Miss Benning was a health teacher at the largest co-ed high school in the county. Although she had been teaching for only four years, she had already established a reputation as an educator with instructional approaches that inspired and encouraged the pupils in her class to think and to learn.
For example, one Tuesday morning at 11:30 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next three or four days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general point of view and we are also going to learn about several of the best known signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt prove that someone with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the stronger the possibility that he or she is an alcoholic.”
Miss Benning then told the class members that each pupil would be held responsible for investigating four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the rest of the class via a seven minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Energized About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Addiction Signs
After learning about the diverse alcoholism signs for several days, the time had finally come for the individual presentations. It was at once clear to see that the students were enthused about the subject because the material that they presented was first-rate. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm exhibited by the students in her classroom regarding this subject was an understatement.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcoholism signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked her pupils to go over the list and rank the top nine alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After roughly twenty minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed her pupils that after she assesses the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the students while they were walking out of Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her pupils couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.
The Students Compare Their Numbers With the Findings From A Board of Alcohol Addiction Authorities
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs as per the students’ rankings. Next to these results, she added another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then informed her pupils that the numbers in the extra column she added were the findings that were put together by a team of drug and alcohol addiction specialists.
Miss Benning asked the students in her class to look over the data on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 20 or 30 seconds, just about every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the students had some concerns, issues, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For example, almost every person in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel exceedingly nauseous when you quit drinking?”
The Central Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her classroom why this answer was the most straightforward indicator of alcohol addiction. She pointed out that the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Primarily this means that when an alcohol addicted individual abruptly quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to her pupils that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is dreadfully misaligned and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a loss of life if the appropriate treatment is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then discussed the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol dependent person abruptly quits drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to emphasize was this: a person who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol addiction signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as clearly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Believe They Have Discovered An Indiscretion With the Findings From The Team of Chemical Dependency Specialists
The pupils also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism professionals, to be exact, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?”
Miss Benning told the pupils in her class that this sign does not inevitably signify that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underscore the need that alcoholics have to drink in order to avert alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted individual, the pupils started to comprehend the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her class to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would obtain alcoholism rehabilitation?”
After approximately five or six minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many pupils believed that around 80 to 90 percent of individuals who are addicted to alcohol would seek alcohol addiction rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Pupils Were Astonished to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent People in the U.S. Get Alcohol Treatment
To the shock of most of the students, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the alcoholics in the U.S. obtain alcoholism rehab. This astonished most of the students because they believed that first hand experience of the gruesome statistics and facts related to alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol addicted individuals to seek alcoholism rehab.
Miss Benning then explained that individuals who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also require alcohol everyday so they can avert possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Undeniably, because the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a challenging issue that is hard to counteract.
The Occurrence of Mental Health Problems and Alcoholism Often Results in Marital, Divorce, Friendship, and Relationship Problems
Finally, Miss Benning told the pupils in her class that it is important to realize that alcohol dependency and different mental health problems such as depression are highly related. Additionally, the occurrence of alcohol dependency and mental health problems commonly result in relationship, friendship, divorce, and marital problems.
The Pupils are Excited to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the buzz manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning recognized that she had inspired and encouraged her pupils to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our society.
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