Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most financially challenged co-educational high school in the district. Although she had been teaching for only four years, she had already acquired a reputation as an educator with teaching techniques that motivated and stimulated her students to learn and to think.

For example, one Wednesday morning at 11:30 she addressed the students in her class and said the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based perspective and we are also going to learn about several of the best known signs of alcoholism from a more specific perspective.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will absolutely substantiate that an individual with a drinking problem is an individual who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that an individual displays, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol addicted individual.”

Miss Benning then told the members in the class that each student would be held responsible for researching two alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her results to the rest of the class via a twenty-five minute oral presentation.

The Students are Energized About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

After learning about the various signs of alcohol dependency for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously obvious that the pupils were thrilled about the subject because the material that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement exhibited by her students regarding this subject 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 alcoholism signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to study the list and rank the top eight alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After about five minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the pupils in her classroom that after she assesses the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

There was a real buzz by the pupils while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students 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 Answers With the Assessments From A Panel of Chemical Dependency Authorities

When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she added another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then told the students in her class that the numbers in the new column she added were the responses that were stated by a board of substance abuse specialists.

Miss Benning asked the pupils in her class to go over the data on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, issues, or questions. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was clear to see that the students had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For example, virtually every pupil had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the experts, specifically, “Do you feel very ill when you abstain from drinking?”

The Main Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse

Miss Benning then informed the students in her classroom why this answer was the most straightforward indicator of alcohol addiction. She pointed out the fact that the chief difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

In essence this means that when an individual who is addicted to alcohol suddenly quits drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then informed the students in her classroom 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 more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an individual who is alcohol dependent that something is terribly incorrect and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several uncomfortable, painful, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in someone’s death if the appropriate treatment is not immediately undertaken.

Miss Benning then discussed the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol addicted person abruptly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: a person who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To state this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning stressed the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Believe They Have Uncovered A Variance With the Findings From The Panel of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Professionals

The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency specialists, 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 class that this sign does not inevitably denote that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does highlight the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to stay away from alcohol withdrawals.

After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the students started to recognize the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the students in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcoholism treatment?”

After about two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many pupils thought that approximately 70 to 80 percent of people who are addicted to alcohol would get alcohol addiction 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 65 percent.

The Students Were Shocked to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted Individuals in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Dependency Rehab

To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning confirmed that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the people who are alcohol dependent in the U.S. get alcohol addiction treatment. This amazed most of the students because they believed that first hand experience of the awful facts and statistics associated with alcoholism would motivate the majority of the alcohol dependent people to get alcoholism treatment.

Miss Benning then explained that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol dependent person’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Without a doubt, due to the fact that the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is very hard to overcome.

The Incidence of Alcoholism and Mental Health Problems Regularly Results in Difficulties in Loving Relationships and Friendships And With One’s Sense of Spirituality

Lastly, Miss Benning explained to her students that it is important to understand that alcoholism and diverse mental health predicaments such as depression are highly related. Additionally, the occurrence of mental health difficulties and alcoholism commonly result in difficulties in loving relationships and friendships and with one’s spirituality.

The Students are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Signs and Symptoms in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the buzz displayed by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and stimulated the students in her classroom to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our society.

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