Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most underfinanced private high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only one year, she had already obtained a reputation as an educator with a teaching approach that motivated and inspired students to think and to learn.
For instance, one Monday morning at 9:00 she addressed her pupils and announced the following: “For the next three or four days 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 common signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific viewpoint.
Not all of these alcoholism signs will beyond doubt confirm that someone with a drinking problem is an individual who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the greater the probability that he or she is an alcohol dependent individual.”
Miss Benning then informed the the pupils that each pupil would be held responsible for researching three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the class via a eight minute oral presentation.
The Students are Energized About Giving An In-Depth Presentation to Their Fellow Students About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction
After learning about the different signs of alcoholism for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously clear to see that the students in her class were keyed up about the subject matter because the information that they presented was first-rate. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by her students regarding this topic could not be overstated.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol dependency signs that were presented and discussed in class and in the presentations. 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 alcohol dependency. After approximately ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and explained to her students that after she reviews the results, she will reveal her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.
The Pupils Compare Their Numbers With the Findings From A Group of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Professionals
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top four alcohol dependency signs according to the students' rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then told the students in her class that the numbers in the new column she added represented the responses that were stated publicly by a panel of chemical dependency professionals.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her classroom to go over the numbers and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, concerns, or issues. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost everyone in the classroom raised her or his hand. It was clear to see that the pupils had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For example, just about every student had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel very sick when you quit drinking?”
The Chief Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to her students why this answer was the most precise sign of alcoholism. She underscored the fact that the most important difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.
For all intents and purposes this means that when an alcoholic abruptly stops drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to her students 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 signals from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent person that something is terribly wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in someone's death if the appropriate therapy is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then discussed the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcoholic suddenly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol dependency 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 people who are alcohol dependent, are not alcohol dependent and accordingly, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Found A Variance With the Findings From The Council of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialists
The students also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol dependency experts, that is to say, “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 alcoholism, but that it does underscore the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to grasp the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is addicted to alcohol 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 treatment?”
After approximately one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils' responses. While many students reasoned that around 70 to 80 percent of alcohol addicted individuals would get alcohol rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils figured that this number would not be less than 55 percent.
The Pupils Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of Alcoholics in the U.S. Seek Alcoholism Rehab
To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning stated that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol addicted people in the U.S. seek alcoholism rehabilitation. This astonished most of the pupils because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the dreadful statistics and facts linked to alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the individuals who are addicted to alcohol to ask for alcohol addiction rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol addicted individuals not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on a daily basis so they can avert possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is hard to change.
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the excitement displayed by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had stimulated and inspired the pupils in her class to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our culture.