Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most underfinanced co-educational high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already obtained a reputation as a teacher with instructional techniques that motivated and inspired students to learn and to think.

For instance, one Tuesday morning at 10:00 she addressed the pupils in her class and announced the following: “For the next two weeks we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based standpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed standpoint.”

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

Miss Benning then informed the members in the class that each individual would be held responsible for researching two alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the rest of the class via a ten minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Thrilled About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Dependency Signs

After learning about the different alcohol dependency signs for several days, the time had come for the oral presentations. It was at once apparent that her students were enthused about the subject because the material that they presented was extraordinary. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the eagerness displayed by the students in her class regarding this topic could not be overstated.

The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcohol dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked her pupils to go over the list and rank the top eight alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After approximately ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and explained to the pupils in her class that after she assesses the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement by the students while they were walking out of Miss Benning’s classroom. 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 Students Match Their Results Against the Findings From A Group of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Authorities

When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning handed 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 “experts’ response.” She then informed her students that the numbers in the new column she added stood for the findings that were put together by a council of drug and alcohol abuse professionals.

Miss Benning asked her pupils to look over the information on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, concerns, or questions. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost everyone in the class raised her or his hand. It was clear to see that the students had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. For example, just about every student had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, to be exact, “Do you feel exceptionally nauseous when you stop drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her class why this answer was the most straightforward indicator of alcoholism. She pointed out the fact that the foremost difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

Basically this means that when an individual who is addicted to alcohol all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then informed 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 differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is exceedingly out of kilter and needs to be rectified. These messages consist of a number of dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a loss of life if the proper treatment is not immediately obtained.

Miss Benning then went over the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through 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 addiction 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 articulate this as precisely as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike people who are alcohol dependent, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Think They Have Found An Irregularity With the Findings From The Panel of Alcohol Dependency Experts

The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency authorities, to be precise, “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 class that this sign does not inevitably signify that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does highlight the need that alcohol addicted individuals have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawals.

After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to appreciate the main difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

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

After about one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ responses. While many pupils thought that roughly 75 to 85 percent of alcohol addicted people would obtain alcohol dependency rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students thought that this number would not be less than 55 percent.

The Pupils Were Shocked to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent People in the United States Obtain Alcoholism Rehabilitation

To the astonishment of most of the pupils, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent people in the United States get alcohol rehab. This shocked most of the students because they reasoned that exposure to the dreadful statistics and facts correlated with alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol dependent individuals to get alcohol treatment.

Miss Benning then stated that alcohol addicted individuals not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcohol addicted person’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Definitely, due to the fact that the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted person, this is hard to reverse.

The Pupils are Encouraged to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating that the end of class had arrived. Based on the buzz manifested by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had encouraged and inspired the students in her class to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our culture.

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