Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most financially challenged private high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only two years, she had already achieved a reputation as a person with a teaching methodology that inspired and encouraged her students to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Thursday morning at 8:00 she addressed the students in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next two weeks we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general standpoint and we are also going to learn about some of the most basic signs of alcoholism from a more specific viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt show that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent person, but the more signs that a person manifests, the stronger the probability that he or she is an alcohol dependent person.”
Miss Benning then explained to the the students that each person would be accountable for examining four alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her results to the class via a eight minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Enthused About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcoholism
After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for several days, the time had arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously obvious that the students in her class were keyed up about the subject because the information that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by the students in her class regarding this subject 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 alcoholism signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to study the list and rank the top six alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After approximately five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and explained to the pupils in her class that after she studies the numbers, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the pupils while they were exiting 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 outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Contrast Their Numbers With the Findings 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 students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then informed her pupils that the numbers in the second column she added signified the responses that were constructed by a team of chemical dependency experts.
Miss Benning told her pupils to go over the information on the sheet of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, concerns, or issues. Within 30 or 40 seconds, almost every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was noticeable that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. As an illustration, almost every pupil disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the experts, namely, “Do you feel very sick when you refrain from drinking?”
The Key Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency 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 straightforward indicator of alcohol dependency. She stressed the fact that the key difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Primarily this means that when an individual who is alcohol dependent abruptly stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deficiency of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated more forcefully, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling a person who is addicted to alcohol that something is dreadfully misaligned and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several painful, uncomfortable, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a fatality if the proper treatment is not immediately received.
Miss Benning then went over the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is alcohol dependent abruptly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to emphasize 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 symptom or sign that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning stressed the point that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Think They Have Found An Irregularity With the Findings From The Panel of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Experts
The pupils also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism experts, namely, “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 the pupils in her class that this sign does not inevitably suggest that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does underscore the need that alcohol addicted individuals have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol dependent person, the students started to understand the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the students in her class 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 alcoholism treatment?”
After roughly one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many students thought that roughly 85 to 95 percent of alcohol dependent individuals would obtain alcoholism rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils figured that this number would not be less than 55 percent.
The Pupils Were Amazed to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted People in the United States Get Alcohol Rehabilitation
To the surprise of most of the students, Miss Benning stated that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent individuals in the U.S. get alcohol treatment. This amazed most of the pupils because they thought that first-hand knowledge of the devastating statistics and facts associated with alcohol dependency would motivate the majority of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to ask for alcoholism treatment.
Miss Benning then explained that people who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Without a doubt, due to the fact that the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a challenging issue that is difficult to overcome.
The Occurrence of Alcohol Dependency and Mental Health Problems Frequently Leads to Relationship, Divorce, Marital, and Friendship Problems
Lastly, Miss Benning told pupils that it is important to comprehend that alcohol addiction and different mental health issues like depression are highly related. What is more, the incidence of mental health problems and alcohol addiction commonly lead to marital, friendship, relationship, and divorce problems.
The Pupils are Encouraged to Learn About Alcoholism Signs and Symptoms in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the buzz manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had motivated and inspired the students in her classroom to stop and think about a noteworthy health and social problem that exists in our country.