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Private self-check

Worried About a Loved One's Substance Use? A Caring, Private Self-Check for BC Families

If you searched for words like "addict," it's because you love someone and you're frightened for them — and that fear is valid. We want to gently set that word aside for a moment, because no checklist can label a person, and the human you care about is so much more than any struggle. This short, private reflection is simply a way to organize what you've been noticing about a loved one who may be struggling with substance use, so you can have a clearer, calmer conversation about getting them support. There are no right or wrong answers, nothing is shared with anyone, and you can stop at any time. Whatever you discover here, please know two things: change is genuinely possible, and you do not have to carry this alone.

This is NOT a diagnosis, a medical assessment, or a clinical screening tool. It cannot and does not tell you whether your loved one "has an addiction" or is "an addict" — only a qualified health professional can explore that, and only with the person themselves. The questions below are about changes you may have observed, drawn loosely from concepts used in professional care, but reframed as everyday concerns. Your score is meant only to help you reflect and to encourage a conversation with a qualified professional — never to deliver a verdict about another person.
1. Have you noticed your loved one needing more of a substance (alcohol, cannabis, prescription medication, or other drugs) than before to feel its effects, or seeming less affected by amounts that once would have been a lot for them?
2. Have you seen signs that your loved one feels unwell, irritable, shaky, anxious, or 'not themselves' when they haven't used a substance for a while, and that this eases once they do?
3. Have you noticed your loved one being secretive about their substance use — hiding bottles, pills, or paraphernalia; being vague about where they've been; or becoming defensive when the subject of drinking or drug use comes up?
4. Have responsibilities your loved one once kept up with — work or school, family commitments, paying bills, household tasks, or caring for children or pets — started to slip in ways that seem connected to their substance use?
5. Have you noticed your loved one pulling away from family, friends, or activities they used to enjoy, seeming to prefer time or company that centres on using substances?
6. Have you seen physical changes that worry you — significant shifts in weight, sleep, or energy; bloodshot eyes; unsteadiness; neglected appearance or hygiene; or unexplained marks or injuries?
7. Have you noticed sharper or more frequent mood swings — irritability, anxiety, sadness, or sudden anger — that seem to rise and fall around your loved one's substance use?
8. Has your loved one continued using a substance even after it appeared to cause real problems for them — health scares, conflict with people close to them, money trouble, or difficulty at work or school?
9. Have you noticed signs of strain connected to substances — money disappearing or being borrowed unexpectedly, valuables going missing, legal trouble, or risky situations like driving after using?
10. Has your loved one mentioned wanting to cut down or stop, or made attempts to — yet found themselves returning to the same level of use, in a way that seems to weigh on them?

Your answers stay on this page — nothing is sent or saved unless you choose to reach out.

Some imagery and copy on this site were generated with AI and reviewed by a human.

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