Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most underfinanced parochial high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only two or three years, she had already gained a reputation as an instructor with teaching approaches that inspired and motivated her pupils to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Thursday afternoon she addressed her students and said the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging viewpoint and we are also going to learn about some of the most basic signs of alcoholism from a more detailed point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will undeniably reveal that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent individual, but the more signs that a person displays, the greater the probability that he or she is an individual who is addicted to alcohol.”
Miss Benning then explained to the members of the class that each student would be held responsible for examining four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other class members via a seven minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving An In-Depth Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About Alcoholism Signs
After learning about the various signs of alcoholism for a number of days, the time had come for the oral presentations. It was instantly apparent that the students in her class were wound up about the subject because the material that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor exhibited by the pupils in her class concerning this topic 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 presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked her students to study the list and rank the top seven alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After about five minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and informed the students in her classroom that after she tallies the numbers, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the pupils while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. 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 Pupils Match Their Numbers Against the Assessments From A Board of Alcoholism Specialists
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top four alcoholism signs as per the pupils’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then informed her students that the numbers in the additional column she added represented the answers that were stated by a council of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning asked her pupils to look over the information she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 10 or 20 seconds, almost everyone in the class raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the pupils had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For example, virtually every person in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, specifically, “Do you feel very nauseous when you refrain from drinking?”
The Main Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to her pupils why this answer was the most unambiguous indicator of alcohol dependency. She emphasized the fact that the foremost difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
In essence this means that when an alcohol addicted person all of a sudden stops drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcoholic that something is dreadfully wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly lead to a fatality if the appropriate treatment is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then listed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol addicted individual suddenly quits drinking.
The point 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 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 plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted individuals, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Think They Have Found A Variance With the Findings From The Board of Alcohol Addiction Specialists
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency experts, specifically, “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 the pupils in her classroom that this sign does not automatically indicate that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does emphasize the need that people who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted individual, the pupils started to recognize the main difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would obtain alcohol addiction rehab?”
After roughly four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many students thought that approximately 70 to 80 percent of individuals who are addicted to alcohol would get alcohol addiction rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the pupils figured that this number would not be less than 65 percent.
The Students Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of Alcoholics in the U.S. Get Alcohol Addiction Treatment
To the shock of most of the students, Miss Benning confirmed that according to the research literature, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. obtain alcohol addiction rehab. This amazed most of the pupils because they believed that first hand experience of the dreadful facts and statistics associated with alcohol dependency would motivate the majority of the alcohol dependent individuals to ask for alcohol addiction rehab.
Miss Benning then explained that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also require alcohol everyday so they can avoid possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. In actual fact, because the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is hard to overcome.
The Occurrence of Mental Health Issues and Alcohol Addiction Frequently Results in Marital, Divorce, Relationship, and Friendship Problems
Lastly, Miss Benning explained to the pupils in her class that it is important to conceptualize that alcohol addiction and different mental health issues such as depression are highly associated. What is more, the combination of alcohol dependency and mental health problems frequently result in relationship, friendship, divorce, and marital problems.
The Students are Inspired to Learn About Alcohol Dependency 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 room, Miss Benning recognized that she had stimulated and inspired her students to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our society.
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