When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and above all 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 individuals throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehabilitation and the different alcohol rehab facilities that are frequently available to people who engage in hazardous drinking.

Dangerous Consequences That are Linked to Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the dangerous outcomes linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely terrified me. The ruined lives and numerous difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the wreckage and devastation that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.

Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager 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 ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes twenty-one?

What teenager wants to deal with alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to stop 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 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 hazardous drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was downright incredible to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the harmful results of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the truth and how these results can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend something that my grandfather used to say to me throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

It’s Invigorating, Important, and Beneficial to Stay Away From the Unhealthy and Damaging Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

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

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the largest co-ed high school in the region. Although she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already secured a reputation as an educator with instructional techniques that inspired and motivated the students in her class to think and to learn.

For example, one Tuesday morning at 8:00 she addressed her students and said the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging viewpoint and we are also going to learn about several of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a less general and more specific viewpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will absolutely validate that an individual with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted person, but the more signs that an individual manifests, the stronger the possibility that he or she is an alcohol addicted person.”

Miss Benning then informed the members in the class that each student would be accountable for researching four alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the rest of the class via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Keyed Up About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency

After learning about the different alcohol dependency signs for several days, the time had come for the oral presentations. It was instantly noticeable that the pupils were enthused about the subject matter because the material that they presented was first-rate. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement manifested by the pupils in her class concerning this topic was an understatement.

The day after all of the students 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 class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her classroom to study the list and rank the top six alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed her pupils that after she tallies the results, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

There was a real buzz by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.

The Pupils Compare Their Answers With the Appraisals From A Panel of Alcoholism Professionals

When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcoholism signs as per the students’ rankings. To the right of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then explained to the students in her classroom that the numbers in the second column she added were the responses that were announced by a group of drug and alcohol addiction experts.

Miss Benning told the students in her classroom to go over the information on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, issues, or questions. Within a minute or two, just about everyone in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the students had some issues, concerns, or questions about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For instance, almost every individual in the class had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, namely, “Do you feel very sick when you stop drinking?”

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

Miss Benning then explained to her pupils why this answer was the most precise indicator of alcohol addiction. She highlighted the fact that the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.

In essence this means that when an alcohol addicted individual abruptly quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then told the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol addicted individual that something is extremely misaligned and needs to be rectified. These messages consist of a number of uncomfortable, dangerous, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a person’s death if the appropriate therapy is not promptly received.

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

The fact 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 dependency signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To explain this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Feel They Have Discovered A Discrepancy With the Findings From The Board of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Experts

The pupils also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol addiction authorities, 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 informed the students in her classroom that this sign does not automatically suggest that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does underline the need that people who are alcohol dependent have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted person, the students started to recognize the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

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 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 seek alcohol addiction rehabilitation?”

After about one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many pupils thought that around 75 to 85 percent of alcoholics would ask for alcohol treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the students thought that this number would not be less than 60 percent.

The Pupils Were Surprised to Discover That Only 25% of People Who are Addicted to Alcohol in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Rehab

To the shock of most of the students, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific investigations, only 25% of the people who are alcohol dependent in the U.S. seek alcoholism rehabilitation. This amazed most of the pupils because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the awful facts and statistics linked to alcohol addiction would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to obtain alcohol dependency rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then explained that alcoholics not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on an everyday basis so they can prevent possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Obviously, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. In actual fact, since the craving for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a thorny issue that is difficult to undo.

A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating the end of the class. Based on the excitement exhibited by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had stimulated and encouraged the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about an essential health and social problem that exists in our country.

Jesse had an exceptionally hard time maintaining a job. In truth, because of his lethargy and lack of drive, he was jobless far more frequently than he was gainfully employed. And when he did get a job, he had an extremely difficult time getting to work when his shift began, he often got less than optimal performance evaluations, and he called off sick so habitually that he almost always got fired just a few weeks after he began working. To no one’s wonder, one of the effects of Jesse’s less than passing work history was the fact that he was virtually without a dime from day-to-day.

Regardless of Jesse’s deplorable employment track record and financial lack of attention, however, somehow he made it a point to drink excessively on a daily basis.

So it came as no big jolt when Jesse got arrested for a fourth DUI. When he went before the court, the magistrate clearly stated to Jesse that his alcohol-related conduct was appalling and, as a consequence, he was going to sentence Jesse to spend five months in the city jail.

Time In The County Jail To Think About The Injurious Results of Excessive Drinking

During his time in the city jail, Jesse was required to learn more about alcohol facts, about the destructive outcomes of careless drinking, and he was required to get alcohol therapy. The magistrate emphasized the fact that unless Jesse receives professional alcohol treatment and learns how to live a life of abstinence, he will quite possibly be spending a lot more time locked up.

Jesse stated that he grasped what the judge was saying but he still proclaimed that placement in the county jail was not the right judgment. The judge thought otherwise and asserted that it was his duty to keep alcohol dependent individuals off the streets who drive under the influence and who get multiple DWIs. To substantiate this perspective, the judge quoted some respected, highly researched alcohol statistics that pointed to some of the devastating consequences that are related to abusive drinking.

Although Jesse knew that he drank in an abusive and irresponsible manner, he never believed that he was an alcohol addicted person. So it was a real bombshell when Jesse began having alcohol withdrawal symptoms approximately six hours after after getting locked up in the city jail.

To monitor his alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe and sound manner, Jesse was taken by ambulance to an alcohol rehabilitation hospital for alcohol detox and then returned to jail. While locked up in jail Jesse got alcohol treatment but due to the fact that he received this rehabilitation as something that was forced upon him, he neglected to take ownership of his irresponsible and hazardous drinking.

When his time behind bars was finished, the magistrate without uncertainty announced to Jesse that he would be under rigorous surveillance and would be required to take periodic blood alcohol tests.

Jessie’s Irresponsible Drinking Prevents Him From Living in an Effective and Responsible Manner

After hearing how Jesse did not take ownership of his drinking circumstances and how he halfheartedly followed the treatment modus operandi while in the municipal jail, the magistrate knew that it was just a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about his excessive and abusive drinking behavior. As the magistrate reflected on Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some people never ”get it” and discover how to live in a mature and effective manner.

Jesse had an extremely difficult time keeping a job. If truth be told, due to his lethargy and lack of motivation, he was out of work far more often than he was employed. And when he did find a job, he had a particularly hard time getting to work on time, he often got less than positive performance reviews, and he called off sick so consistently that he commonly got fired four or five weeks after he started working. Not surprisingly, one of the consequences of Jesse’s shameful work record was the fact that he was virtually penniless almost everyday.

In spite of Jesse’s less than stellar work history and financial negligence, conversely, by hook or by crook he managed to drink in an excessive and irresponsible manner almost everyday.

So it came as no big jolt when Jesse received a second DWI. When he went before the court, the judge told Jesse that his alcohol-related behavior was shameful and, as a consequence, he was going to sentence Jesse to serve ten months in the county jail.

Time In Jail To Reflect On The Damaging Outcomes of Hazardous and Abusive Drinking

During his time in the municipal jail, Jesse was required to learn more about alcohol facts, about the injurious consequences of irresponsible and excessive drinking, and he was required to get alcohol therapy. The judge stressed the fact that unless Jesse receives professional alcohol rehab and discovers how to live a life of abstinence, he will most probably be spending more than a short amount of time placed behind bars.

Jesse stated that he grasped what the judge was pronouncing but he still stated that placement in the municipal jail was not the appropriate judgment. The magistrate saw things in an entirely different Manner and proclaimed that it was his responsibility to keep alcoholics off the streets who drink and drive and who get a DUI. To substantiate this statement, the magistrate quoted some respected, highly researched alcohol statistics that stressed some of the destructive effects that are related to irresponsible and excessive drinking.

Although Jesse grasped the fact that he drank in an abusive and hazardous manner, he never thought that he was a person who was addicted to alcohol. So it was quite a surprise when Jesse started to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms approximately three hours after getting locked up in the county jail.

To manage his alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe manner, Jesse was transferred to a drug and alcohol rehab facility for alcohol detoxification and then brought back to the county jail. While locked up in the municipal jail Jesse received alcohol treatment but since he received this counseling as something that was forced upon him, he did not take ownership of his irresponsible drinking.

When his time behind bars was finished, the judge without reservation told Jesse that he would be under stringent scrutiny and would be mandated to take periodic alcohol tests.

Jessie’s Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking Stops Him From Living in a Mature and Effective Manner

After hearing how Jesse did not take ownership of his drinking circumstances and how he grudgingly followed the rehab protocol while in the municipal jail, the judge knew that it was simply a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about his irresponsible and abusive drinking behavior. As the magistrate thought about Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some individuals never ”get it” and discover how to live in an adult and responsible manner.

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the largest private high school in the state. Although she had been teaching for only two years, she had already obtained a reputation as a teacher with educational techniques that stimulated and encouraged pupils to think and to learn.

For example, one Thursday morning at 9:00 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 more broad-based viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a more detailed viewpoint.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will without doubt show that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent individual, but the more signs that an individual displays, the stronger the probability that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”

Miss Benning then informed the the pupils that each student would be accountable for examining three alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her results to the other class members via a six minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Wound Up About Giving An In-Depth Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency

After learning about the diverse alcohol addiction signs for a number of days, the time had finally come for the oral presentations. It was at once apparent that the students were energized about the topic because the material that they presented was first class. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the excitement exhibited by her pupils regarding this subject matter 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 class to go over the list and rank the top eight alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After around fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told her pupils that after she assesses the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

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

The Pupils Contrast Their Answers With the Findings From A Board of Substance Abuse Experts

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she added another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then explained to the students in her classroom that the numbers in the additional column she added represented the findings that were stated publicly by a team of alcoholism authorities.

Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to go over the information she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within 20 or 30 seconds, virtually everyone in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was clear to see that the students had some concerns, questions, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. For instance, virtually every person in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, to be precise, “Do you feel really nauseous when you refrain from drinking?”

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

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

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

Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the brain and from the body telling a person who is alcohol dependent that something is extremely wrong and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially lead to an individual’s death if the proper treatment is not immediately obtained.

Miss Benning then discussed the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is alcohol dependent abruptly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to stress 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 underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Think They Have Found An Inconsistency With the Findings From The Board of Chemical Dependency Authorities

The students also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism authorities, 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 informed the students in her classroom that this sign does not inevitably signify that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does highlight the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to recognize the major difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom 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 withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would obtain alcohol dependency rehab?”

After approximately three or four minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many pupils thought that roughly 85 to 95 percent of alcohol dependent people would seek alcohol addiction treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students figured that this number would not be less than 70 percent.

The Students Were Surprised to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcoholics in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Addiction Treatment

To the surprise of most of the pupils, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the individuals who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. get alcohol dependency treatment. This shocked most of the students because they believed that first-hand knowledge of the awful statistics and facts linked to alcoholism would motivate most of the individuals who are addicted to alcohol to get alcohol addiction rehabilitation.

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

A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating the end of the class. Based on the enthusiasm displayed by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and encouraged the students in her classroom to stop and think about a significant health and social problem that exists in our country.