/using? More now than a year ago?

 

      15. At work, are you having any problems related to your drinking/using with being late? Sick days? Trouble concentrating or remembering things? Complaints from your co-workers?

 

16. Does drinking/using make you feel better than when you aren't drinking? (Helps head-aches, tensions, anxieties, and mood swings?)

 

17. Do you react in a hostile manner when someone you love mentions his or her concern

      about your drinking/using?

18. Do you tend to blame your problems on stress, family differences, lack of

      understanding, or unreasonable demands at work? Do you turn to your drug/alcohol for

      solace and comfort?

 

19. Do you risk fights with your spouse or your boss/ anger because you have such

      strong cravings for drink/drug?

20. Do you ever drink/use in the morning? Is it increasingly harder to stop drinking/using than it was before? Do you drink/use more than you had intended.

 

21. Do you ever shake uncontrollably in the morning? Feel nauseated, queasy? Depressed, anxious, tense, moody, irritable when not drinking/using? Does it help when you drink/use again?

      22. Do you have any of the following that may be related to drinking/using: gastritis, recurrent diarrhea, persistent nausea, high blood pressure, pneumonia, heart palpitations, fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis, DT's seizures, or pancreatitis

23. Have you ever been hospitalized for accidents or traumas suffered while

      drinking/using or because of it?

24. Do you ever think about taking your own life? Have you ever had hallucinations. Do you have any unreasonable fears.

25. Have you experienced any losses because of your addiction? (Loss of job, family, driver' s license?)

 

26. Do you find that you are not eating properly, especially after drinking/using bout? Do you neglect yourself... showering, going to the dentist/doctor, exercising?

 

27. Have you found that you are drinking less than you used to? Do you pass out           when you do drink? Do you get so sick that you can't drink any more.

 

 

Process of Addiction                                                                                             STAR - Week 1

 

KEY:

 

 

1.  Give yourself one point for each question numbered 1 - 9

 

2. Give yourself two points for each question numbered 10 - 18.

 

3. Give yourself three points for each question numbered 19 - 27.

 

4. Add up your accumulated points.

 

 

Questions:

 

 

1 - 9 (1 point each)                               ________

 

10 - 18 (2 points each)             ________   

 

19 - 27 (3 points each)             ________

 

Tota1: ________

 

 

5. Refer to Student Worksheet, Questionnaire Scoring, for interpretation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Process of Addiction                                                                                               STAR -Week I

 

Student Worksheet

 

QUESTIONNAIRE SCORING

 

Your answers will help identify (a) if you are an addict, and (b) what stage you are in. The three stages of addiction are: Early Stage; Middle Stage: Chronic Stage.

 

Early-Stage Addiction                                    (Questions 1 - 9,    1 point each)

 

In the early stage, the addiction is usually not recognized by either the addict or others because many of the symptoms are also found in non-addicts. In diagnosing early-stage addiction, it is important to look for three crucial factors: (1) several signs or symptoms occurring together, (2) progression; (3) the beginnings of alcohol/drug-related problems. If all three factors are present, it is likely that the person is an addict.

 

Answering "yes" to five or more of the questions 1- 9 is typical of the early-stage disease.

 

Middle-Stage Addiction                              (Questions; 10 -18,     2 points each)

 

In the middle stage, the addict's problems become more obvious, even though he may look healthy and seemingly is in control of his life. Even though the addict has progressed significantly, he is not at the point of being destitute and deathly ill. (That will come later if he or she continues to use!)

 

In this stage which can last as long as ten to twenty years especially for alcoholics, the addict/alcoholic will rationalize and deny any symptoms when confronted because, even though he or she is aware that he or she has problems and is physically addicted, he or she cannot function without using.

 

Because of the length of time covering this stage, it is divided into three sub-stages: 9-15 points, early-middle stage: 16 - 21 points, middle stage: 17-27 points, late-middle stage. Add your score on this section to the total score from the first nine questions.

 

Chronic-Stage Addiction                 (Questions 19 - 27,   3 points each)

 

When the addict has progressed to the point where they are physically ill both when drinking/using and when not drinking/using, he or she is in the final stage of addiction. Numerous medical problems are prevalent and the addict can no longer deny that he or she has a problem of controlling his addiction as he or she usually passes out or becomes extremely drunk. Withdrawal symptoms are severely painful and, as he or she continues to drink or use, he or she becomes increasingly fearful, anxious and withdrawn. Paranoia, hallucinations, and severe tremors are common. Unless the addict received effective treatment, he or she will die of health-related problems or an accident.

 

You are in the chronic-stage of the disease if your accumulated score is 28 or above.