Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known co-ed high school in the state. Even though she had been teaching for only five years, she had already established a reputation as an educator with instructional approaches that encouraged and stimulated her pupils to think and to learn.

For example, one Tuesday afternoon she addressed the students in her classroom and said the following: “For the next three or four days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general perspective and we are also going to learn about several of the most basic signs of alcoholism from a more detailed viewpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will categorically substantiate that a drinker with a drinking problem is an individual who is alcohol dependent, but the more signs that an individual manifests, the greater the likelihood that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”

Miss Benning then explained to the the students that each pupil would be held responsible for investigating four alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the class via a six minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Wound Up About Giving A Thorough Presentation to Their Fellow Students About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

After learning about the diverse signs of alcohol addiction for a number of days, the time had finally come for the individual presentations. It was at once noticeable that the students were thrilled about the subject because the information that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement exhibited by the students in her class concerning this topic was an understatement.

The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece 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 students in her classroom to go over the list and rank the top five alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After roughly ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed her pupils that after she goes over the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.

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

The Students Compare Their Results With the Assessments From A Panel of Alcohol Dependency Professionals

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then explained to her students that the numbers in the additional column she added signified the responses that were constructed by a panel of drug and alcohol addiction specialists.

Miss Benning told the pupils in her classroom to look over the data on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 20 or 30 seconds, virtually everyone in the classroom raised her or his hand. It was apparent that the students had some concerns, issues, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. As an illustration, virtually every person in the classroom had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, to be exact, “Do you feel really sick when you quit drinking?”

The Principal Difference Between Alcoholism 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 unambiguous indicator of alcohol addiction. She emphasized the fact that the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.

Primarily this means that when an alcohol addicted person suddenly stops drinking, he or she will go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class 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 more forcefully, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling a person who is alcohol dependent that something is terribly wrong and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of a number of uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to an individual’s death if the proper therapy is not promptly obtained.

Miss Benning then listed the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcohol dependent individual abruptly stops drinking.

The point that Miss Benning tried to stress was this: an alcohol abuser 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, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To explain this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted individuals, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Pupils Think They Have Uncovered An Indiscretion With the Findings From The Panel of Alcohol Addiction Authorities

The students also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the chemical dependency authorities, to be precise, “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 students in her classroom that this sign does not necessarily mean that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does stress the need that individuals who are addicted to alcohol have to drink in order to steer clear of alcohol withdrawals.

After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the students started to understand the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.

To add a sense of closure to the subject matter, Miss Benning asked the students in her class to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcoholism rehab?”

After about four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ responses. While many pupils thought that about 75 to 85 percent of alcohol dependent people would obtain alcoholism rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 55 percent.

The Pupils Were Surprised to Find Out That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the U.S. Seek Alcoholism Rehab

To the astonishment of most of the pupils, Miss Benning confirmed that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent people in the United States seek alcohol addiction rehabilitation. This shocked most of the pupils because they believed that first hand experience of the appalling facts and statistics correlated with alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol dependent people to ask for alcoholism treatment.

Miss Benning then stated that people who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol everyday so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Undeniably, since the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the individual who is addicted to alcohol, this is a challenging issue that is hard to reverse.

A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the enthusiasm manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning recognized that she had motivated and inspired the pupils in her class to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our society.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not understand that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, 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 individuals all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab programs that are usually available to individuals who engage in hazardous drinking.

Some of the dangerous effects associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely alarmed me. The ruined lives and abundant problems experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated differently, I did not want to face the disaster and destruction that alcohol addicted individuals almost always go through.

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

What young person wants to deal with alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties 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 teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around irresponsible drinking?

These issues were so important that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely unbelievable to me was the number of students who basically didn’t care about the dangerous outcomes of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about reality and how these outcomes can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to tell me all through my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a drug abuse class. At that time, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, 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 individuals all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehab and the diverse alcohol rehab centers that are habitually available to individuals who engage in heavy drinking.

Some of the injurious effects associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt startled me. The ruined lives and countless problems experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the damage and devastation that alcohol dependent individuals almost always encounter.

Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking 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 difficulties before he or she becomes an adult?

What youth wants to deal with alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person 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 a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around excessive drinking?

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