The Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has created a series of self-change toolkits.

These toolkits are designed to do three things.

First, they will help people gain information about addiction-related problems.

Second, they will help people evaluate their own addiction-related behavior.

Third, they will help people develop change strategies, should they decide that change is the best course.

Because people struggling with one addictive substance or behavior often struggle with another, we have designed these self-change toolkits to complement each other and have structured them similarly so that they are easy to navigate.

Feel free to come back to this site as many times as you like.

Introduction

In societies worldwide, alcohol plays a major role in traditions, customs, celebrations, and religious ceremonies, and is regularly integrated into popular music and culture.

Though many individuals enjoy alcohol without problems, some struggle with the impact alcohol has on their lives.

If alcohol is affecting your life and you are thinking about change, you have already taken the first step.

This guide will help you understand alcohol, figure out if you need to modify your drinking, and decide how to deal with the actual process of change. If you are at all concerned about your alcohol use, this guide is for you.

Should you decide to change, this guide can help you begin your journey. You can use this guide in any way you feel most comfortable.

The guide will keep track of your answers during any single session and allow you to print your results whenever you wish during that session.

This website will keep no records of your session(s) and your identity will remain anonymous at all times. Your answers are stored only temporarily, and will be erased if you close or refresh your browser.

Therefore it will be in your best interest to allocate approximately 20 uninterrupted minutes to complete this toolkit. Again, your participation will remain anonymous and this website will collect no personal identifying information of any kind.

The first step of your journey is to figure out if you need or want to change. Try to answer the following questions:

1. Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?   Yes   No 
 
2. Have others annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?  Yes  No
 
3. Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?   Yes  No
 
4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning (eye-opener)
to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?1  Yes   No

If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these questions, then you may want to consider looking more closely at your drinking.

Many people are not aware of all the ways that alcohol can affect their lives. The following information and exercises will help you to identify difficulties you might be facing.

Your responses to these questions might alert you to problems that you have not thought about before.

Continued: Your First Step To Change: Drinking