ADDICTION COMMON DIAGNOSES According to the AMA and APA, Addiction to Alcohol and Other Drugs is a disease. This has been so since 1956 (AMA) and 1960 (APA). It quelifies as a disease because it meets the following criteria: 1. Primary: The illness exists in and of itself. (Addiction is secondary only to addiction but may manifest in addition to other illnesses.) 2. Chronic: Does not go away, fix itself, or spontaneously remit. 3. Progressive: worsens over time. 4. Symptomatic: Can be diagnosed through careful attention to the ways it manifests in a person's behavior and lifestyle. 5. Fatal: If left untreated. 6. Treatable: That is what this service is about. Additional questions.... 1. Are you afraid that if you ask for help you will lose your job or license? 2. So you work long hours at your office or clinic pharmacy or hospital setting? Is this your source of Pharmaceuticals? 3. Do you drink when you don't have your drug of choice? 4. Is your family expressing concern about your atttitude, isolation, driven behavior in other areas? 5. Have you had an experience of not remembering what you have said or done or even that you were present in a given situation? 6. Have you thought about killing yourself? 7. Are you an adult child of an alcoholic parent? 8. Do you find yourself looking for justification of your use? 9. Do you make decisions about where you live, who you live/associate with, what work you do, based on your continued ability to drink/use? If so there is a problem. THUMBNAIL SKETCH: ASKING THESE QUESTIONS OFTEN PROVIDES AN ANSWER. 1. When you drink or use a mood-altering chemical, can you predict what your feelings, mood, or behavior will be? 2. Do you experience negative results from your use and do it anyways? 3. Have you ever attempted to control your use? Were you successful? |