Are You Struggling With Substance Misuse
Substance abuse means using drugs and/or alcohol for non-medical reasons. Substances can be either legal or illegal and they don’t have to be illegal to be abused. If you abuse drugs/alcohol, you can become dependent on them physically and mentally. Substance abuse and addiction can lead to many problems in life and harm your health.
Many people who abuse drugs don’t know they have a problem, or don’t want to admit it. They ignore the warning signs of drug abuse and don’t listen to family and friends who are concerned.
This assessment is for people who regularly use drugs and wonder if they have a problem with abuse or addiction. The assessment is not for occasional users of drugs. This assessment is based on the CAGE assessment which was originally developed to identify alcohol abuse.
Questions:
This short questionnaire can help you take a closer look at your substance use.
- Have you ever felt you need to Cut down on your drug/substance use? Yes/No
- Do you ever feel Annoyed when people criticize your drug/substance use? Yes/No
- Have you ever felt embarrassed or Guilty about your drug/substance use? Yes/No
- Have you ever used drugs/substances first thing in the morning (Eye opener)? Yes/No
Your Results:
A “yes” answer to any of the questions in this assessment should make you think about the role that drugs/substances may play in your life. Could you be in denial about a problem with drugs? If you have concerns about drug addiction, talk with your healthcare provider. This is true no matter what your results are on this assessment.
About CAGE: The above assessment is a modified CAGE questionnaire for identifying problems with drug use. The CAGE questionnaire was developed by Dr. John Ewing, founding director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. CAGE is an internationally used assessment instrument for identifying problems with alcohol.