The Importance Of Alcohol Therapy And How Mental Health Problems And Alcohol Dependency Frequently Result In Marital, Divorce, Friendship, And Relationship Problems
Miss Benning was a health teacher at the best known co-educational high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already established a reputation as a teacher with educational methods that encouraged and stimulated the students in her class to learn and to think.
As an illustration, one Tuesday morning she addressed her students and articulated the following: “For the next two or three 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 viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably validate that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted person, but the more signs that a drinker manifests, the higher the probability that he or she is an alcoholic.”
Miss Benning then told the members in the class that each student would be responsible for studying four alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other class members via a twenty-five minute oral presentation.
The Pupils are Thrilled About Giving A Thorough Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcohol Dependency Signs
After learning about the diverse signs of alcohol addiction for a number of days, the time had finally arrived for the oral presentations. It was instantly apparent that the students in her class were excited about the subject matter 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 class regarding 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 dependency signs that were discussed and presented in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to study the list and rank the top ten alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After around fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and informed the students in her class that after she goes over the results, she will reveal her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the students while they were leaving Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Compare Their Numbers With the Findings From A Board of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialists
When the next school day came, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top four alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. Next to these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then informed the students in her class that the numbers in the new column she added were the answers that were articulated by a team of drug and alcohol addiction specialists.
Miss Benning told her students to go over the data 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 pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was noticeable that the students had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, almost every individual in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is to say, “Do you feel unusually ill when you quit drinking?”
The Primary Difference Between Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the pupils in her class why this answer was the most unambiguous sign of alcohol dependency. She pointed out the fact that the main difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
In effect this means that when an alcoholic all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then explained to the students in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficit of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcoholic that something is exceedingly misaligned and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in an individual’s death if the appropriate treatment is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then listed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol dependent person suddenly stops drinking.
The point 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, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Feel They Have Uncovered A Discrepancy With the Findings From The Group of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Specialists
The students also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol dependency authorities, namely, “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 her pupils that this sign does not inevitably suggest that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does emphasize the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted individual, the pupils started to appreciate the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would seek alcoholism treatment?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ predictions. While many students thought that about 75 to 85 percent of alcoholics would obtain alcoholism treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils thought that this number would not be less than 55 percent.
The Pupils Were Amazed to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted People in the United States Obtain Alcohol Addiction Rehab
To the surprise of most of the students, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. obtain alcohol rehab. This shocked most of the students because they reasoned that exposure to the deplorable statistics and facts related to alcoholism would motivate the majority of the alcohol addicted individuals to get alcoholism rehabilitation.
Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily 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. To be sure, since the need for alcohol is “reality” to the individual who is addicted to alcohol, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to overcome.
The Incidence of Mental Health Issues and Alcoholism Commonly Results in Friendship, Divorce, Marital, and Relationship Problems
Finally, Miss Benning explained to her students that it is relevant to conceptualize that alcoholism and a variety of mental health issues like depression are highly interlinked. In addition, the incidence of alcohol addiction and mental health difficulties frequently result in marital, relationship, divorce, and friendship problems.
The Students are Encouraged 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 exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had inspired and stimulated the students in her class to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our country.