The following questions from the brochure “Am I An Addict” were written by recovering addicts in Narcotics Anonymous. Whether your addiction is drugs, alcohol, gambling, internet, pornography, food, sex, shopping, etc….these questions apply. If your addiction is not drugs, personalize the questions below by inserting your own addiction in place of the words “drug(s)” or “use(d)”.
If you wonder if you might be an addict, take a few moments to read through this list of questions, and most importantly, answer as honestly as you can:
- Do you ever use alone?
- Have you ever substituted one drug for another, thinking that one particular drug was the problem?
- Have you ever manipulated or lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs?
- Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs?
- Do you regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed?
- Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another?
- Do you avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs?
- Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you?
- Has your job or school performance ever suffered from the effects of your drug use?
- Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs?
- Have you ever lied about what or how much you use?
- Do you put the purchase of drugs ahead of your financial responsibilities?
- Have you ever tried to stop or control your using?
- Have you ever been in a jail, hospital, or drug rehabilitation center because of your using?
- Does using interfere with your sleeping or eating?
- Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you?
- Do you feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs?
- Do you ever question your own sanity?
- Is your drug use making life at home unhappy?
- Have you ever thought you couldn’t fit in or have a good time without drugs?
- Have you ever felt defensive, guilty, or ashamed about your using?
- Do you think a lot about drugs?
- Have you had irrational or indefinable fears?
- Has using affected your sexual relationships?
- Have you ever taken drugs you didn’t prefer?
- Have you ever used drugs because of emotional pain or stress?
- Have you ever overdosed on any drugs?
- Do you continue to use despite negative consequences?
- Do you think you might have a drug problem?
If you answered yes to some of the above questions, we want to encourage you to seek out someone for help. We can’t diagnose from a list of questions, but it’s certainly an indicator that probably demands more evaluation. There are organizations throughout the world waiting to help you identify and recover from your addiction. Most of these organizations include the word “Anonymous” in their name.
No matter what your addiction, remember this: it controls you (not the other way around).