A Health Instructor in the Best Known Private High School in the State Instructs Her Students About the Significance of Alcohol Addiction Signs

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most popular parochial high school in the county. Although she had been teaching for only three years, she had already secured a reputation as an educator with instructional approaches that encouraged and inspired students to think and to learn.

For instance, one Friday morning at 10:30 she addressed the students in her class and articulated the following: “For the next three or four days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based 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 categorically establish that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted person, but the more signs that a person manifests, the stronger the probability that he or she is an alcohol addicted individual.”

Miss Benning then explained to the the students that each individual would be responsible for investigating three alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other members in the class via a ten minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Wound Up About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About Alcoholism Signs

After learning about the diverse alcohol dependency signs for quite a few days, the time had finally arrived for the oral presentations. It was at once obvious that the students were excited about the topic because the information that they presented was outstanding. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm exhibited by her pupils regarding this subject 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 dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to go over the list and rank the top five alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After approximately fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told her students that after she analyzes 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 find out the results of their in-class research.

The Pupils Compare Their Answers With the Evaluations From A Panel of Alcohol Addiction Professionals

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top five alcohol addiction signs as per the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then informed the pupils in her classroom that the numbers in the second column she added represented the answers that were constructed by a team of alcohol addiction professionals.

Miss Benning asked her pupils to go over the information she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, virtually every pupil in the classroom raised her or his hand. It was noticeable that the students had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, just about every student had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel extremely ill when you stop drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then explained to the students in her class why this answer was the most straightforward sign of alcohol dependency. She stressed the fact that the main difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.

For all intents and purposes this means that when an alcoholic all of a sudden stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then told her pupils 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 more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol addicted person that something is very wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in an individual’s death if the proper therapy is not promptly received.

Miss Benning then discussed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an individual who is addicted to alcohol suddenly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline 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 explain this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning pointed out that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and as a consequence, when they quit drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Feel They Have Discovered A Variance With the Findings From The Council of Alcohol Addiction Specialists

The pupils also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism authorities, to be exact, “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 informed her students that this sign does not automatically imply that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does emphasize the need that alcohol addicted people 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 individual who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to recognize the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

To add a sense of closure to the subject, Miss Benning asked the students in her class to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is alcohol dependent 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 addiction rehabilitation?”

After roughly three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many students reasoned that approximately 85 to 95 percent of people who are alcohol dependent would ask for alcohol rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 60 percent.

The Students Were Astonished to Learn That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the United States Obtain Alcohol Dependency Rehabilitation

To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the alcohol dependent individuals in the United States ask for alcoholism rehab. This amazed most of the students because they figured that exposure to the awful facts and statistics linked to alcoholism would motivate most of the alcohol dependent individuals to seek alcohol rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then explained that alcohol addicted people not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on an everyday basis so they can avoid possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol dependent person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Certainly, since the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is alcohol dependent, this is a thorny issue that is hard to undo.

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

My High School Alcohol and Drug Abuse Class

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not realize that alcohol abuse actually was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehabilitation and the various alcohol rehab facilities that are commonly available to individuals who engage in hazardous drinking.

Damaging Outcomes That are Associated With Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the detrimental end results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely terrified me. The ruined lives and frequent serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. In short, I did not want to face the disaster and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always experience.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teenager wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes twenty-one?

What teenager wants to encounter alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on excessive drinking?

These issues were so significant that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the damaging outcomes of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the facts and how these consequences can shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand something that my grandfather used to articulate all through my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

It’s Important, Beneficial, and Liberating to Keep Yourself From the Debilitating and Unhealthy Results of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

And even at my young age, I also started to realize how important, energizing, and beneficial it is in life to remove yourself from the destructive and unhealthy consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.

A Young Woman’s Careless Drinking Leads To a DWI, Mental Health Concerns, Depression, and Time In The City Jail

Jesse had an extremely difficult time keeping a job. If truth be told, due to her lassitude and lack of motivation, she was out of work far more often than she was in a job situation. And when she did secure a job, she had an exceedingly hard time getting to work when her shift began, she typically received less than passing performance appraisals, and she called off sick so consistently that she regularly got fired four or five weeks after she began working. To no one’s astonishment, one of the effects of Jesse’s less than optimal employment track record was the fact that she was just about flat broke almost on a daily basis.

Despite Jesse’s less than stellar work track record and financial misconduct, nevertheless, somehow she managed to drink in an abusive and excessive manner on an everyday basis.

So it came as no big shock when Jesse got arrested for a second DUI. When she went to court, the magistrate clearly stated to Jesse that her alcohol-related actions was unacceptable and, as a result, he was going to sentence Jesse to spend eight months in jail.

Time In Jail To Reflect On The Destructive Effects of Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking

During her time while locked up in jail, Jesse was expected to learn more about alcohol facts, about the harmful results of excessive and abusive drinking, and she was required to get alcohol counseling. The judge underscored the fact that unless Jesse gets professional alcohol counseling and discovers how to live an alcohol-free life, she will most probably be spending a lot more time placed behind bars.

Jesse articulated that she comprehended what the magistrate was uttering but she still asserted that placement in the local jail was not the correct punishment. The magistrate thought otherwise and proclaimed that it was his job to keep alcoholics off the streets who drink and drive and who receive a DUI. To substantiate this perspective, the magistrate articulated some respected, comprehensively researched alcohol statistics that underscored some of the disruptive consequences that are associated with hazardous and excessive drinking.

Even though Jesse grasped the fact that she drank in a hazardous and excessive manner, she never believed that she was an alcohol dependent individual. So it was a big surprise when Jesse began experiencing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal roughly seven-and-a-half after getting incarcerated.

To deal with her alcohol withdrawals in a safe manner, Jesse was taken by ambulance to a drug and alcohol treatment facility for alcohol detox and then returned to the local jail. While locked up in jail Jesse received a mental health exam for her depression and got alcohol rehabilitation but since she received this therapy as something that was imposed upon her, she neglected to take ownership of her excessive and hazardous drinking.

When her time in the local jail was completed, the magistrate without vacillation announced to Jesse that she would be under rigorous scrutiny and would be required to take periodic alcohol tests.

Jessie’s Abusive Drinking Prevents Her From Living in a Responsible and Accountable Manner

After hearing how Jesse did not take ownership of her drinking situation and how she unwillingly followed the therapy procedures while behind bars, the magistrate knew that it was just a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about her excessive and irresponsible drinking behavior. As the judge thought about Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some individuals never use their intellect and discover how to live in an effective and productive manner.

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