One of the first things I had to do was to get honest about my drinking. When doing an honest self assessment about your drinking, consider using the “C.A.G.E.” assessment. C: Have you ever felt you needed to cut down on your drinking? A: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? G: Have you ever felt guilty about drinking? E: Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (eye opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you probably need to seek help. Other signs of alcohol addiction include the inability to control how much you drink, withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness or anxiety if you stop drinking, sleep disruptions and physical symptoms such as fluid buildup, poor wound healing and gastrointestinal bleeding. The sooner you seek treatment, the better.
These are some other tests for the detection of alcohol dependence:
http://www.moderation.org/Questionnaire.shtml
http://www.ncadd-sfv.org/symptoms/mast_test.html
http://www.testandcalc.com/etc/tests/audit.asp
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/tests/a/tests.htm