A Health Instructor In The Best Known Parochial High School In The Region Encourages Her Pupils To Learn About Alcoholism Signs And How To Bolster One’s Personal Success And Happiness, Self Esteem, And Positive Attitude
Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known parochial high school in the region. Although she had been teaching for only two years, she had already secured a reputation as a person with educational approaches that encouraged and motivated her pupils to think and to learn.
For example, one Monday morning at 11:30 she addressed the students in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging standpoint and we are also going to learn about several of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific point of view.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will positively confirm that an individual with a drinking problem is a person who is alcohol dependent, but the more signs that a person displays, the greater the probability that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”
Miss Benning then told the the pupils that each pupil would be accountable for examining two alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her results to the rest of the class via a nine minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Students About The Signs of Alcoholism
After learning about the different signs of alcohol addiction for several days, the time had come for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously apparent that the pupils were energized about the subject matter because the information that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm displayed by the pupils in her classroom concerning this topic was an understatement.
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 addiction signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top eight alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After about twenty minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told the pupils in her class that after she examines 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 pupils 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 Results With the Findings From A Team of Alcoholism Professionals
When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top five alcohol dependency signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then informed the pupils in her class that the numbers in the additional column she added signified the responses that were articulated by a team of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her class to go over the information on the sheet 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 class raised her or his hand. It was noticeable that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For example, almost every individual in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel exceptionally sick when you refrain from drinking?”
The Essential Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then informed her students why this answer was the most straightforward indicator of alcohol dependency. She highlighted the fact that the principal difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.
Basically this means that when an alcohol addicted individual suddenly quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed the students in her class 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 differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is exceedingly out of kilter and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of painful, uncomfortable, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to a loss of life if the appropriate treatment is not immediately undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol addicted person abruptly 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 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 state this as precisely as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike people who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and accordingly, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Feel They Have Found An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Group of Alcohol Dependency Experts
The students also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the substance abuse authorities, that is, “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 class that this sign does not automatically indicate that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does underscore the need that alcohol addicted individuals have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted person, the pupils started to understand the main 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 person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcoholism rehab?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many students reasoned that roughly 75 to 85 percent of individuals who are alcohol dependent would seek alcohol addiction rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 65 percent.
The Pupils Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent Individuals in the United States Ask For Alcohol Rehabilitation
To the amazement of most of the students, Miss Benning declared that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol addicted individuals in the United States obtain alcohol dependency rehabilitation. This shocked most of the pupils because they figured that exposure to the alarming statistics and facts correlated with alcohol addiction would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to ask for alcohol addiction rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that people who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on a daily basis so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. Without a doubt, because the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent person, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to change.
The Combination of Mental Health Issues and Alcohol Dependency Frequently Results in Marital, Divorce, Relationship, and Friendship Problems
Lastly, Miss Benning told the pupils in her class that it is relevant to understand that alcohol addiction and various mental health issues such as depression are highly correlated. What is more, the occurrence of mental health issues and alcohol addiction regularly result in marital, friendship, divorce, and relationship problems.
The Students are Motivated to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the excitement exhibited by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and stimulated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our culture. It was clear to see that her pupils also learned how to fortify their self esteem, personal happiness and success, and positive attitude.
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