Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most popular parochial high school in the local community. Even though she had been teaching for only two or three years, she had already acquired a reputation as a teacher with educational techniques that inspired and encouraged her students to think and to learn.
For instance, one Monday morning at 9:30 she addressed the students in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most basic signs of alcoholism from a more specific perspective.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will beyond doubt reveal that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the greater the probability that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”
Miss Benning then told the students in the class that each student would be responsible for researching four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her findings to the class via a seven minute oral presentation.
The Students are Keyed Up About Giving A Broad-Based Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Dependency Signs
After learning about the different alcohol dependency signs for a number of days, the time had come for the individual presentations. It was instantly apparent that the students in her class were wound up about the topic because the material that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement displayed by the pupils in her classroom concerning this subject 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 alcohol addiction signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top six alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After around ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the pupils in her classroom that after she evaluates the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the students while they were walking out of Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Contrast Their Answers With the Evaluations From A Group of Substance Abuse Authorities
When the next school day came, Miss Benning handed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs as per the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then explained to the students in her classroom that the numbers in the new column she added represented the answers that were constructed by a board of alcohol addiction authorities.
Miss Benning asked the students in her classroom to look over the data on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, concerns, or questions. Within 20 or 30 seconds, almost every pupil in the class raised his or her hand. It was evident that the pupils had some concerns, issues, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For instance, just about every individual in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, that is, “Do you feel unusually nauseous when you quit drinking?”
The Key Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to the students in her class why this answer was the most precise indicator of alcohol dependency. She underlined the fact that the most important difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.
In effect this means that when an alcohol addicted individual all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will experience 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 deprivation of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is exceedingly out of kilter and needs to be rectified. These signals consist of a number of uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to a person’s death if the proper treatment is not immediately received.
Miss Benning then went over the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an individual who is addicted to alcohol abruptly quits drinking.
The point that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: an alcohol abuser 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 alcohol dependent individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Think They Have Uncovered An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Panel of Substance Abuse Authorities
The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism authorities, 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 explained to the students in her classroom that this sign does not inevitably imply that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underscore the need that individuals who are addicted to alcohol have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance 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 alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked her pupils to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would seek alcoholism rehabilitation?”
After roughly four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many students believed that around 80 to 90 percent of alcohol dependent individuals would get alcohol rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils believed that this number would not be less than 60 percent.
The Pupils Were Shocked to Learn That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the U.S. Ask For Alcohol Dependency Rehabilitation
To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. get alcohol addiction treatment. This shocked most of the pupils because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the disgusting facts and statistics linked to alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the people who are alcohol dependent to get alcohol dependency rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol dependent people not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on an everyday basis so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Certainly, due to the fact that the need for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to overcome.
The Pupils are Motivated to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating the end of the class. Based on the excitement exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning recognized that she had encouraged and inspired her students to stop and think about a critical health and social problem that exists in our culture.