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A Health Instructor in the Most Financially Challenged Co-Educational High School in the Region Teaches Her Students About the Significance of Alcohol Dependency Signs

October 11th, 2009

Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most popular co-educational high school in the region. Although she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already gained a reputation as a person with teaching approaches that stimulated and encouraged the students in her class to learn and to think.

As an illustration, one Wednesday morning she addressed the pupils in her classroom and announced the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging point of view and we are also going to learn about several of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific viewpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably confirm that a drinker with a drinking problem is a person who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a drinker manifests, the greater the likelihood that he or she is an alcohol dependent person.”

Miss Benning then told the class that each pupil would be responsible for researching two alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other class members via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Addiction Signs

After learning about the diverse signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantaneously obvious that the pupils in her class were keyed up about the topic because the information that they presented was superb. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm exhibited by the pupils in her class regarding this subject matter 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 presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top seven alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around five minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told the students in her class that after she analyzes the results, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

There was a real buzz by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her pupils couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.

The Pupils Contrast Their Numbers With the Findings From A Board of Chemical Dependency Specialists

When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs according to the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included 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 responses that were put together by a board of alcohol addiction specialists.

Miss Benning asked the students in her class to go over the data on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within 30 or 40 seconds, almost every pupil in the class raised her or his hand. It was noticeable that the students had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For instance, just about every person in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel unusually ill when you abstain from drinking?”

The Major Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse

Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her classroom why this answer was the most clear-cut indicator of alcohol dependency. She highlighted the fact that the major difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

In effect this means that when an alcohol addicted individual abruptly stops drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then informed the students in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deficiency of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an individual who is addicted to alcohol that something is dreadfully wrong and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a fatality if the appropriate therapy is not promptly undertaken.

Miss Benning then went over the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol addicted person suddenly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline 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, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To state this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they quit drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Believe They Have Discovered A Contradiction With the Findings From The Team of Alcohol Addiction Authorities

The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism experts, 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 classroom that this sign does not automatically denote that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does point to the need that individuals who are addicted to alcohol have to drink in order to steer clear of alcohol withdrawals.

After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol dependent person, the students started to comprehend the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom 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 alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol addiction rehab?”

After about two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many pupils reasoned that around 80 to 90 percent of people who are addicted to alcohol would get alcohol rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs, most of the students thought that this number would not be less than 55 percent.

The Students Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the United States Get Alcohol Addiction Rehabilitation

To the surprise of most of the pupils, Miss Benning stated that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent individuals in the U.S. seek alcohol treatment. This shocked most of the students because they thought that exposure to the shocking facts and statistics associated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted people to ask for alcohol rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then stated that alcohol dependent individuals not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily 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 stronger than facts or logic. Certainly, due to the fact that the need for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent individual, this is a demanding issue that is hard to undo.

A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating the end of the class. Based on the enthusiasm exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning realized that she had motivated and inspired the pupils in her class to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our culture.