CAGE addiction questions

Description

'CAGE' is an acronym for a useful set of questions that can be used to help diagnose addiction.

	Key words	Alcoholism example question
C	Cut down	Have you ever felt you should cut down on drinking?
A	Annoyed	Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
G	Guilty	Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
E	Eye-opener	Have you ever had an 'eye-opener' -- a drink first thing in the morning to help you feel better?

Discussion

This is a simple set of questions that are easily answered. Apart perhaps from 'E', they are also transferable to other addictions beyond alcoholism. 'E' could be fitted to other additive situations where the addict indulges in something 'just to feel better'.

'C' indicates that the person wants to cut down or feels that they should, showing they know they are over-indulging.

'A' both indicates others have identified the problem and also picks up on denial, which is a common symptom.

'G' is also common, particularly when others are affected, financially, physically, emotionally or in some other way. Addicts feel guilty about this when they seem unable to control themselves.

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CAGE addiction questions

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