The first--and often the toughest--step in beating alcoholism is admitting the existence of a problem.

To test whether alcohol is a problem for you, answer "YES" or "NO" to this series of questions.

1.Do you occasionally drink heavily after a disappointment, quarrel or rough day?

YES NO

2.When under pressure, do you always drink more heavily than usual?

YES NO

3.Can you handle more liquor now than when you first started drinking?

YES NO

4.On the "morning after," have you been unable to remember part of the evening before--even though friends say you didn't pass out?

YES NO

5.When drinking with others, do you try to have a few extra drinks when they won't know it?

YES NO

6.Are there certain occasions when you feel uncomfortable if alcohol is not available?

YES NO

7.When you start drinking, are you in more of a hurry to get the first drink than you used to be?

YES NO

8.Do you sometimes feel a little guilty about your drinking?

YES NO

9.Are you secretly irritated when friends or family discuss your drinking?

YES NO

10.Have you experienced memory blackouts more frequently?

YES NO

11.Do you often want to drink more after friends have had enough?

YES NO

12.Do you usually have a reason for occasions when you drink heavily?

YES NO

13.When sober, do you often regret things you've done or said while drinking?

YES NO

14.Have you tried to control your drinking by switching Brands or following different plans?

YES NO

15.Have you often failed to keep promises about controlling your drinking?

YES NO

16.Have you tried to control your drinking by changing jobs or moving?

YES NO

17.Do you try to avoid family or friends while drinking?

YES NO

18.Are you having an increasing number of financial and work problems?

YES NO

19.Do more people seem to be treating you unfairly without reason?

YES NO

20.Do you eat very little or irregularly when drinking?

YES NO

21.Do you sometimes have the morning "shakes" and relieve them with a drink?

YES NO

22.Are you unable to drink as much as you once did?

YES NO

23.Do you sometimes stay drunk for several days at a time?

YES NO

24.Do you sometimes feel very depressed and wonder whether life is worth living?

YES NO

25.After drinking, do you ever see or hear things that aren't there?

YES NO

26.Do you get terribly frightened after drinking heavily?

YES NO

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you have some symptoms that may indicate alcoholism.

"Yes" answers to three or more questions in various categories indicate the following stages of alcoholism:

Questions 1 to 8: Early stage.

Questions 9 to 21: Middle stage.

Questions 22 to 26: Beginning of Final stage.