Health And Fitness Advice Blog

Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most financially challenged private high school in the local community. Although she had been teaching for only one year, she had already gained a reputation as a person with educational approaches that encouraged and inspired the students in her class to think and to learn.

As an illustration, one Thursday morning at 11:00 she addressed her pupils and said 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 highly researched signs of alcoholism from a less general and explicit standpoint.”

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

Miss Benning then informed the the pupils that each person would be accountable for examining three alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the other members in the class via a fifteen minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Energized About Giving An Extensive Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

After learning about the various signs of alcohol dependency for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the individual presentations. It was instantaneously clear to see that the pupils in her class were energized about the subject because the information that they presented was extraordinary. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by the pupils in her classroom 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 dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top ten alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After roughly fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told her pupils that after she tallies the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.

There was some real anticipation by the students while they were leaving Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her pupils 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 Numbers Against the Appraisals From A Team of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialists

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top five alcoholism signs as per the students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then told the students in her classroom that the numbers in the new column she added represented the conclusions that were generated by a board of substance abuse experts.

Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the information on the piece of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, concerns, or questions. Within 20 or 30 seconds, just about every student in the class raised her or his hand. It was noticeable that the students had some concerns, questions, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the experts. For example, just about every person in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel exceedingly ill when you quit drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then told the pupils in her class why this answer was the most clear-cut sign of alcohol addiction. She pointed out the fact that the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.

In effect this means that when an alcohol dependent individual suddenly stops drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then told the students in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficiency of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is dreadfully incorrect and needs to be rectified. These messages consist of a number of dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a loss of life if the proper treatment is not immediately undertaken.

Miss Benning then went over the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is alcohol dependent suddenly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to emphasize was this: an alcohol abuser can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism 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 overtly as possible, Miss Benning pointed out that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent people, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Think They Have Discovered A Variance With the Findings From The Panel of Alcoholism Authorities

The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol addiction experts, 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 mean that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underscore the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to steer clear of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to comprehend the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the students in her class to take out a sheet 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 alcohol dependency treatment?”

After approximately three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many pupils reasoned that around 80 to 90 percent of alcohol addicted people would get alcohol addiction treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils thought that this number would not be less than 55 percent.

The Pupils Were Amazed to Learn That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Rehab

To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol addicted people in the United States ask for alcoholism rehabilitation. This amazed most of the pupils because they thought that exposure to the shocking facts and statistics associated with alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol dependent individuals to get alcohol dependency treatment.

Miss Benning then explained that alcoholics not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Without a doubt, since the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcoholic, this is a challenging issue that is hard to undo.

A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the buzz manifested by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and inspired the students in her class to stop and think about an essential health and social problem that exists in our society.