Miss Benning was a health teacher at the best known private high school in the district. Even though she had been teaching for only three years, she had already acquired a reputation as an educator with a teaching methodology that stimulated and motivated the pupils in her class to learn and to think.
As an illustration, one Thursday morning at 10:00 she addressed the pupils in her class and articulated the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging standpoint and we are also going to learn about several of the most common signs of alcoholism from a more detailed viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will positively prove that an individual with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the greater the probability that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”
Miss Benning then informed the students in the class that each pupil would be responsible for studying three 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 Keyed Up About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had finally arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantly clear to see that the students in her class were keyed up about the subject because the information that they presented was first class. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor exhibited by her students regarding this subject could not be overstated.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcohol dependency signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked her pupils to go over the list and rank the top six alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After approximately five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the pupils in her class that after she reviews the results, she will reveal her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the pupils while they were leaving Miss Benning’s class. 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 Match Their Results Against the Assessments From A Board of Alcoholism Authorities
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcoholism signs according to the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then explained to the pupils in her class that the numbers in the additional column she added represented the conclusions that were put together by a board of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning told her students to go over the data on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, concerns, or issues. Within 10 or 20 seconds, just about everyone in the class raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the students had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. As an illustration, almost every individual in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, specifically, “Do you feel very nauseous when you stop drinking?”
The Primary Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the students in her class why this answer was the most accurate indicator of alcohol addiction. She pointed out the fact that the principal difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
Essentially this means that when an alcohol addicted person suddenly stops drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed her students that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol dependent person that something is extremely misaligned and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of dangerous, painful, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a fatality if the proper therapy is not immediately undertaken.
Miss Benning then discussed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when a person who is addicted to alcohol abruptly stops drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse 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, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Believe They Have Uncovered An Irregularity With the Findings From The Group of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialists
The students 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 the pupils in her class that this sign does not necessarily mean that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does emphasize the need that alcohol addicted individuals have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the students started to understand the primary difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol dependency treatment?”
After approximately three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many pupils thought that about 70 to 80 percent of individuals who are addicted to alcohol would get alcohol rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils believed that this number would not be less than 70 percent.
The Pupils Were Shocked to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent People in the United States Ask For Alcoholism Rehab
To the amazement of most of the pupils, Miss Benning mentioned that according to various scientific studies, only 25% of the alcohol dependent individuals in the United States get alcoholism rehab. This amazed most of the students because they believed that first-hand knowledge of the dreadful statistics and facts correlated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol dependent individuals to obtain alcoholism rehabilitation.
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 stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Without a doubt, due to the fact that the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is hard to counteract.
The Combination of Alcohol Dependency and Mental Health Difficulties Commonly Leads to Relationship, Marital, Divorce, and Friendship Problems
Finally, Miss Benning told students that it is relevant to understand that alcohol addiction and a variety of mental health difficulties such as depression are highly related. Furthermore, the combination of mental health problems and alcoholism regularly lead to friendship, marital, relationship, and divorce problems.
The Students are Inspired to Learn About Alcoholism Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the buzz exhibited by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had motivated and encouraged the students in her classroom to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our country.





