Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most financially challenged co-ed high school in the district. Even though she had been teaching for only five years, she had already obtained a reputation as an instructor with a teaching methodology that inspired and motivated her students to learn and to think.
As an illustration, one Tuesday morning she addressed the students in her classroom and announced 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 several of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a more specific perspective.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will undeniably demonstrate that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent person, but the more signs that a person manifests, the greater the probability that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”
Miss Benning then told the students in the class that each person would be accountable for examining three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the other members in the class via a twenty-five minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency
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 evident that the pupils in her class were thrilled about the topic because the material that they presented was superb. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest exhibited by the pupils in her class regarding this topic could not be overstated.
The day after all of the pupils 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 class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked her students to go over the list and rank the top ten alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the students in her class that after she studies the numbers, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the pupils while they were walking out of Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her pupils couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could find out the outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Match Their Answers Against the Evaluations From A Panel of Alcohol Addiction Authorities
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top five alcoholism signs as per the pupils’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then informed the pupils in her classroom that the numbers in the extra column she added were the findings that were given by a panel of substance abuse experts.
Miss Benning asked her pupils to look over the information on the piece of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, concerns, or issues. Within 40 or 50 seconds, just about every student in the class raised her or his hand. It was clear to see that the students had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. For example, virtually every person in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, that is to say, “Do you feel very nauseous when you refrain from drinking?”
The Central Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told her pupils why this answer was the most precise indicator of alcoholism. She highlighted the fact that the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
Essentially this means that when an alcohol addicted individual all of a sudden stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told the students 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 acclimated. Stated more forcefully, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is exceedingly misaligned and needs to be rectified. These signals consist of several dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly lead to a loss of life if the proper therapy is not promptly undertaken.
Miss Benning then discussed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol addicted individual suddenly quits drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to stress 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 sign or symptom that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To state this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent individuals, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Found A Discrepancy With the Findings From The Panel of Alcohol Dependency Specialists
The students also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol abuse authorities, 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 informed her pupils that this sign does not automatically mean that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underline the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to comprehend the major difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the students in her class to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol addiction rehab?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many pupils believed that about 70 to 80 percent of people who are addicted to alcohol would get alcoholism rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students figured that this number would not be less than 70 percent.
The Pupils Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Alcohol Dependent in the U.S. Obtain Alcoholism Treatment
To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning mentioned that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the alcohol addicted individuals in the U.S. obtain alcohol dependency treatment. This astonished most of the students because they figured that first-hand knowledge of the disgusting statistics and facts linked to alcohol dependency would motivate most of the people who are alcohol dependent to seek alcohol dependency rehabilitation.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol addicted people not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. As a matter of fact, because the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted person, this is a demanding issue that is difficult to reverse.
A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating that the end of class had arrived. Based on the buzz manifested by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had inspired and encouraged her students to stop and think about a critical health and social problem that exists in our society.
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