Test Yourself for Addiction to Anything!!!

Are You Addicted to Anything???

Here is a way to find out.

Take this self-rating test for anything you think you might be addicted to, or that other people tell you that they think you are addicted to. First, there are some commonly found areas of addiction to get you started thinking about what may be going on with you. If none of these apply, use number 20, and write in your particular concern. Second are the instructions for taking the test. Third are the test questions for you to answer. Fourth, and finally, is the way to interpret you score.

If you have any questions about this self-rating test, or your results of the test, please post your questions on this site.

Categories of addictive behavior:

1. alcohol
2. tobacco
3. exercise
4. sweets
5. gambling
6. sex/romance
7. work
8. a sport
9. self-pity
10. anger
11. shopping
12. stealing
13. procrastination
14. watching television
15. talking on the telephone
16. prescription drugs
17. illegal drugs
18. risky/dangerous behaviors
19. using the Internet (surfing, chat rooms, pornography, etc.)
20. other(s) ______________

For each one of the nineteen potentially addictive behaviors listed here (feel free to add more as needed), list your answers to each of the ten questions (symptoms or criteria of irrational dependence) that follow, as they apply to you. Give each “yes” answer a score of 1, and each “no” answer a 0. If you cannot decide between”Yes” or “No,” use the score ½. For each category, add your scores for the ten questions. You will then have a total score from 0 (no problem) to 10 (serious addictive problem) for each addictive behavior. Please note that any human behavior, even if it is usually a normal or healthful activity, can be considered an addiction if it earns a score of 3 or more. Perhaps you’ll score 7 for cocaine, 8 for smoking, and 9 for sex.

Because it is your choice whether or not to give up any of these addictions, that is, those on which your score is 3 or more, it makes no sense to be dishonest. You have the choice as to whether you want to give up cocaine while increasing your tobacco consumption and being more promiscuous! Only you can make that choice; so be honest with yourself first, so that you can make informed choices with the facts at hand instead of in the fog of minimization and denial. It can be very instructive to ask one or more close friends or family members to pick out behaviors to which they think you are addicted. Be careful! Their answers may surprise you, but rate those behaviors anyway.

The questions: answer yes or no for each of the categories above

1. Do you continue the use or the behavior in spite of social, occupational, psychological, or physical problems?
   
   
2. Do you continue the use or the behavior in physically dangerous situations?
   
   
3. Do you lose control, i.e., do you indulge in larger amounts or for longer periods of time than intended?
   
   
4. Do you need at least 50 percent more of the substance or behavior in order to get the same effect that you used to, OR do you get less effect from the same amount?
   
   
5. Are you unable to cut down or control the indulgent behavior?
   
   
6. Do you spend much time obtaining substances or tools for the indulgent behavior, OR recovering from the effects of the behavior?
   
   
7. Are you frequently high or withdrawing, physically or psychologically (for example, thinking about it) during important activities at work, school, or home.
   
   
8. Have you given up important social, work, interpersonal, or recreational activities due to the indulgent behavior?
   
   
9. Do you experience withdrawal symptoms (depression, agitation, insomnia, fatigue, poor concentration) after extensive indulgence?
   
   
10. Do you often use the indulgent behavior to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms?

Scoring

ABUSE                   1 or  2 “Yes” answers
MILD Addiction          3 or  4 “Yes” answers
MODERATE Addiction      5 to  8 “Yes” answers
SEVERE Addiction        9 or 10 “Yes” answers

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy [REBT]

What is REBT? It is the first form of cognitive-behavior therapy and was developed by Albert Ellis,Ph.D. in the mid 1950's. It is not based on trying to trace a person's anger, anxiety, or depression back to their origins in the past but on teaching people how to think in ways that reduce or eliminate such dysfunctional and uncomfortable emotions and behavior. The REBT therapist is rarely interested in how or when or from where you learned to think and feel that you are no good. She or he is only interested in discovering how to help you stop believing that you are no good.

The REBT therapist and/or literature will teach you how to discover, challenge, and overcome the irrational and self-defeating beliefs and thinking which makes you feel depressed, anxious, angry, ashamed, inferior, jealous or that makes you think that you have to rely on alcohol, drugs, or engaging in other kinds of self-destructive behaviors in order to cope with the situations which occur in the course of your life.

In Beat Your Addiction we explain the ABC's of how your feelings are created. It is, simply stated (it's easy because it is simple), A is the Activating event, the stimulus, what happens to you. B is your Belief about A, what you think and tell or say to yourself privately in your mind when A occurs. C includes the emotional and behavioral Consequences of telling yourself B about A. People typically think that A causes C as in "I'm angry at you because you lied to me". But actually A is only an indirect cause of C. B is the direct cause. In this case, B would be something like "You shouldn't have lied to me!" or, "You had no right to lie to me!" If instead, the B I had told myself would have been something like, "I wish you wouldn't have lied to me," or, "It would have been nice (or, "It would have been better..." or, "I would have liked it...") if you had told me the truth", I would, have felt and expressed (C) only irritation or dissapointment instead of anger. Anger is usually a less desirable reaction because it is so often followed by saying or doing something stupid, something which you would not usually do if you could help it.

REBT shows you how to change your irrationally demanding, absolutistic B's into rational, accepting, and realistic B's, thereby reducing your tendency to become unnecessarily emotionaly upset.