Problem Drnking

[homedeeth]

Does anyone else have a problem with alcohol and if so how are you dealing with it?

[pixie373]

Do you mean dependency? The best way to deal with it would be a GP appointment, to start with.

[bookbinder]

What do you mean by a problem? Getting too much or getting too little?

[sandyRoe]

I don't drink any more. You might like to look at these questions and see if they ring a bell.

http://www.westbalto.a-1associates.com/INFO%20LIST/20Questions.htm

[anneasquith]

good link, sandy,

[sandyRoe]

I remember years ago I had a card with those questions on it in a bar. Talking about them produced a lot of laughter, but I felt that it was of the uncomfortable variety.

[anneasquith]

I wonder if the question would be better posted in B&S homedeeth,

[Everhelpful]

Go out,get drunk,fall over. No Problem.

[doctordb]

Sandy, I think the list is a useful guide but to call someone 'definitely alcoholic' for answering with 3 yes' is a bit hasty and maybe unhelpful especially in the cases of 5,9,12,16,17.

[pixie373]

I don't think it's hasty. If it causes you problems anywhere, it's a problem.

[doctordb]

I understand pixie and as I say I think it's useful but questions like 'Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?' are too vague.

Also Labeling someone as 'definitely alcoholic' without ever meeting them is something I do find hasty.
Certainly answering some of the other questions would indicate a serious problem but I think it would be best to see a GP.

[Gizmonster]

I have a drink problem:

2 hands and only 1 mouth .... what a waste ......

[Sycamore3House]

I would say that I was starting to get a drink problem about 8 years ago. But now looking back it was a coping mechanism. I was drinking at least a bottle of wine daily and probably on 4 days of the week more. But I put it down to circumstance and once I became happier I stopped drinking as much. I probably now only consume 2 bottles of wine a week at the most and that is probably to accompany food. I also find I sleep better if I have had no alcohol so that now puts me off.

[woofgang]

THIS QUESTION LIST WAS FORMULATED BY ONE INDIVIDUAL IN THE 1930'S AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE OR SELF DIAGNOSIS.

"From a contact from Johns Hopkins' media relations department:

"The Johns Hopkins Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed in the 1930s by Dr. Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was intended for use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine the extent of one's alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by professionals as a screening tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of alcoholism in their patients. We do not use this questionnaire at any of the Johns Hopkins substance abuse treatment programs. To the best of my knowledge, there have never been any reliable or validated studies conducted using the Hopkins Twenty Questions. I advise you to consider using other instruments such as the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or the CAGE — both of which have proven reliability and validity as reported in the scientific literature."

So, the questions should be attributed to Dr. Robert Seliger of Johns Hopkins (in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer advocate their use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all earlier from the Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had requested that GSO not attribute those questions to their institution in the pamphlet "Memo to an Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."

If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I have a contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in contact with the faculty member who knew the history of this document and who recommended that we not use it. She was very adamant about it--in a second e-mail to me, she said that she'd grant permission to any AA group who wanted to use it, but that she really recommended that we don't.

here's a better one
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Alcoholcalculator.aspx