Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known private high school in the district. Although she had been teaching for only two years, she had already gained a reputation as a person with instructional approaches that inspired and stimulated students to think and to learn.
For example, one Thursday morning at 9:30 she addressed her pupils and articulated the following: “For the next few days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging standpoint and we are also going to learn about some of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a more specific viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably reveal that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent individual, but the more signs that an individual displays, the higher the probability that he or she is a person who is addicted to alcohol.”
Miss Benning then informed the the pupils that each student would be accountable for examining three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her results to the other class members via a thirty minute oral presentation.
The Students are Thrilled About Giving An In-Depth Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for several days, the time had finally come for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously noticeable that the pupils were enthused about the topic because the information that they presented was first class. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the eagerness exhibited by her students concerning this subject was an understatement.
The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her classroom to study the list and rank the top six alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After approximately five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and explained to the pupils in her classroom that after she goes over the results, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the pupils while they were leaving Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her pupils couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Match Their Results Against the Appraisals From A Group of Substance Abuse Professionals
When the next school day came, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the pupils’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then told the pupils in her class that the numbers in the second column she added were the findings that were stated publicly by a panel of chemical dependency authorities.
Miss Benning told the students in her classroom to look over the data on the sheet of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 10 or 20 seconds, virtually every pupil in the class raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For example, almost every pupil had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel extremely nauseous when you refrain from drinking?”
The Most Important Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the pupils in her classroom why this answer was the most correct sign of alcoholism. She emphasized the fact that the foremost difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
For all intents and purposes this means that when an individual who is addicted to alcohol all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is terribly incorrect and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly lead to a person’s death if the proper treatment is not immediately undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when a person who is addicted to alcohol abruptly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: an alcohol abuser can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol addiction signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted people, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Feel They Have Discovered An Irregularity With the Findings From The Team of Alcohol Dependency Authorities
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency 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 explained to the pupils in her class that this sign does not inevitably denote that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does stress the need that individuals who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol dependent person, the students started to recognize the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked her pupils to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcohol dependency rehabilitation?”
After approximately two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many pupils thought that around 80 to 90 percent of individuals who are addicted to alcohol would get alcohol addiction rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the students believed that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Pupils Were Astonished to Discover That Only 25% of People Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the United States Seek Alcoholism Rehab
To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the individuals who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. obtain alcohol addiction treatment. This amazed most of the students because they figured that first-hand knowledge of the shocking facts and statistics linked to alcoholism would motivate most of the alcohol dependent people to get alcohol dependency rehab.
Miss Benning then explained that alcohol addicted people not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can avoid possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol addicted person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Undeniably, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to overcome.
The Occurrence of Mental Health Issues and Alcohol Addiction Frequently Results in Friendship, Divorce, Relationship, and Marital Problems
Lastly, Miss Benning told her students that it is relevant to understand that alcohol dependency and different mental health predicaments like depression are highly related. In addition, the incidence of alcohol addiction and mental health problems often result in relationship, friendship, divorce, and marital problems.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Signs and Symptoms in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the excitement displayed by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning realized that she had inspired and stimulated her students to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our society.