Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most popular co-educational high school in the state. Although she had been teaching for only a few years, she had already achieved a reputation as an instructor with educational approaches that encouraged and motivated students to think and to learn.
For example, one Wednesday morning she addressed the students in her class and articulated the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general point of view and we are also going to learn about a number of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt demonstrate that an individual with a drinking problem is an individual who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that an individual displays, the higher 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 held responsible for investigating two alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her results to the other class members via a thirty minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Energized About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Students About Alcoholism Signs
After learning about the diverse alcohol addiction signs for quite a few days, the time had come for the individual presentations. It was instantly apparent that her students were enthused about the topic because the information that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement exhibited by her students concerning this subject was an understatement.
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 addiction signs that were discussed and presented in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top seven alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After about five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the students in her class that after she studies the results, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the students while they were leaving Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the results of their in-class research.
The Students Contrast Their Numbers With the Evaluations From A Council of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Authorities
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top five alcoholism signs according to the students’ rankings. Next to these results, she added another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then told the pupils in her class that the numbers in the new column she added were the findings that were stated publicly by a group of drug and alcohol abuse experts.
Miss Benning asked her students to look over the information on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, concerns, or issues. Within 20 or 30 seconds, virtually every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the students had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, virtually every person in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the experts, to be precise, “Do you feel exceedingly ill when you stop drinking?”
The Most Important Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class why this answer was the most clear-cut indicator of alcoholism. She pointed out that the basic difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
Fundamentally this means that when an alcohol addicted individual abruptly stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted person that something is terribly out of kilter and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in someone’s death if the appropriate treatment is not promptly obtained.
Miss Benning then discussed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol addicted person suddenly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline was this: an alcohol abuser can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol addiction signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike people who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Think They Have Uncovered An Irregularity With the Findings From The Group of Alcohol Dependency Specialists
The pupils also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol abuse experts, 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 told the pupils in her classroom that this sign does not automatically indicate that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underscore the need that people who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol dependent person, the students started to comprehend the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her class to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual 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 get alcoholism rehab?”
After approximately three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many pupils thought that roughly 75 to 85 percent of alcohol dependent people would ask for alcohol addiction rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Pupils Were Surprised to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent People in the United States Get Alcohol Treatment
To the amazement of most of the pupils, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to various scientific studies, only 25% of the individuals who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. obtain alcoholism rehab. This astonished most of the students because they figured that exposure to the devastating statistics and facts associated with alcohol dependency would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted people to obtain alcoholism rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that alcoholics not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on a daily basis so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. To be sure, due to the fact that the need for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is difficult to reverse.
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the buzz exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had encouraged and motivated the pupils in her class to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our society.