Go to : http://www.na.org/?ID=litfiles/us_english/IP/EN3107.pdf to read pamphlet.
AM
I AN ADDICT?
(written in the First Person by Narcotics
Anonymous)
Only you can
answer this question.
This may
not be an easy thing to do. All through our usage, we told ourselves, "I can
handle it." Even if this was true in the beginning, it is not so now…The
druges handled us. We lived to use and used to live. Very simply, an addict is a person whose life
is controlled by drugs.
Perhaps you admit you have a problem
with drugs, but you don't consider yourself an addict. All of us have
preconceived ideas about what an addict is. There is nothing shameful about
being an addict once you begin to take positive action. If you can identify with out problems, you
may be able to identify with our solution.
The following questions were written by recovering addicts in Narcotics
Anonymous. If you have doubts about
whether or not you're an addict, take a few moments to read the questions below
and answer them as honestly as you can.
1. Do you
ever use alone Yes___ No___
2. Have you
ever substituted one drug for another, thinking that one particular drug was
the problem? Yes___ No ____
3. have you
ever manipulated or lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs?
Yes____ No___
4. Have you
ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs?
Yes____ No____
5. Do you
regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed?
Yes ___
No _____
6. Have you
ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another?
Yes
___ No ____
7. Do you
avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs?
Yes ____ No ____
8. Have you
ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you? Yes ____
No _____
9. Has your job or school performance
ever suffered from the effects of your drug use? Yes ____ No ____
10. have
you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs? Yes ____ No ___
11. Have you
ever lied about what or how much you use?
Yes ___ No ____
12. do you
put the purchase of drugs ahead of your financial responsibilities?
Yes ___ No ____
13. Have
you ever tried to stop or control your using?
Yes ____ No_____
14. Have
you ever been in a jail, hospital, or drug rehabilitation center because of
your using? Yes ____ No ____
15. does
using interfere with your sleeping or eating?
Yes _____ No ____
16. Does
the thought of running out of drugs terrify you? Yes _____ No _____
17. Do you
feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs? Yes ____ No ___
18. Do you
ever question your own sanity? Yes ____
No _____
19. Is your
drug use making life at home unhappy?
Yes ____ No ____
20. Have
you ever thought you couldn't fit in or have a good time without drugs?
Yes ___- No
_____
21. Have
you ever felt defensive, guilty, or ashamed about your using? Yes___ No__
22. do you
think a lot about drugs? Yes ____ No
____
23. Have
you had irrational or indefinable fears?
Yes ____ No _____
24. Has
using affected your sexual relationships?
Yes ____ No _____
25. Have
you ever taken drugs you didn't prefer?
Yes____ No ______
26. Have
you ever used drugs because of emotional pain or stress? Y____ N ____
27. Have
you ever overdosed on any drugs? Yes
_____ No______
28. Do you
continue to use despite negative consequences?
Yes ____ No_____
29. Do you
continue to use despite negative consequences?
Yes ____ No ____
30. do you
think you might have a drug problem? Yes
____ No ____
"Am I an
addict?" This is a question only you can answer. We found that we all answered different
numbers of these questions Yes. The actual number of "Yes" responses
wasn't as important as how we felt inside and how addiction had affected our
lives.
Some of these
questions do't even mention drugs. This
is because addiction is an insidious disease that affects all areas of our
lives-even those areas which seem at first to have little to do with drugs. The different drugs we used were not as
important as whey we used them and what they did to us.
When we first read
these questions, it was frightening for us to think we might be addicts. Some of us tried to dismiss these thoughts by
saying:
"Oh
those questions don't make sense," or
"I'm different. I know I take drugs, but I'm not
an addict. I have real emotional/family/job problems." Or
"I'm
just having a tough time getting it all together right now."
Or
"Ill be able to stop when
I find the right person/get the right job, etc."
If you are
an addict, you must first admit that you have a problem with drugs before any
progress can be made toward recovery. These questions, when honestly
approached, may help to show you how using drugs has made your life
unmanageable. Addiction is a disease
which, without recovery, ends in jails, institutions, and death. Many of us came to NA because drugs had
stopped doing what we needed them to do.
Addiction takes our pride, self-esteem, family, loved ones, and even our
desire to live. If you have not reached
this point in your addiction, you don't have to. We have found that our own private hell was
within us. If you want help, you can
find it in the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.
"We
were searching for an answer when we reached out and found Narcotics
Anonymous. We came to our first NA
meeting in defeat and didn't know what to expect. After sitting in a meeting, or several
meetings, we began to feel that people cared and were willing to help. Although our minds told us we would never
make it, the people in the fellowship gave us hope by insisting that we could
recover. Surrounded by fellow addicts,
we realized that we were not alone any more. Recovery is what happens in our
meetings. Our lives are at stake. We found that by putting recovery first, the
program works. We faced three disturbing
realizations:
1. We are powerless over addiction and
our lives are unmanageable.
2. Although
we are not responsible for our disease, we are responsible for our recovery.
3. we can
no longer blame people, places, and things for our addiction. We must face our problems and our feelings.
The
ultimate weapon for recovery is the recovering addict."
Taken from NA
Fellowship approved literature
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