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.