Have you ever stopped to ask yourself whether you may be drinking too much and if you might need treatment? It’s not an easy question to answer.
For many people in this situation, there are several things that can make signs of a drinking problem difficult to determine. For one, persistent images in the media of excessive drinking are almost unavoidable, causing many to think, “I don’t drink nearly as much as most people” or “The amount I drink is normal and won’t cause a problem.”
And for many drinkers, the reality of being able to function at work or at home while drinking heavily makes it easy to believe their drinking habits will not lead to major problems.
The truth is, your alcohol consumption may be more serious than it seems. In fact, there are more than 15 million adults in the United States who suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder.
While it can’t take the place of a professional assessment, there are two popular assessments you can use to identify if your drinking has crossed the line from moderate to problematic. They are the CAGE and the T-ACE questionnaires.
CAGE
The CAGE assessment is simple. If you answer “yes” to two or more of these questions, it may warrant further assessment to determine if you have an alcohol problem or if you could benefit from one of our alcohol recovery programs.
- C – Cut down: Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
- A – Annoyance: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
- G – Guilt: Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
- E – Eye opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
T-ACE
This questionnaire works on a point system. Affirmative answers to questions A, C, or E = 1 point each, and an affirmative answer to question T = 2 points. A score of 2 or more may warrant further evaluation of your drinking habits.
- T – Tolerance: Does it take more than two drinks for you to feel intoxicated?
- A – Annoyance: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
- C – Cut down: Have you felt you ought to cut down on your drinking?
- E – Eye opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
While these questionnaires can’t replace an assessment from a trained clinician, they can help you start to recognize signs of alcoholism. The effects of alcohol abuse can’t be ignored. But the sooner you identify the problem, the more you’ll be able to minimize its harmful effects on your life.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drinking, we can help.
Call 1-800-RECOVERY today to learn more about our alcohol recovery programs and get started.
