Regular consumption of alcohol, even in small doses, can lead to addiction. If you are not sure if your alcohol consumption is within normal limits, take an alcoholism test to help you determine if you have an addiction problem or not.

Alcohol addictionmanifests itself, inter alia, in by a sudden desire to consume alcoholic beverages at work, not fulfilling daily duties, or breaking family ties due to excessive concentration on drinking. Are you afraid that you are at the beginning of this road? Or maybe you are already experiencing symptoms of alcoholism? Take the quiz and see if you need help.

What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism is nothing more than alcohol addiction, where the drinking of alcoholic beverages gets out of control. Alcoholism is now considered a disease because it meets all of its criteria:

  • disturbs homeostasis between he alth and pathology,
  • has a specific reason,
  • has a negative effect on human physiology.

Besides, like any disease, it takes a progressive form, its course can be exacerbated, even leading to death.

Alcoholism, like other chronic diseases, can take a chronic form, negatively affecting not only the physicality of a person, but also their psyche. It has a negative impact on the quality of life and leads to disturbed social relationships over time (e.g. seeking isolation as a result of shame related to your ailment).

Stages in the development of alcoholism

There are 4 stages in the development of alcoholism:

  • Stage I- gradual alcohol tolerance develops. This period may be several months or several years. Alcohol becomes then not only a means of indulging yourself, but also allows you to calm down unwanted emotions such as: sadness, regret, frustration, etc.
  • Stage II- the warning phase is developing. During it, the person consuming alcohol tries to initiate meetings that could justify reaching for alcohol. He also begins to focus more and more on drinking alcohol. More and more often he drinks alone, in hiding. The fact that addiction has entered this phase is evidenced by the appearance of gaps inmemories caused by drinking alcohol ("alcohol palimpsests").
  • Stage III- acute phase. A person who abuses alcohol ceases to have control over the amount of the drink consumed, and neglects his social, professional and family roles. Her alcohol problem becomes clearly visible to those around her. In this phase, drinking becomes continuous, with short breaks for abstinence.
  • Stage IV- drinking becomes chronic, which means that the addicted person consumes alcohol habitually. In an addict, obvious negative he alth effects related to drinking are visible, such as: liver damage, slower thinking, and nervous system disorders. Alcohol becomes the only goal in human life, the family bond breaks down. There is also a moral degradation - the sick person is able to go as far as to steal, just to get money for alcohol.

Read more: Phases of Alcoholism: Symptoms of Stages of Addiction

When can we talk about alcoholism?

We can talk about alcohol addiction when:

  • we need to consume it regularly to feel good,
  • it takes care of other important matters - e.g. it allows us to do something in the office with more courage,
  • we lose control over the amount we drink,
  • we feel the need to consume even larger doses, because smaller doses do not work on us anymore,
  • our life begins to focus on drinking, at the expense of other matters, e.g. family, work,
  • we drink despite the harmful effects on our he alth, e.g. we have alcoholic fatty liver, which can lead to cirrhosis, and still consume alcoholic beverages,
  • we have withdrawal symptoms, e.g. during the no-drinking period we have: nausea, vomiting, delirium, tremors, hypertension,
  • it's hard for us to refrain from drinking.

Alcoholism test

Test AUDIT

When we start to doubt whether our alcohol consumption is above the norm, or we suspect that one of our relatives may have a problem with addiction, it is worth taking the AUDIT test created by experts from the World He alth Organization. It is a screening test that will allow us to determine the likelihood of having alcoholism. It is worth noting, however, that it does not have a strictly diagnostic value.

At the very beginning, before the test is completed, the person completing the questionnaire is prompted what a standard portion of pure alcohol is - it is 10 grams. She also learns that 10 grams of pure alcohol is the equivalent of: 250 ml of beer o5% strength, 30 ml of vodka 40% strength, 100 ml of wine 12% strength.

For each question in the test, there are points that must be added together to get the result.

Question 1 : how often do you drink alcoholic beverages?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Once a month (1 point)
  • This happens 2-4 times a month (2 points)
  • Happens 2-3 times a week (3 points)
  • I drink 4 times a week or more than 4 (4 points)

Question 2 : How many standard alcohol-containing portions do you drink on the day you drink?

  • From 1-2 servings (0pts)
  • 3-4 servings (1 point)
  • 5-6 servings (2 points)
  • 7-9 servings 93 pt)
  • 10 or more (4 points)

Question 3 : How often do you drink 6 or more drinks in one day?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Less than once a month (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • About once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 4 : How often in the last year were you unable to stop drinking after you started drinking?

  • Never (0points)
  • Less than once a month (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • Once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 5 : How often in the last year have you done something wrong because of drinking alcohol, inconsistent with the standards of conduct in your environment?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Less than once a month (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • About once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 6 : How often in the last year did you need to drink alcohol the next morning after "drinking a lot" in order to recover?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Less than once a month (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • About once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 7 : How often in the last year have you had feelings of guilt or remorse after drinking alcohol?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Less than once a month (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • About once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 8 : How often in the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the previous day or night because of your drinking?

  • Never (0 points)
  • Less than once amonth (1 point)
  • About once a month (2 points)
  • About once a week (3 points)
  • Daily or almost daily (4 pts)

Question 9 : Have you or anyone else ever suffered any physical trauma as a result of your drinking?

  • No (0 points)
  • Yes, but not in the last year (2 pts)
  • Yes, in the last year (4 points)

Question 10 : Has any family member or doctor or other he althcare professional been interested in or suggested reducing your drinking?

  • No (0 points)
  • Yes, but not in the last year (2 pts)
  • Yes, in the last year (4 points)

After adding up the points we gettest results AUDIT :

  • If your score is 8, your risk of alcoholism is low, and drinking is not a threat.
  • If the result is between 8 and 15 points, then you can talk about risky drinking alcohol.
  • A score between 16 and 19 points may indicate that we are probably dealing with alcohol addiction.
  • A score of 20 or more may mean that the person is addicted to alcohol.
  • If you obtained high results in the first three questions, and low in the remaining ones, then you may also suspect that you are dealing with risky drinking
  • An elevated score on questions 4 through 6 may mean that you are likely to be addicted to alcohol and that you need to seek drug addiction treatment.

B altimorski Test

The B altimore Test was first used at the Johns Hopkins University of B altimore to test whether a patient was alcohol dependent.

Currently, this test can be performed by yourself by answering the following questions: Yes or No.

Questions for the B altimore Test:

  1. Do you ever get drunk at work?
  2. Is your drinking having a negative effect on your family life?
  3. Is shyness towards other people the reason for drinking?
  4. Does your drinking make a negative opinion of you?
  5. Have you ever had any financial difficulties as a result of drinking?
  6. Have you ever felt guilty about drinking?
  7. Does your drinking worry your family?
  8. Has drinking made you low-ambition?
  9. Do you need to drink at the same time every day?
  10. Do you don't care what person you drink with?
  11. After drinking one day, do you feel the need to drink the next day?
  12. Is drinkingmade you feel less mentally and physically?
  13. Does drinking negatively affect your job or other activities outside of work?
  14. Is drinking causing you sleep problems?
  15. Is drinking because you want to get out of trouble?
  16. Do you ever drink alone?
  17. Do you ever forget where you've been or what you've been doing because of drinking?
  18. Do you drink to boost your confidence?
  19. Have you ever been to a hospital, sobering-up or infirmary for drinking?

Interpreting the results:

If at least one of the questions was answered yes, read it as a warning that the person is at risk of addiction.

If you answered "yes" to two of these questions, then it may become likely that you will soon become addicted to alcohol.

If there were three or more affirmative answers, you should see a specialist as soon as possible, who will help you break with the existing addiction.

Test CAGE

The CAGE test is the shortest of the tests, but very sensitive. It is not enough for a diagnosis, but the result may make a person wonder how high their risk of addiction is. There are only 4 questions in this test.

If at least one of the questions is answered "yes", then you may suspect that there is a problem with alcohol abuse.

If there are two or more affirmative answers, then it is very likely that the person has an alcohol problem.

Questions for the CAGE Test:

  1. Have you ever felt that you should stop drinking?
  2. Did people hurt you by criticizing your drinking?
  3. Have you ever felt bad or guilty about drinking?
  4. When you wake up, have your first thoughts ever been to drink alcohol to calm your nerves or stop drinking symptoms?

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