Miss Benning was a health instructor at the largest private high school in the local community. Although she had been teaching for only three years, she had already established a reputation as an instructor with instructional approaches that stimulated and encouraged the students in her class to learn and to think.
As an illustration, one Monday morning she addressed the pupils in her class and announced the following: “For the next four or five days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general standpoint and we are also going to learn about several of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a more detailed point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt establish that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted individual, but the more signs that an individual manifests, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”
Miss Benning then told the members of the class that each person would be accountable for studying four alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other members in the class via a eight minute oral presentation.
The Students are Energized About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the various signs of alcohol dependency for quite a few days, the time had finally come for the oral presentations. It was immediately evident that her pupils were thrilled about the subject matter because the information that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest manifested by her students concerning this topic 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 class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top ten alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After approximately ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and informed the pupils in her classroom that after she tallies the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the pupils while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her pupils couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the results of their in-class research.
The Students Compare Their Answers With the Findings From A Panel of Chemical Dependency Authorities
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning gave out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then informed the pupils in her class that the numbers in the additional column she added signified the findings that were articulated by a council of alcohol dependency specialists.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her class to look over the information on the piece of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, just about every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the students had some concerns, issues, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For example, just about every individual in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel exceptionally sick when you stop drinking?”
The Chief Difference Between Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then informed her students why this answer was the most unambiguous sign of alcohol dependency. She emphasized the fact that the most important difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
Fundamentally this means that when an alcohol addicted person suddenly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed the students in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the lack of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling a person who is alcohol dependent that something is very misaligned and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a loss of life if the proper therapy is not immediately obtained.
Miss Benning then went over the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is addicted to alcohol abruptly stops drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to underscore was this: a person who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism 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 plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are alcohol dependent, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Feel They Have Discovered An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Group of Alcoholism Specialists
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the substance abuse professionals, that is to say, “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 told her pupils that this sign does not inevitably denote that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does emphasize the need that individuals who are addicted to alcohol have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is addicted to alcohol, the students started to recognize the main difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol rehabilitation?”
After roughly two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many pupils reasoned that approximately 75 to 85 percent of people who are addicted to alcohol would seek alcohol dependency rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils reasoned that this number would not be less than 65 percent.
The Students Were Astonished to Discover That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the United States Obtain Alcohol Treatment
To the astonishment of most of the pupils, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to various scientific investigations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent people in the U.S. obtain alcohol dependency rehab. This surprised most of the pupils because they reasoned that exposure to the dreadful statistics and facts associated with alcohol dependency would motivate the majority of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to seek alcohol treatment.
Miss Benning then explained that alcohol dependent people not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Obviously, the alcohol addicted person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Indeed, because the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is very hard to undo.
The Combination of Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health Issues Commonly Leads to Relationship, Divorce, Marital, and Friendship Problems
Lastly, Miss Benning explained to her students that it is relevant to conceptualize that alcohol dependency and different mental health difficulties such as depression are highly associated. In addition, the occurrence of mental health difficulties and alcoholism frequently result in marital, relationship, divorce, and friendship problems.
The Pupils are Motivated to Learn About Alcoholism Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the enthusiasm manifested by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had stimulated and encouraged the students in her classroom to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our society.
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