Assessing your drug and alcohol use
There are lots of reasons why drug or alcohol use can become a problem for someone.
While for most people drug use will not become an issue some young people who try drugs find they are more than just a bit of fun.
Some young people say that it helps them manage bad thoughts, feelings or anxiety. If you notice that drugs are working like this you are more likely to use them more. However, this doesn’t always work because in the long term the problems haven’t gone away, they have just been hidden or masked.
Drug use can cause some issues of its own too – fighting with family, health issues and money troubles. These problems are likely to add to bad thoughts and anxiety, leading to more use and this can become a cycle.
People use drugs for a reason. Nobody chooses to have a drug problem. No matter how or why they have become a problem there is help and support services available.
Questions to get you started
Alcohol and binge drinking
Binge drinking means you are drinking a lot in a short time – like you are trying to get really drunk, really quickly. Because alcohol is common in social situations you can forget that it can be dangerous, especially when taken in large amounts.
- Do you find yourself waking up after a night of drinking but cannot remember parts of the night?
- Do your friends tell you that you are a completely different person when you are drunk?
- Do you make bad choices when you are drunk and feel bad the next day?
- These are signs that your (binge) drinking is having a negative impact on you and your life.
If you binge drink over a longer time this can result in serious health issues including brain, stomach, heart and liver damage.
- Do you find yourself waking up after a night of drinking but cannot remember parts of the night?
- Do your friends tell you that you are a completely different person when you are drunk?
- Do you make bad choices when you are drunk and feel bad the next day?
These are signs that your (binge) drinking is having a negative impact on you and your life.
Problematic substance use
Working out whether your drug or alcohol use is under control or whether you have a problem is not always simple.
For a lot of people who develop a problem, it creeps up on them slowly without them noticing.
Still, there are some signs that your drug use is becoming a problem. While you might not need to go somewhere like rehab to deal with your use, you could have some problems that you can get under control before they become more serious.
These are some questions you can ask yourself to help figure out whether drugs or alcohol are becoming a problem for you.
- Do you feel like you don’t have as much control over your use as you would like?
- Is your drug use is affecting work or school?
- Are you staying away from friends who don’t use drugs?
- Are there some issues with your parents because of your use?
- Are you having to do things you wouldn’t normally choose to do so just so that you can use?
- Are you experiencing harms because of your drug use?
- Are you putting drug use ahead of other activities?
- Has your drug use stopped being fun?
Dependency
Levels of substance dependence can be different for each person.
Ask yourself these questions to help understand your use. If you answer YES that could be a sign that you are dependent on substances.
- Are you spending most of your time with other people who use drugs, and less time with those who don’t?
- Are you being dishonest with the people close to you about how often you use drugs, what kind of drugs you’re using and in what quantities?
- Are you spending money you can’t afford or going to extremes to find money to buy drugs?
- Are you using higher doses of the substance to feel affected?
If you answered YES to any of the questions, or are feeling unhappy about your alcohol use it could be a good time to get some help from to someone, like a counsellor or your doctor.