The Relevance Of Alcohol Treatment And How Alcoholism And Mental Health Difficulties Often Lead To Marital, Divorce, Relationship, And Friendship Problems

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known co-ed high school in the district. Although she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already obtained a reputation as a teacher with educational techniques that inspired and encouraged pupils to think and to learn.

For instance, one Monday morning at 9:30 she addressed her students and articulated the following: “For the next few days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general perspective and we are also going to learn about a number of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed point of view.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will undeniably substantiate that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent person, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the greater the possibility that he or she is an alcohol dependent person.”

Miss Benning then told the class members that each individual would be accountable for studying four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her findings to the rest of the class via a six minute oral presentation.

The Students are Keyed Up About Giving An Extensive Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About Alcoholism Signs

After learning about the diverse signs of alcohol dependency for several days, the time had finally come for the student presentations. It was at once noticeable that the pupils in her class were keyed up about the subject matter because the information that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement manifested by her students regarding this subject matter 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 addiction signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked her pupils to study the list and rank the top five alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After approximately fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the pupils in her class that after she evaluates the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement 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 results of their in-class research.

The Students Compare Their Results With the Evaluations From A Group of Substance Abuse Professionals

When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top five alcoholism signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then told the pupils in her class that the numbers in the new column she added signified the answers that were stated publicly by a team of drug and alcohol abuse professionals.

Miss Benning asked the students in her class to look over the information on the piece of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, issues, or questions. Within 10 or 20 seconds, just about everyone in the classroom raised her or his hand. It was evident that the students had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For example, virtually every pupil disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel awfully nauseous when you refrain from drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class why this answer was the most unambiguous sign of alcohol addiction. She pointed out the fact that the primary difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.

Fundamentally this means that when a person who is alcohol dependent abruptly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then explained to her students that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is terribly wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of uncomfortable, painful, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to someone’s death if the proper treatment is not immediately received.

Miss Benning then went over the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol dependent person suddenly stops drinking.

The point that Miss Benning tried to emphasize 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 symptom or sign that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To state this as exactly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Pupils Believe They Have Discovered An Indiscretion With the Findings From The Council of Alcohol Dependency Authorities

The pupils also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency professionals, 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 explained to the students in her classroom that this sign does not inevitably imply that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does highlight the need that alcohol dependent individuals 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 person who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to appreciate the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

To add a sense of closure to the topic, 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 addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol rehabilitation?”

After about one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many students reasoned that around 75 to 85 percent of people who are alcohol dependent would seek alcohol rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs, most of the pupils believed that this number would not be less than 65 percent.

The Pupils Were Surprised to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent People in the U.S. Obtain Alcohol Treatment

To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to various scientific investigations, only 25% of the alcoholics in the United States obtain alcohol rehabilitation. This amazed most of the pupils because they thought that first-hand knowledge of the abysmal statistics and facts correlated with alcoholism would motivate the majority of the people who are alcohol dependent to ask for alcoholism rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then explained that people who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can prevent possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcohol dependent individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than logic or facts. Undeniably, since the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent individual, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to change.

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

Lastly, Miss Benning explained to her students that it is relevant to realize that alcohol dependency and a range of mental health predicaments such as depression are highly interlinked. In addition, the combination of alcohol addiction and mental health issues frequently lead to marital, friendship, divorce, and relationship problems.

The Students are Motivated 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 buzz displayed by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and stimulated the students in her classroom to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our country.