Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most underfinanced parochial high school in the state. Even though she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already achieved a reputation as a person with educational techniques that inspired and encouraged pupils to think and to learn.
For instance, one Thursday morning at 10:30 she addressed her pupils and stated the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably prove that someone with a drinking problem is an individual who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a drinker displays, the greater the likelihood that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”
Miss Benning then told the class members that each student would be accountable for researching four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her results to the class via a twenty-five minute oral presentation.
The Students are Wound Up About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Students About Alcohol Dependency Signs
After learning about the different signs of alcoholism for several days, the time had finally arrived for the individual presentations. It was immediately noticeable that the students in her class were keyed up about the topic because the material that they presented was outstanding. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor exhibited by her students concerning this subject matter could not be overstated.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet 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 pupils in her classroom to study the list and rank the top ten alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After approximately five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and explained to the students in her class that after she analyzes the results, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the pupils while they were exiting 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 results of their in-class research.
The Students Compare Their Results With the Findings From A Panel of Alcoholism Specialists
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top four alcohol addiction signs as per the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then informed the pupils in her classroom that the numbers in the second column she added represented the findings that were given by a council of substance abuse authorities.
Miss Benning told her students to look over the information on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 20 or 30 seconds, just about every student in the class raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the pupils had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, virtually every student disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel exceedingly ill when you quit drinking?”
The Most Important Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to her students why this answer was the most straightforward indicator of alcohol addiction. She stressed the fact that the most important difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
In effect this means that when a person who is alcohol dependent suddenly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed the students in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficiency 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 addicted individual that something is extremely out of kilter and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in someone’s death if the appropriate therapy is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then listed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol addicted person suddenly quits drinking.
The fact 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 dependency 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 exactly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted people, are not alcohol dependent and accordingly, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Discovered A Variance With the Findings From The Team of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialists
The pupils also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol dependency specialists, to be precise, “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 informed her pupils that this sign does not automatically indicate that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does highlight the need that alcoholics have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the students started to recognize the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual 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 seek alcohol dependency treatment?”
After approximately three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many students reasoned that roughly 85 to 95 percent of alcoholics would ask for alcohol dependency rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils reasoned that this number would not be less than 55 percent.
The Pupils Were Shocked to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted Individuals in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Dependency Treatment
To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning mentioned that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent people in the United States ask for alcoholism treatment. This shocked most of the pupils because they thought that first hand experience of the deplorable statistics and facts correlated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted individuals to seek alcoholism rehabilitation.
Miss Benning then stated that people who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can avert possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Obviously, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. To be sure, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is a challenging issue that is hard to reverse.
The Incidence of Alcoholism and Mental Health Difficulties Often Leads to Friendship, Relationship, Marital, and Divorce Problems
Finally, Miss Benning told her pupils that it is important to understand that alcohol addiction and a variety of mental health predicaments such as depression are highly correlated. Furthermore, the combination of alcohol addiction and mental health issues often lead to friendship, relationship, divorce, and marital problems.
The Pupils are Inspired 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 enthusiasm displayed by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning realized that she had inspired and encouraged her students to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our society. It was clear to see that her students also learned how to enhance their personal happiness and success, self esteem, and positive attitude.
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