Should You Be Concerned About Your Drinking?
by Reid K. Hester, Ph.D.
Have you ever wondered whether you should change your drinking
habits? Your drinking may or may not be causing you and others problems. If it isn't,
could the amount you drink be putting you at risk for health or other alcohol-related
problems? Here is a quick, easy, and confidential way to find out.
Read through the following questions about your use of alcoholic
beverages during the past year. In the questions, a drink is equal to 10 oz. of beer, 4
oz. of wine, or 1.25 oz. of 80 proof liquor. Use the check boxes to mark your answers,
then total the score for each question on a piece of paper. When you are finished, we'll
give you feedback about your score.
Please note: The checkboxes are just an easy way to keep track of
your answers. This is not an interactive form, so your answers are not recorded and your
privacy is assured.
1. How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
2. How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day
when you are drinking?
3. How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?
4. How often during the last year have you found that you were
unable to stop drinking once you had started?
5. How often during the last year have you failed to do what was
normally expected from you because of drinking?
6. How often during the last year have you needed a first drink in
the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session?
7. How often during the last year have you had a feeling of guilt or
remorse after drinking?
8. How often during the last year have you been unable to remember
what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
9. Have you or someone else been injured as the result of your
drinking?
10. Has a relative, friend, or a doctor or other health worker been
concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?
This screening is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
(AUDIT). It was developed by the World Health Organization and tested in a world-wide
trial.
Now, add up all your scores. If your total score is 8 or more, your
drinking is, at the least, putting you at some risk for alcohol-related problems. If you
are wondering what do if you score 8 or more, allow us to recommend some courses of
action.
The first thing you might consider is a more in-depth assessment.
Discuss your drinking with your family doctor or healthcare provider. He or she is most
concerned about your health and may be the best person to advise you about what is
available in your community.
A second course of action to consider is changing your drinking
behaviors on your own. Most people who have had alcohol-related problems stop their
drinking or cut down without any formal treatment. There are also a number of self-help
books available to help you in your process of self-change. If you do decide to change
your drinking, one of your first decisions will be whether to stop altogether or to cut
down to moderate amounts. Some people are able to cut down while others find it easier to
stop altogether.
Another course of action to consider is attending a self-help group.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a world-wide fellowship of people pursuing a goal of abstinence
and recovery through their 12 step program. It has been a Godsend for many people, but not
everyone can identify with it. Rational Recovery and Rational Self-Help groups are an
alternative to AA. They stress a non-spiritual approach to recovery. However, they are not
nearly as wide spread at AA. Ask around and look in your local newspaper for information
about the meeting times and places of self-help groups.
Finally, another course of action to consider is that of formal
treatment. We have learned a great deal about how to best help people recover from
substance abuse in the last 20 years. What we can tell you about treatment is that there
is no single approach which works best for everyone. Rather there are a number of
effective alternatives which are well supported by scientific research.
Whatever course of action you choose, be persistent! Many people do
not succeed with their first efforts and relapse is common when people try to break their
addictive behaviors. The key idea is to KEEP TRYING. Learn from your mistakes when you
make them and continue to move forward.
This article first appeared in Self-Help &
Psychology Magazine at http://www.shpm.com/articles/atd/alcques.html.
About the Author
Reid K. Hester received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from
Washington State University in 1979. He has been involved in treatment of alcohol problems
since 1978 and research in alcohol abuse since 1974. He has also published a number of
literature reviews of alcoholism treatment. One of his most recent publications is Handbook of
Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives (Second edition) by Allyn
& Bacon.
Dr. Hester is a partner with Behavior Therapy Associates in
Albuquerque, New Mexico where he also is the Director of their Research Division. The
Research Division's web site is http://www.behaviortherapy.com.
He is also a Research Associate Professor at the Center for Alcoholism, Substance Abuse
and Addictions (CASAA) in the Dept. of Psychology at the University of New Mexico.
The Behavior Therapy website offers interactive software developed
to help people moderate their drinking. You can download the Behavioral Self-Control
Program for Windows (BSCPWIN) at http://www.behaviortherapy.com/software.htm.
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