Who... Me? An Alcoholic?

In order to determine whether or not a person has drifted from "social drinking" into pathological drinking it is well to check over a list of test questions, which each one may ask himself or herself and answer for himself or herself truthfully.
It is possible - but not at all probable - that you may fool somebody else. But you must be HONEST WITH YOURSELF - you must want to become and remain dry because alcohol has you "licked" - if you want the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Well, here are some TEST QUESTIONS, answer them yourself

1. Do you require a drink the next morning?
2. Do you prefer to drink alone?
3. Do you lose time from work due to drinking?
4. Is drinking harming your family in any way?
5. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?
6. Do you get the inner shakes unless you continue drinking?
7. Has drinking made you irritable?
8. Does drinking make you careless of your family's
9. Have you thought less of your husband or wife since drinking?
10. Has drinking changed your personality?
11. Does drinking cause you bodily complaints?
12. Does drinking make you restless?
13. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
14. Has drinking made you more impulsive?
15. Have you less self control since drinking?
16. Has your initiative decreased since drinking?
17. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?
18. Do you lack perseverance in pursuing a goal since
19. Do you drink to obtain social ease? (In shy, timid, self-conscious individuals.)
20. Do you drink for self-encouragement? (In persons with feelings of inferiority.)
21. Do you drink to relieve marked feelings of in-adequacy?
22. Has your sexual potency suffered since drinking?
23. Do you show marked dislikes and hatreds since drinking?
24. Has your jealousy, in general, increased since drink¬ing?
25. Do you show marked moodiness as a result of drinking?
26. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?
27. Has drinking made you more sensitive?
28. Are you harder to get along with since drinking?
29. Do you turn to an inferior environment since drinking?
30. Is drinking endangering your health?
31. Is drinking affecting your peace of mind?
32. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?
33. Is drinking jeopardizing your business - your job?
34. Is drinking clouding your reputation?
35. Is drinking disturbing the harmony of your life?

NOTE: - The test questions are not AA questions but are the guide used by JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL in deciding whether a patient is alcoholic or not. In addition we in AA would ask even more. Here are a few:

36. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory (black-out) while, or after drinking?
37. Have you ever felt, when or after drinking, an inability to concentrate?
38. Have you ever felt "remorse" after drinking?
39. Has a physician ever treated you for drinking?
40. Have you ever been hospitalized for drinking?

If you have answered YES to any one of the Test Questions, there is a definite warning that you may be an alcoholic.
If you have answered YES to any two of the Test Questions, the chances are that you are an alcoholic.
If you answer YES to three or more of the Test Questions, you are definitely an alcoholic.

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No one in AA will attempt to tell whether another person is an alcoholic. This you must decide by your-self and for yourself. Then with an open mind and a SINCERE desire, without any mental reservations you may take the FIRST STEP IN AA.
"WE ADMITTED WE WERE POWERLESS OVER ALCOHOL - THAT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME UN-MANAGEABLE."