Self-Tests

Up to Am I an Addict?

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One of the most common questions I'm asked is "How can I know if I'm a sex addict?" In the Faithful & True workbook, Dr. Mark Laaser lists five common aspects of addictions. According to Dr. Laaser, addictions are:

Repetitive - there is a pattern of repetitive use for at least 2 years
Degenerative - the addict moves to increasingly intense behaviors
Unmanageable - the addict does things s/he doesn't want to do
Medicative - the addict uses the behaviors/substances to change his/her feelings
Destructive - any question on this one?

Based on these attributes, here are some questions to ask yourself. A "Yes" to one or two questions may not indicate an addiction, but answering "Yes" to more than a couple of these questions certainly raises suspicion. For the following list of questions, substitute whatever behavior you might have for "the behavior."

Does your use of the behavior have a recurrent pattern?

Has the behavior gotten "worse" or "stronger"?

Did you start out with lesser behaviors and then move to stronger behaviors/materials?

Did you start out spending less time involved in these behaviors, and have you moved to spending more time with them and less time involved in "real life" activities?

Can you stop? Are you able to go, say, 2 or 4 weeks without the suspected behaviors? How about 6 months? Does the thought of going weeks or months without the behaviors scare you?

Have you tried to stop in the past and been unable to?

Do you use the behaviors to help yourself feel good?

Do you use the behaviors to help yourself get to sleep?

Do you use the behaviors to deal with stress or anger?

Do you run away to the behaviors when you and your "significant other" argue?

Is the behavior interfering with your work?

Do the behaviors keep you from being involved in life?

Could the behavior cost you your marriage?

Could the behavior cost you access to your children?

If people at work or in your social circles found out, would they ostracize you? Would your reputation be damaged?

Could you be jailed or sent to prison for your involvement in those behaviors?

Have you risked your job for the sake of the behavior?

Is your self-esteem low (do you act in a way which causes others to think you have a poor self-image)?

Those are just a few example questions based on those five attributes of addiction. There are other questions for those for whom some other addictive behavior is their primary means of getting a fix

Could you get a disease from the behavior?
Could you die from the behavior?
Do you risk being beat up or murdered by participating in the behavior?

If you answered affirmatively to several of these questions, you should probably consider seeking help.

For other assessment guides, visit these links:

Have you seen any other assessment tests? Please let me know where I can find it. Thanks!