Miss Benning was a health teacher at the best known parochial high school in the region. Although she had been teaching for only two or three years, she had already gained a reputation as an educator with teaching methods that motivated and stimulated students to learn and to think.

As an illustration, one Monday morning at 10:30 she addressed her pupils and announced the following: “For the next week 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 familiar signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed point of view."

"Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt demonstrate that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a person displays, the greater the probability that he or she is an individual who is addicted to alcohol.”

Miss Benning then explained to the students in the class that each pupil would be responsible for researching four alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the rest of the class via a thirty minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Students About Alcohol Dependency Signs

After learning about the various signs of alcoholism for several days, the time had finally arrived for the student presentations. It was immediately evident that her pupils were wound up about the subject because the material that they presented was extraordinary. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the eagerness displayed by her pupils concerning this subject matter 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 alcoholism signs that were discussed and presented in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to study the list and rank the top five alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After about five minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to her pupils that after she goes over the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.

There was some real anticipation by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.

The Students Match Their Answers Against the Appraisals From A Council of Alcohol Dependency Specialists

When the next school day finally arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcoholism signs as per the students' rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then told the students in her class that the numbers in the extra column she added represented the findings that were generated by a group of substance abuse authorities.

Miss Benning told the students in her class to look over the information 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, almost everyone in the classroom raised her or his hand. It was evident that the pupils had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For instance, just about every pupil disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel exceptionally nauseous when you abstain from drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then informed her students why this answer was the most correct indicator of alcoholism. She underlined the fact that the key difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

Basically this means that when an alcohol addicted person suddenly quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then explained to her pupils that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more forcefully, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the body and from the brain telling a person who is alcohol dependent that something is very incorrect and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of uncomfortable, painful, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to a person's death if the proper treatment is not immediately received.

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

The point 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 symptom or sign that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To state this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning stressed the point that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Think They Have Found An Indiscretion With the Findings From The Team of Alcohol Addiction Experts

The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol addiction professionals, namely, “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 told the pupils in her classroom that this sign does not automatically suggest that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does highlight the need that people who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawals.

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

To add a sense of closure to the subject, 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 addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcoholism treatment?”

After roughly five or six minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils' responses. While many pupils reasoned that approximately 70 to 80 percent of people who are alcohol dependent would obtain alcoholism rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students figured that this number would not be less than 70 percent.

The Pupils Were Amazed to Discover That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Alcohol Dependent in the United States Seek Alcohol Treatment

To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning mentioned that according to various scientific studies, only 25% of the alcoholics in the United States get alcohol addiction treatment. This surprised most of the students because they believed that first hand experience of the deplorable statistics and facts related to alcohol dependency would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted individuals to seek alcoholism rehab.

Miss Benning then explained that people who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Without a doubt, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is a challenging issue that is hard to counteract.

The Incidence of Alcohol Dependency and Mental Health Issues Regularly Results in Relationship, Friendship, Divorce, and Marital Problems

Lastly, Miss Benning told the students in her class that it is important to realize that alcoholism and different mental health issues such as depression are highly interlinked. Not only this but the combination of mental health issues and alcohol addiction regularly result in relationship, friendship, divorce, and marital problems.

The Students are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Signs and Symptoms in Today's Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the enthusiasm displayed by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning recognized that she had encouraged and stimulated her pupils to stop and think about a noteworthy health and social problem that exists in our society. It was clear to see that her students also learned how to fortify their positive attitude, personal happiness and success, and self esteem.

Tags: alcoholism, relationships, self esteem, self improvement