Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most underfinanced parochial high school in the state. Although she had been teaching for only three years, she had already obtained a reputation as an educator with instructional methods that stimulated and motivated the pupils in her class to learn and to think.
As an illustration, one Friday morning at 8:00 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wind-ranging perspective and we are also going to learn about several of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will undeniably establish that an individual with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted individual, but the more signs that an individual manifests, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”
Miss Benning then told the class that each student would be accountable for examining four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the other members in the class via a fifteen minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Thrilled About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantaneously clear to see that her pupils were enthused about the topic because the information that they presented was first-rate. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by the students in her classroom regarding this topic was an understatement.
The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were discussed and presented in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top six alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After roughly five minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the students in her classroom that after she reviews the results, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz 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 come so that they could find out the outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Contrast Their Numbers With the Assessments From A Council of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialists
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top five alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then told the students in her class that the numbers in the new column she added signified the responses that were generated by a board of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her classroom to go over the information on the piece of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within 20 or 30 seconds, virtually every pupil in the classroom 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 experts. For instance, just about every student disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, that is, “Do you feel extremely ill when you quit drinking?”
The Foremost Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class why this answer was the most clear-cut sign of alcohol addiction. She pointed out the fact that the principal difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
In essence this means that when an individual who is alcohol dependent all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told the students in her class 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 more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling a person who is addicted to alcohol that something is exceedingly wrong and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several painful, uncomfortable, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a person’s death if the appropriate therapy is not immediately undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol addicted individual suddenly stops drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline was this: an individual 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 state this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning pointed out that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent people, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Discovered An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Panel of Alcoholism Professionals
The students also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol abuse experts, specifically, “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 informed her students that this sign does not inevitably imply that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does stress the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to stay away from alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcoholic, the pupils started to grasp the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcoholism treatment?”
After roughly one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many students thought that roughly 85 to 95 percent of people who are alcohol dependent would obtain alcohol rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 60 percent.
The Pupils Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the U.S. Get Alcohol Addiction Rehabilitation
To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the individuals who are alcohol dependent in the United States ask for alcohol addiction rehab. This astonished most of the students because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the disgusting statistics and facts linked to alcoholism would motivate most of the alcohol dependent people to seek alcohol addiction rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on a daily basis so they can avoid possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Undeniably, due to the fact that the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the individual who is alcohol dependent, this is a demanding issue that is difficult to counteract.
The Combination of Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health Issues Often Results in Communication and Commitment Problems in Relationships and Friendships
Lastly, Miss Benning told the students in her class that it is important to comprehend that alcohol addiction and diverse mental health difficulties like depression are highly interlinked. What is more, the occurrence of alcohol dependency and mental health difficulties frequently lead to communication and commitment difficulties in relationships and friendships, both inside and without the family.
The Pupils are Excited to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the excitement manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning realized that she had stimulated and motivated the pupils in her class to stop and think about a critical health and social problem that exists in our country.