Miss Benning was a health instructor at the largest co-ed high school in the county. Although she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already achieved a reputation as an educator with teaching methods that encouraged and stimulated her students to learn and to think.

As an illustration, one Thursday morning at 8:30 she addressed her students and articulated the following: “For the next two weeks we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based point of view and we are also going to learn about several of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a more detailed standpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will positively validate that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted person, but the more signs that an individual exhibits, the higher the probability that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”

Miss Benning then informed the members of the class that each individual would be responsible for studying two alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the other members in the class via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Wound Up About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Dependency Signs

After learning about the various signs of alcoholism for a number of days, the time had finally arrived for the student presentations. It was instantly noticeable that the pupils in her class were thrilled about the subject because the material that they presented was superb. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement manifested by the students in her classroom concerning this subject matter 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 alcoholism signs that were discussed and presented in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her classroom to study the list and rank the top seven alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After roughly fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the pupils in her classroom that after she studies the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement by the pupils while they were leaving Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her pupils 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 Assessments From A Panel of Alcohol Addiction Experts

When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top four alcoholism signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then informed the students in her classroom that the numbers in the extra column she added stood for the answers that were generated by a group of drug and alcohol abuse professionals.

Miss Benning told the pupils in her classroom to look over the data on the sheet of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 10 or 20 seconds, virtually everyone in the class raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the students had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. As an illustration, virtually every student had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, specifically, “Do you feel awfully nauseous when you stop drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then explained to her students why this answer was the most correct sign of alcoholism. She highlighted the fact that the most important difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

In effect this means that when an alcohol addicted person all of a sudden stops drinking, he or she will go 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 lack of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an individual who is addicted to alcohol that something is exceedingly incorrect and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to someone’s death if the appropriate treatment is not immediately received.

Miss Benning then discussed the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol addicted individual suddenly quits drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline 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, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To state this as clearly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, 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 Panel of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialists

The pupils also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency specialists, 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 informed the pupils in her classroom that this sign does not automatically mean that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does stress the need that alcohol addicted people have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

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, Miss Benning asked her pupils to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcohol addiction treatment?”

After approximately two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many students believed that around 80 to 90 percent of alcohol addicted people would ask for alcohol addiction rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils figured that this number would not be less than 50 percent.

The Students Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted Individuals in the United States Seek Alcoholism Rehab

To the shock of most of the students, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to the research literature, only 25% of the alcoholics in the United States ask for alcoholism rehab. This amazed most of the students because they believed that exposure to the disgusting statistics and facts correlated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted individuals to get alcoholism treatment.

Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Indeed, since the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a thorny issue that is hard to reverse.

The Students are Encouraged to Learn About Alcoholism Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the enthusiasm exhibited by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had stimulated and motivated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our country.

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