The following questions were written by recovering addicts in Narcotics Anonymous. If you have doubts about whether or not you’re an addict, take a few moments to read the questions below and answer them as honestly as you can.
1. Do you ever use alone? Yes No
2. Have you ever-substituted one drug for another, thinking that one particular drug was the problem? Yes No
3. Have you ever manipulated or lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs? Yes No
4. Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs? Yes No
5. Do you regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed? Yes No
6. Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another? Yes No
7. Do you avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs? Yes No
8. Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you? Yes No
9. Has your job or school performance ever suffered from the effects of your drug use? Yes No
10. Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs? Yes No
11. Have you ever lied about what or how much you use? Yes No
12. Do you put the purchase of drugs ahead of your financial responsibilities? Yes No
13. Have you ever tried to stop or control your using? Yes No
14. Have you ever been in a jail, hospital, or drug rehabilitation center because of your using? Yes No
15. Does using interfere with your sleeping or eating? Yes No
16. Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you? Yes No
17. Do you feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs? Yes No
18. Do you ever question your own sanity? Yes No
19. Is your drug use making life at home unhappy? Yes No
20. Have you ever thought you couldn’t fit in or have a good time without drugs? Yes No
21. Have you ever felt defensive, guilty, or ashamed about your using? Yes No
22. Do you think a lot about drugs? Yes No
23. Have you had irrational or indefinable fears? Yes No
24. Has using affected your sexual relationships? Yes No
25. Have you ever taken drugs you didn’t prefer? Yes No
26. Have you ever used drugs because of emotional pain or stress? Yes No
27. Have you ever overdosed on any drugs? Yes No
28. Do you continue to use despite negative consequences? Yes No
29. Do you think you might have a drug problem? Yes No
“Am I an addict?” This is a question only you can answer. We found that we all answered different numbers of these questions “Yes.” The actual number of “Yes” responses wasn’t as important as how we felt inside and how addiction had affected our lives.
Some of these questions don’t even mention drugs. This is because addiction is an insidious disease that affects all areas of our lives—even those areas that seem at first to have little to do with drugs. The different drugs we used were not as important as why we used them and what they did to us.
When we first read these questions, it was frightening for us to think we might be addicts.
Some of us tried to dismiss these thoughts by saying:
“Oh, those questions don’t make sense;”
Or,
“I’m different. I know I take drugs, but I’m not an addicted to anything.
