Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most underfinanced co-educational high school in the district. Although she had been teaching for only five years, she had already achieved a reputation as an instructor with instructional techniques that inspired and motivated her pupils to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Wednesday morning at 11:00 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next three or four days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most common signs of alcoholism from a more specific viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably reveal that an individual with a drinking problem is a person who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a person displays, the stronger the possibility that he or she is a person who is addicted to alcohol.”
Miss Benning then told the members in the class that each pupil would be responsible for examining three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the class via a twenty minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Excited About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcoholism
After learning about the diverse alcoholism signs for a number of days, the time had arrived for the student presentations. It was instantly apparent that the students were thrilled about the subject matter because the information that they presented was first class. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by her pupils concerning this subject could not be overstated.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcohol dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top eight alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After roughly fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the students in her classroom that after she goes over the numbers, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Contrast Their Answers With the Evaluations From A Board of Alcoholism Specialists
When the next school day came, Miss Benning gave out a sheet of paper that listed the top four alcohol dependency signs according to the students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then explained to the students in her classroom that the numbers in the new column she added were the conclusions that were generated by a team of drug and alcohol addiction professionals.
Miss Benning told her pupils to look over the numbers and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, issues, or questions. Within 30 or 40 seconds, just about every pupil in the class raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the pupils had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. As an illustration, almost every person in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is to say, “Do you feel really sick when you stop drinking?”
The Central Difference Between Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the pupils in her class why this answer was the most unambiguous indicator of alcohol dependency. She underscored the fact that the chief difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Basically this means that when an alcohol dependent person abruptly quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the lack of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is extremely incorrect and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of painful, uncomfortable, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in an individual’s death if the proper treatment is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then went over the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcoholic abruptly quits drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: an alcohol abuser can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and accordingly, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Feel They Have Discovered A Variance With the Findings From The Panel of Substance Abuse Authorities
The students also had an issue 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 get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”
Miss Benning explained to her pupils that this sign does not inevitably mean that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does stress the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to grasp the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcohol addiction treatment?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many students figured that about 70 to 80 percent of alcohol dependent people would get alcoholism rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils thought that this number would not be less than 65 percent.
The Pupils Were Shocked to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcoholics in the U.S. Get Alcohol Dependency Rehabilitation
To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol addicted individuals in the United States obtain alcohol addiction rehabilitation. This surprised most of the pupils because they believed that first hand experience of the abysmal facts and statistics correlated with alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol addicted individuals to obtain alcohol addiction treatment.
Miss Benning then explained that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. Undeniably, since the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is a demanding issue that is difficult to overcome.
The Incidence of Alcoholism and Mental Health Difficulties Regularly Results in Relationship, Marital, Friendship, and Divorce Problems
Finally, Miss Benning told pupils that it is relevant to conceptualize that alcohol dependency and a range of mental health difficulties such as depression are highly associated. Additionally, the incidence of mental health issues and alcohol addiction regularly lead to marital, divorce, relationship, and friendship problems.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Signs and Symptoms in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating that the end of class had arrived. Based on the excitement manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had inspired and encouraged the pupils in her class to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our country.