Self-Assessment For Alcohol & Drug Misuse
If you have regularly used alcohol or drugs for a period of time, it can be hard to know if you have a problem or should reach out for help. A self-assessment can help you decide if you would benefit from further evaluation, support, or treatment.
Self-assessments for alcohol or drug misuse can help you decide if you need to seek help. These brief assessments include questions that are designed to help you determine if your alcohol or drug use is a risk to your health and if you would benefit from treatment.
Depending on the assessment and how you respond, you may find you have a low, moderate, or high risk of addiction if you continue down the path of substance misuse.
Alcohol Self-Assessment
To determine if you have a potential alcohol problem, answer 15 questions with a simple yes or no:
- Are you concerned about your drinking, including how much you drink, why you drink, or how you feel when you drink?
- Has someone you’re close with ever expressed concern about your drinking?
- Does it annoy you if someone brings up your drinking?
- Do you sometimes get “extra” drinks when going out to make sure you have enough?
- Did you ever decide to stop or reduce your drinking, but it didn’t work out or last long?
- Do you hang out with people or in crowds where it’s easy to get drugs or alcohol?
- Do you frequently drink more than your friends?
- Do you feel more like yourself, or the person you wish to be, after a few drinks?
- Have you done or said things when you’re drinking that you regret the next day?
- Do you drink to feel better about or forget things when it gets stressful at work, home, school, or in relationships?
- Do you ever drink before school, work, or other obligations?
- Do you keep alcohol in your home or car at all times so it’s there if you need it?
- Do you ever blackout, or forget things, while you were drinking?
- Does drinking affect your relationships? Have you ever lost friends due to intoxicated behavior?
- Have you ever been arrested or hospitalized due to alcohol use?
Results
Answered “Yes” to one or two questions: this may be a warning sign that your alcohol use poses a low to moderate risk to your health.
Answered “Yes” to three or more questions: this may be a warning sign that your alcohol use poses a moderate to high risk of alcohol use disorder, and you may require alcohol addiction treatment if you continue down this path.
Drug Self-Assessment
To determine if you have a potential drug problem, answer 15 questions with a simple yes or no:
- Are you concerned about your drug use, including how much you use, why you use, or how you feel when you use?
- Has someone you’re close with ever expressed concern about your drug use?
- Have you ever substituted one drug for another because you thought that one particular drug was the problem?
- Have you ever used one drug to overcome the effects of another drug?
- Did you ever decide to stop or reduce your drug use, but it didn’t work out or last long?
- Do you ever avoid people or certain places that don’t approve of your drug use?
- Have you ever taken a drug without knowing the effects or what it would do to you?
- Do you feel more like yourself when you’re high?
- Do you ever use drugs before school, work, or other obligations?
- Do you frequently use drugs before you go to bed or when you wake up in the morning?
- Do you continue to use drugs despite negative consequences in your life?
- Do you use drugs to feel better about or forget things when it gets stressful at work, home, school, or in relationships?
- Have you ever lied or stolen to obtain drugs, or have you stolen drugs?
- Does drug use affect your relationships? Have you ever lost friends due to drug-induced behavior?
- Have you ever been arrested or hospitalized due to drug use?
Results
Answered “Yes” to one or two questions: This may be a warning sign that your drug use poses a low to moderate risk to your health.
Answered “Yes” to three or more questions: This may be a warning sign that your drug use poses a moderate to high risk of substance use disorder, and you may require addiction treatment if you continue down this path.
If you’re concerned about your responses and have questions about getting started with treatment, contact us today.
If you’d like more assessment and screening tools to determine if you have problem, visit Screening and Assessment Tools Chart | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Mental Health Assessment
An online mental health assessment will ask you about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences to help you determine if you have symptoms of a mental health condition.
To take a mental health assessment, visit https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/.
To learn how we treat primary mental health disorders in an inpatient setting, please contact us today.