Miss Benning was a health teacher at the best known parochial high school in the state. Although she had been teaching for only three years, she had already acquired a reputation as a teacher with instructional techniques that inspired and motivated the pupils in her class to learn and to think.
For instance, one Tuesday morning at 10:00 she addressed the students in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next few 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 a number of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a more specific point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will beyond doubt show that someone with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a person displays, the greater the possibility that he or she is an alcohol addicted individual.”
Miss Benning then told the class members that each person would be responsible for examining three alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her results to the other members in the class via a twenty minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Excited About Giving A Broad-Based Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About Alcoholism Signs
After learning about the different alcohol addiction signs for quite a few days, the time had finally arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantly clear to see that the students in her class were thrilled about the subject matter because the material that they presented was outstanding. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm exhibited by the students in her class regarding this subject matter was an understatement.
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 dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top five alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After approximately five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed her students that after she examines the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the students while they were walking out of Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.
The Pupils Contrast Their Results With the Assessments From A Group of Alcohol Dependency Specialists
When the next school day came, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top five alcohol dependency signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then told her students that the numbers in the new column she added signified the answers that were constructed by a team of alcoholism professionals.
Miss Benning asked her students to look 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 a minute or two, virtually every student in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was clear to see that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, virtually every individual in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the experts, that is, “Do you feel extremely nauseous when you stop drinking?”
The Basic Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to her students why this answer was the most accurate indicator of alcohol dependency. She underlined the fact that the essential difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
In essence this means that when an alcohol dependent person abruptly stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to the students in her classroom 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 differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent person that something is exceedingly wrong and needs to be rectified. These signals consist of a number of uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a fatality 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 stops drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to underscore 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, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as precisely 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 experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Found A Contradiction With the Findings From The Board of Alcoholism Professionals
The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism specialists, 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 informed her pupils that this sign does not necessarily imply that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does point to the need that alcohol addicted people have to drink in order to steer clear of alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to grasp the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
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 person who is addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would obtain alcoholism rehabilitation?”
After roughly five or six minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ predictions. While many students believed that approximately 70 to 80 percent of alcohol addicted people would obtain alcohol rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs, most of the students figured that this number would not be less than 65 percent.
The Students Were Surprised to Discover That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the U.S. Get Alcohol Rehab
To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcoholics in the United States obtain alcoholism treatment. This astonished most of the pupils because they believed that first hand experience of the awful facts and statistics associated with alcoholism would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to ask for alcohol rehabilitation.
Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can prevent possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Undeniably, because the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent individual, this is a thorny issue that is hard to change.
The Occurrence of Mental Health Difficulties and Alcohol Dependency Commonly Results in Commitment and Communication Issues in Friendships and Relationships
Finally, Miss Benning told students that it is relevant to comprehend that alcohol dependency and various mental health issues like depression are highly interlinked. Additionally, the incidence of mental health difficulties and alcohol dependency regularly lead to commitment and communication difficulties in relationships and friendships.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcoholism Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the excitement displayed by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had encouraged and inspired the students in her classroom to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our society.