Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most underfinanced co-ed high school in the local community. Although she had been teaching for only a few years, she had already obtained a reputation as an educator with instructional approaches that motivated and inspired the students in her class to think and to learn.

For instance, one Thursday afternoon at 1:00 she addressed her students and stated the following: “For the next few 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 most familiar signs of alcoholism from a more detailed standpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will beyond doubt prove that someone with a drinking problem is an individual who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that an individual displays, the greater the possibility that he or she is an alcohol addicted individual.”

Miss Benning then told the class members that each pupil would be held responsible for examining three alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her results to the rest of the class via a twenty minute oral presentation.

The Students are Thrilled About Giving An Extensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Addiction Signs

After learning about the diverse alcoholism signs for a number of days, the time had arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantly obvious that the students in her class were excited about the subject matter because the information that they presented was outstanding. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement exhibited by her pupils concerning this subject could not be overstated.

The day after all of the pupils 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 the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top seven alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After approximately twenty minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the students in her classroom that after she studies the results, she will present her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement by the pupils while they were leaving Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students 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 Assessments From A Group of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialists

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the students’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then explained to her pupils that the numbers in the second column she added stood for the responses that were stated by a group of drug and alcohol addiction experts.

Miss Benning asked the students in her class to look over the information on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, issues, or questions. Within 40 or 50 seconds, just about everyone in the class raised her or his hand. It was evident that the students had some concerns, issues, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For example, virtually every individual in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, that is to say, “Do you feel exceedingly ill when you abstain from drinking?”

The Most Important Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse

Miss Benning then told her students why this answer was the most correct indicator of alcohol dependency. She highlighted the fact that the chief difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.

Fundamentally this means that when an alcoholic abruptly quits drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is extremely wrong and needs to be rectified. These messages consist of a number of uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a person’s death if the proper therapy is not immediately obtained.

Miss Benning then went over the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol addicted person abruptly quits drinking.

The point that Miss Benning tried to underline 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, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To explain this as clearly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent people, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Think They Have Discovered A Dissimilarity With the Findings From The Board of Alcohol Addiction Specialists

The students also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the substance abuse authorities, that is, “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 students that this sign does not inevitably mean that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does emphasize the need that alcohol addicted individuals 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 students started to comprehend the major difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her class 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 alcoholism signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would seek alcoholism treatment?”

After about two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many students reasoned that approximately 85 to 95 percent of alcohol dependent people would get alcohol dependency rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 65 percent.

The Pupils Were Astonished to Discover That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the U.S. Get Alcoholism Treatment

To the amazement of most of the pupils, Miss Benning mentioned that according to the research literature, only 25% of the individuals who are alcohol dependent in the U.S. obtain alcohol addiction treatment. This shocked most of the pupils because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the overwhelming facts and statistics correlated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcoholics to ask for alcohol treatment.

Miss Benning then explained that people who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. To be sure, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to counteract.

The Incidence of Mental Health Problems and Alcohol Dependency Frequently Results in Relationship, Divorce, Marital, and Friendship Problems

Finally, Miss Benning told the students in her class that it is important to understand that alcohol dependency and various mental health difficulties like depression are highly interlinked. Not only this but the combination of mental health difficulties and alcohol dependency commonly lead to marital, friendship, divorce, and relationship problems.

The Pupils are Inspired to Learn About Alcohol Dependency 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 buzz exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had motivated and encouraged the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a critical health and social problem that exists in our culture.

Technorati Tags: , , ,