Drug / Alcohol Abuse Home Tests You Can Do Right Now
Home addiction tests are needed to make an initial breakthrough with a person who denies a drug or alcohol abuse problem. What is the difference between drug use and drug addiction?
Let’s find out how to find out.
The CAGE Test
Drug and alcohol addiction has a gage or rather CAGE test to determine quickly if there is a drug addiction problem. CAGE: Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener. Do you or others try to get the person to cut down? Do they get annoyed or angry when confronted with their drug or alcohol addiction? Do they feel guilty about their drug or alcohol use? Do they take drugs or alcohol to get their day started?
Answer ‘Yes’ to 3 of 4 of these questions in the C.A.G.E. acronym and someone has problems with drug or alcohol abuse. Ask these questions of both the user and the friends and family about the user.
The CAGE Test
(CAGE) Cut Down
Has she been trying to cut down? Do others suggest he should cut down on his usage? Is partying and drug and alcohol use frequent? If people are suggesting the person cut down, you have an indicator of a drug or alcohol addiction.
(CAGE) Annoyed
Do the family members or the possible drug abuser get annoyed by reminders they have or may have a drug abuse / alcohol abuse problem? This tells us drugs and alcohol has been regularly abused. The problem is trying to show itself.
(CAGE) Guilty
Do they feeling guilty about the consequences of their substance use? Do they think they are drinking too much and shouldn’t be. Do family and friends defend the person’s use? If the person is lying to you about their use or you suspect this, follow your instinct. Just look and hear what is said and don’t think on this one.
(CAGE) Eye Opener
Does a drug or drink start their day or get them going? Do they need a night cap? I’ve known many marijuana smokers who couldn’t sleep without smoking a joint. Yep, they’re dependant and may be addicted.
Simply add up the number of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers. 3 out of 4 reveal a big problem. 4 / 4 indicates an addiction.
Still not convinced? I developed my own test that exposes drug / alcohol abuse. I call it the CASH test.
The CASH Test
Another favorite test of mine is one I modified, the CASH test: Cash, Assets, Spare time, Health.
Cash
One simply looks at all the sources of income one is putting to use to obtain drugs or alcohol. How much money is spent on drugs and alcohol per week?
Assets
How much time or assets are spent getting, consuming or thinking about getting drugs and alcohol? This includes other people’s assets, including hospital costs, legal, another’s time and involvement, etc. Is everyone in the family wrapped around this person’s drug and alcohol addiction?
Assets could involve using $100s or $1,000s everyday, sometimes considerably more is lost.
Spare Time
Drug and alcohol use in one’s spare time. This test includes planning how one is going to get drugs and alcohol as well. Based on an 8 hour division of our day: 8 hours personal and family, 8 hours sleep and preparation, 8 hours work. This devotion to drugs and alcohol can be compared to one of these amounts of time.
For instance, spending 8 hours planning around and talking about and consuming drugs, or being intoxicated by drugs would be devoting the entire day to drug use. Spending 4 hours a day being intoxicated or drug planning would mean dedicating one half of one’s personal life to drug use.
Health
Drug and alcohol addiction affects everyone’s health. Obviously alcoholics and drug addicts are damaging themselves physically. However, the mental damage is often not considered.
Anytime one goes unconscious due to drug or alcohol abuse, health is significantly affected. Being unconscious is not the same as sleeping. While asleep, the body is really quite busy repairing itself, cleaning itself out, regenerating. What if one wasn’t actually sleeping?
If you’ve ever tried to wake up a drunk or person crashed after methamphetamine use, you’ll know not to do it again. The drug addict or alcoholic isn’t really ‘sleeping it off’, they’re unconscious. The person’s body is working overtime to attempt to detoxify itself instead of sleeping and so get really stressed out.
Drug or alcohol induced unconsciousness is not sleeping; it’s closer to being hypnotized, in hell. Everything that is going on around them is being recorded at a sub-conscious level, completely unevaluated. “He’s drunk again”, wife say’s. “He’s always getting drunk”, friend. “Yes, I know.” Like a hypnotic command, this goes straight into his mind. It could be contributing to his alcoholism significantly.
Violence, irrational behavior, compulsions and repressions are tied into this problem of ‘drug and alcohol induced unconscious hypnosis’. Unfortunately, more of this hypnosis laid over top of these drunks just feed the problem, even if well intentioned.
CAGE or CASH drug and alcohol addiction tests help people evaluate their own or another’s levels of drug and alcohol use or abuse. One of the first questions we ask a person or their families when we begin consulting those about drug or alcohol addiction problems is: What sorts of problems have been occurring in the person’s life due to drugs and alcohol?
Drug and alcohol rehab is a usual course to take when confronted with continual or out of control drug or alcohol addiction problems.
Drug and alcohol rehab consultants are available to assist you find the right center to assist a loved one that needs assistance to recover.
By Tibor A. Palatinus, CCDC
Drug Prevention Specialist, Intervention Consultant
PS: For assistance to getting someone to treatment, contact us directly or sign up for Families Facing Addiction Survival Guide.
[...] Drug Addiction Tests You Can Do Right Now Family members and friends of a substance abuser can also use these tests right now. Professional drug and alcohol counselors have numerous addiction tests they use to determine if another has an addiction problem. Tests can help you decide to take action before you’ve got bigger problems that can’t be avoided.Addiction and drug abuse tests can help you find out despite the lying and denial.I’ve spoken to about 10,000 people regarding drug treatment as a drug and alcohol rehab consultant. I’ve found several factors continue to come up in people who are addicted. Addicts display these characteristics despite any other story they have ready to give you.The two tests I regularly use as an addiction consulting tool are the CAGE test and the CASH test. You may never have heard of the CASH test, although it seems obvious what it covers. I developed this as a telephone consultant over the years.Simply answer ‘Yes’ to 3 of 4 of these letters in the C.A.G.E. acronym and you’ve got someone who is having problems with drug or alcohol abuse. These questions can be asked of both the user and to the friends and family about the user.The CAGE test (CAGE) Cut Down Has the person been trying to cut down? Do others suggest they should cut down on their usage? Partying, drugs and alcohol usually and quite frequently go together. People suggesting that the person cut down is an indicator of a drug or alcohol addiction. (CAGE) Annoyed Do the family members or the person using get annoyed by reminders they have or may have an addiction problem? This tells us drugs and alcohol have been regularly abused. The problem is trying to show itself. (CAGE) Guilty Are they feeling guilty about the consequences of their substance use? Do they feel they are using too much and shouldn’t be. Do family and friends defend the person’s use? If the person is lying to you about their use or you suspect this, follow your instinct. Just look and hear what is said and don’t think on this one. (CAGE) Eye Opener Does a drug or drink start their day or get them going? Do they need a night cap? I’ve known many marijuana smokers who couldn’t sleep without smoking a joint. Yep, they’re dependent and may be addicted. Simply add up the number of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers. 3 out of 4 reveal a big problem. 4 / 4 sheds light on an addiction.For those who aren’t yet convinced, I developed my own test that exposes the goods. I call it the CASH test.The CASH test (CASH) Cash How much money is being spent on drugs or alcohol? If someone else is buying, get the math done. It amazes both the user and the family how much value is being invested in an addiction. Get the person to really confront and look at how much money that stuff is costing. (CASH) Assets Assets can include time when they should be working or studying. However, assets mean how much financial investment has gone into the drug or alcohol usage? Include court costs, penalties, lost income, stolen goods and pawned valuables. You get the idea. (CASH) Spare Time Is the majority of the person’s spare time involved in using? Are they always using in their off time? If the major part of their spare time is spent using or drinking, you can answer ‘yes’ to this question. (CASH) Health Are their health problems? If this question brings down the house, you don’t need to assess further. A person with drug and alcohol problems rarely recuperate as their bodies or so busy fighting off the last dose of poison. How do they look? The CAGE and CASH tests are done to determine if you should act. If the answer is ‘Yes’ then taking the next step is the most vital.By: Tibor A. PalatinusAbout the Author: For more information on CAGE and CASH or for a private consultation on the best drug-free long-term rehab programs Addiction Home Tests and Treatment [...]