Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known private 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 teacher with teaching approaches that encouraged and stimulated the pupils in her class to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Thursday afternoon she addressed the students in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next few days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based standpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the best known signs of alcoholism from a less general and more explicit point of view."
"Not all of these alcoholism signs will undeniably confirm that someone with a drinking problem is a person who is alcohol dependent, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol dependent individual.”
Miss Benning then told the class members that each pupil would be held responsible for researching four alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other members in the class via a twenty-five minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Thrilled About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the various alcohol dependency signs for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantly clear to see that her pupils were wound up about the subject because the material that they presented was first-rate. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor exhibited by her pupils concerning 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 the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to go over the list and rank the top nine alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After roughly fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the students in her classroom that after she tallies the results, she will reveal 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 Compare Their Results With the Assessments From A Panel of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Authorities
When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top four alcoholism signs as per the pupils' rankings. Next to these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then explained to the pupils in her class that the numbers in the second column she added signified the findings that were given by a board of alcoholism authorities.
Miss Benning told the students in her classroom to look over the data on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost every student in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was evident that the students had some concerns, questions, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For instance, virtually every pupil had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, specifically, “Do you feel extremely nauseous when you quit drinking?”
The Main Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her classroom why this answer was the most unambiguous indicator of alcoholism. She stressed the fact that the main difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Primarily this means that when a person who is alcohol dependent abruptly 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 brain and by the body to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an individual who is addicted to alcohol that something is terribly out of kilter and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to a fatality if the proper treatment is not immediately obtained.
Miss Benning then listed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an individual who is alcohol dependent suddenly stops drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underscore was this: an individual 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, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To state this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the point that alcohol abusers, unlike people who are alcohol dependent, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Found A Discrepancy With the Findings From The Council of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Authorities
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol dependency authorities, namely, “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 class that this sign does not necessarily signify that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does underline the need that alcoholics have to drink in order to avert alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted person, the pupils started to grasp the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the students 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 alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would seek alcohol addiction rehab?”
After about one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils' predictions. While many students believed that around 85 to 95 percent of alcoholics would ask for alcoholism rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs, most of the pupils thought that this number would not be less than 55 percent.
The Students Were Shocked to Find Out That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Addiction Rehab
To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning declared that according to various scientific investigations, only 25% of the people who are alcohol dependent in the U.S. obtain alcohol dependency rehabilitation. This amazed most of the pupils because they believed that exposure to the shocking facts and statistics associated with alcohol addiction would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to ask for alcohol addiction treatment.
Miss Benning then explained that people who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also require alcohol everyday so they can prevent possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcohol addicted person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Indeed, because the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is difficult to counteract.
The Incidence of Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health Problems Often Leads to Problems in Loving Friendships and Relationships
Lastly, Miss Benning explained to the students in her class that it is relevant to understand that alcohol dependency and a variety of mental health difficulties such as depression are highly interlinked. Not only this but the combination of mental health difficulties and alcohol addiction commonly result in issues in loving relationships and friendships
The Pupils are Enthused to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Symptoms and Signs in Today's Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the enthusiasm exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had inspired and encouraged the pupils in her class to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our society.
Tags: alcoholism, Love, relationships, self improvement