Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most financially challenged co-ed high school in the local community. Even though she had been teaching for only one year, she had already acquired a reputation as a teacher with educational approaches that inspired and motivated pupils to learn and to think.

As an illustration, one Tuesday morning at 10:00 she addressed the students in her class and stated the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a more detailed standpoint.”

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

Miss Benning then informed the class that each person would be responsible for researching four alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the other class members via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Students are Enthused About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Students About Alcoholism Signs

After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had finally arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantaneously clear to see that her students were thrilled about the subject because the information that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest manifested by her pupils regarding this topic 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 alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top ten alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around twenty minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to her pupils that after she evaluates the results, she will present her findings the next school day.

There was a real buzz by the pupils while they were leaving Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.

The Pupils Compare Their Answers With the Assessments From A Team of Chemical Dependency Specialists

When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning gave out a sheet of paper that listed the top five alcohol dependency signs as per the students’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then informed the pupils in her classroom that the numbers in the extra column she added were the responses that were stated publicly by a panel of alcohol dependency professionals.

Miss Benning asked her pupils to go over the data on the sheet of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within 30 or 40 seconds, virtually every pupil in the class raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the pupils had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. As an illustration, almost every pupil disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, to be precise, “Do you feel extremely sick when you quit drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then explained to her pupils why this answer was the most precise sign of alcoholism. She emphasized the fact that the major difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.

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

Miss Benning then informed the students in her classroom 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 more forcefully, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is extremely wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a person’s death if the proper therapy is not immediately received.

Miss Benning then went over the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when a person who is addicted to alcohol suddenly stops drinking.

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

To articulate this as clearly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Pupils Think They Have Uncovered An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Group of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Authorities

The students also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism authorities, specifically, “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 students in her classroom that this sign does not inevitably suggest that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does highlight the need that people who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to steer clear of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to understand the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is addicted to alcohol 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 dependency rehab?”

After roughly two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ predictions. While many pupils figured that about 75 to 85 percent of alcohol dependent individuals 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 50 percent.

The Students Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of People Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the United States Ask For Alcohol Rehabilitation

To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the alcoholics in the United States get alcoholism rehab. This astonished most of the students because they believed that exposure to the overwhelming facts and statistics related to alcoholism would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted individuals to ask for alcohol dependency rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then explained that alcohol addicted people not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can prevent possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol dependent person’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. In actual fact, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent person, this is a thorny issue that is hard to change.

The Combination of Alcohol Addiction and Mental Health Issues Regularly Leads to Friendship, Marital, Relationship, and Divorce Problems

Finally, Miss Benning told students that it is important to conceptualize that alcohol addiction and diverse mental health predicaments such as depression are highly interlinked. In addition, the incidence of alcoholism and mental health issues frequently result in relationship, friendship, divorce, and marital problems.

The Students are Excited to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the enthusiasm exhibited by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had inspired and motivated the pupils in her class to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our country. It was clear to see that her pupils also learned how to increase their personal happiness and success, positive attitude, and self esteem.