Lesson 1528: High-Risk Situations and Response Plans
Duration:75 minutes
Topic Introduction:
This course focuses on the most crucial yet often overlooked aspect of alcohol use disorder/alcohol dependence—the identification and coping strategies for "high-risk situations." Many people don't crave alcohol all the time, but are particularly vulnerable at specific moments: for example, fatigue and emptiness after get off work, the habitual drinking at weekend gatherings, facing loss and loneliness alone in a room, after a heated argument with family or partner, passing by a familiar bar street, or the night after receiving paycheck or experiencing setbacks; the body automatically associates these situations with "just one drink." If you only emphasize "don't drink" and "have willpower," without helping you understand when these situations occur and how they gradually push you towards the glass, you are likely to feel more guilty after repeated loss of control, and even give up trying to quit or reduce your alcohol consumption. This course, without replacing any addiction specialist or medical treatment, will guide you to systematically understand: which times, places, people, emotions, and physical states make you more prone to strong cravings; how to use a "red, yellow, green light" system and risk classification to map your own danger zone; and how to combine Eastern healing teas, Japanese food therapy, and practical life arrangements to design a multi-layered plan for pre-event preparation, immediate coping, and post-event recovery. The goal is not to turn you into a "perfect sobriety person" who never makes mistakes, but to give you a little more options and a way out each time you get close to danger.
▲ AI Interaction: Create your "High-Risk Situation Red, Yellow, and Green Light" chart
This interactive exercise will help you transform "always failing in the same places" into a visible and adjustable high-risk situation table. Please follow these steps to write it:
① List 3–5 situations that most often occur to you before drinking in the past three months: for example, “passing by a convenience store before going home from get off work”, “having a gathering with a group of friends on the weekend”, “being alone in the room after arguing with your partner”, “on the way home from working overtime”, “the night you get paid”, etc. Describe the details of each situation in 2–3 sentences.
② Label each situation with three levels of signals:Green light(I only vaguely thought of alcohol, but not strongly.)Yellow light(The craving increases significantly, and one starts looking for reasons to drink.)red light(Already on the verge of buying, pouring, or about to lose control of alcohol). Describe the physical sensations (such as an empty stomach, a heavy head, and a rapid heartbeat), emotions (such as feeling wronged, angry, lonely, and powerless), thoughts (such as "I have to drink today" or "It's already like this anyway") and behaviors (such as opening a food delivery app or contacting drinking buddies) for each of these stages.
③ For each high-risk situation, write down your most frequent "default coping" in the past, such as "pretending that you can still control yourself", "telling yourself to drink only a little", "not telling anyone at all", and "drinking while cursing yourself".
④ Choose the two scenarios above that you think are "most dangerous" and write down next to them: If you were to move the danger forward (from red light to yellow light, from yellow light to green light), at which point could you insert a new action? For example: take another route home, send a message to someone first, have a cup of tea first, eat something first, listen to the music for this lesson first, or take a look at your abstinence pledge note first, etc.
⑤ Finally, please write down three sentences you would like your therapist, family, or supporter to say to you when you are in a high-risk situation—neither a dismissive "don't overthink it" nor a harsh rebuke, but something that helps you remember: "You are not alone, you have choices, and you deserve to be protected."“
After submission, AI will help you create a well-structured "high-risk scenario red, yellow, and green light" table and help you convert key sentences into reminders that you can read aloud or post on your phone or in your room.
○ Musical Guidance: Prepare transitional music for "the feeling before wanting to go for a drink" and "the emptiness after being refused".
For many alcoholics, the truly difficult part isn't just the urge to drink, but also the immense emptiness that follows the decision not to: the time, emotions, and physical sensations that were once filled with alcohol suddenly have nowhere to go. This lesson's music exercises aim to provide a reusable transitional space for these two moments—in...Before going to drinkListen to a passage first, inAfter reluctantly declining the invitationListen again, and you'll have a "sound room" where you can find refuge before and after high-risk situations.
Please choose an instrumental piece that is 12–15 minutes long, starting gently, gradually building tension, and ending with a slow, graceful closure. The first stage, in your…A high-risk scenario is expected before(For example, when you're about to leave work and are passing through a bar street, or 15 minutes before a date), put on your headphones and listen to the first half of the song in its entirety: allow yourself to honestly tell the music, "I really want to drink right now, and I'm also very tired," while asking yourself, "What if I let the music accompany me for 10 minutes first, and then decide whether or not to go for a drink?" You don't have to make any promises immediately; just insert a sound between your craving and your action.
The second stage, in yourThey have already stopped drinking or are drinking less than usual.Afterward, replay the second half and let the music slowly guide you back from tension and emptiness to your body: pay attention to whether there are any slight changes in your breathing, shoulders, fingers, and soles of your feet; if sadness or loneliness wells up, don't suppress it, you can listen and say to yourself: "I've not just lost the alcohol, I'm also trying to find a new way of living."“
When you repeatedly play the same song before and after high-risk situations, it slowly becomes a signal: reminding yourself that besides going to drinking parties, there is another path you can temporarily enter—a quiet path that is closer to your sense of life.
○ Eastern Healing Tea: A preparatory tea to "replace the promised first drink".
For many, the symbolic meaning of the "first drink" far outweighs its actual alcohol content: it represents leaving get off work, a relaxed start, a sense of belonging in a group, and the ability to "not think too much tonight." Simply taking that drink away abruptly without any alternative ritual can easily lead to a strong sense of loss and backlash from the brain and body. This course, incorporating 24 symbolic elements from Eastern healing teas, invites you to design a "preparatory tea to replace the first drink," while respecting medical advice and your individual constitution.
You can choose relatively mild drinks that are less likely to be overly stimulating or upset your stomach, such as brown rice tea, lightly roasted oolong, mild pu-erh, herbal teas (like a combination of chrysanthemum, chamomile, and a small amount of goji berries), and grain teas. The key is not the "medicinal effect," but...Ritual and repeatabilityIn your usualThe easiest time to open the first bottle of wineInstead, I made it a routine to prepare this cup of tea for myself. I treated the process of brewing tea as an act of taking back control of the night—washing the cup, pouring water, watching the tea leaves unfurl, smelling the aroma, and feeling the temperature of the cup, allowing my five senses to temporarily stop being occupied by the thought of "I want to drink alcohol."
When you take your first sip of tea, don't pretend to enjoy it. Just pause for a second and tell yourself, "I know you're feeling unwell and want to drink, but before you make that decision, let's give your body some warmth and flavor." You can associate this cup of tea with a specific action, such as playing a segment of the music from this lesson or opening your list of high-risk situations on your phone to remind yourself: You are practicing something you've never done before—being gently caught by something else before returning to alcohol.
The log can record: When this cup of tea is consistently available, how many high-risk moments did you choose to "drink the tea first and then decide"? Even if you still ended up drinking alcohol, the pause in between is a subtle way of training your brain: there is more than just a street between craving and action.
○ Japanese Dietary Therapy: A meal prepared for high-risk nights that "stabilizes blood sugar and mood"
Many people are more likely to drink uncontrollably in high-risk situations, not just because of their emotions at the time, but because their bodies are already in a state of "extreme vulnerability to alcohol": fasting, low blood sugar, consecutive days of poor sleep, damaged digestive system, and long-term nutritional deficiencies. Such a body is like parched, cracked earth; even a little rain can cause a landslide. This course borrows the ideas from 20 Japanese dietary therapy recipes to design a flexible "high-risk nighttime prep meal" that balances gentle nourishment, cleansing, digestive regulation, emotional calming, and blood and energy restoration.
For example, in yourWhen a drinking party or high-risk situation is anticipated that eveningConsider preparing a warm but not overly burdensome combination in advance: white porridge with pickled plums or kelp broth and vegetables, paired with a small amount of salmon or chicken and ginger dishes to help stabilize blood sugar and body temperature; for those with sensitive stomachs, gentle options such as yam and taro soup or tofu and buckwheat porridge can be used to prevent the stomach from being exhausted before alcohol is consumed; during periods when anxiety and insomnia are likely to occur due to quitting alcohol, try "soothing" combinations such as bonito broth with onions, hot milk and kudzu root starch paste, or soy milk and mushroom soup under the guidance of a doctor, so that the night is not just about alcohol to temporarily relax you.
For fatigue, anemia, or sub-health conditions caused by long-term alcohol consumption, it is advisable to pay more attention to blood-nourishing dishes such as bonito flakes, spinach and sesame salad, and black bean honey stew, under professional advice, to allow the body to gradually restore basic energy. You don't need to prepare all the dishes at once; just choose 1-2 "high-risk special meals" that are realistic and feasible for you, and prioritize preparing them for yourself on days when you are most likely to lose control.
It's recommended to keep a log: On which occasions, before a drinking party or on a night of emotional breakdown, did you allow yourself to finish a proper meal first? After eating, was there even the slightest difference in the intensity of your cravings, the speed at which you drank, or the amount you consumed? These differences might be the small safety space you've carved out for yourself. The goal of Japanese dietary therapy isn't to make you a perfectly healthy person, but to ensure your body isn't completely neglected and overtaxed on this long road to abstinence from alcohol.
Gastrointestinal and blood sugar
Emotional soothing
Healing Recipes
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○ Theme Mandala: View the "Path Between Dangerous Drinking Parties and Safe Havens" (View, not draw)
Please choose a mandala with a clear structure, showing multiple concentric rings and sections radiating outwards from the center. Simply observe it, do not draw it—a mandala is not about drawing something, but about observing it. You can imagine the center of the mandala as a "relatively safe state for yourself," such as: being in a place free from alcohol, being physically and emotionally okay; while the outer rings symbolize different levels of risk in your life: short-term stress, intense emotions, high-risk invitations, already sitting at the table drinking, and about to lose control.
While watching, first focus your gaze on the center, coordinate with your natural breathing, and silently say to yourself, "Here, there may be pain, but at least I'm not under the control of alcohol." Then slowly move outward along a radial line, imagining that the first circle is a moment of "being a little tired, a little annoyed, and vaguely thinking about alcohol," the second circle is a moment of "being invited out and having specific images of drinking appear in my mind," the third circle is a moment of "having reached a dangerous place or opened a bottle of alcohol," and further outwards is a moment of "the blankness and regret after losing control." For each circle, mentally associate it with a familiar scenario: a certain place, certain people, a certain conversation, a certain type of weather.
Next, slowly bring your gaze back to the center from the outermost layer, and imagine that you have placed a small "fork in the road" in each circle: you can take another route home, you can call someone first, you can have a cup of tea or a meal first, you can choose not to go to certain occasions for the time being, and you can still have the opportunity to pull yourself back to a slightly inner circle even after you have already sat down at the table.
You don't need to memorize all the paths at once. Just honestly admit while watching: "Yes, these layers exist, and these dangers exist, but I might also stop, turn around, or go back on one of these layers." Even just watching for a few minutes each day trains your brain: high-risk situations are not a black-and-white "drink or not drink" scenario, but a circle with many levels that can be adjusted.
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○ Chinese calligraphy and seal carving practice: "Stay away from danger, prioritize self-preservation"
The seal carving practice sentences for this lesson are:
“"Stay away from danger and prioritize self-preservation."”
In the context of alcohol dependence, "being principled" is often misunderstood as "unconditionally keeping appointments, drinking to the last drop, and not spoiling the fun." However, the principles that truly need to be protected are your life, safety, and mental and physical integrity. This lesson uses Chinese calligraphy and seal carving as a medium, inviting you to carve a new bottom line for yourself—stay away from danger, prioritize self-preservation.
Even without a stone seal and carving knife, you can simulate the effect of seal carving on paper with a brush or pen: write the four characters in a square, archaic style, with slow, slightly curved lines, each stroke like a mark carved on stone. When writing the four characters "stay away from danger," recall your past experiences of entering dangerous situations, telling yourself "it's okay, I can control myself," only to end up battered and bruised; acknowledge, stroke by stroke, that some situations, some people, and some times are, for you now, dangerous situations. When writing the four characters "self-preservation first," deliberately slow down, allowing that voice in your heart, often criticized as "selfish" or "uncooperative," to rise up—that is actually the part that wants to survive and protect itself.
After completion, draw a red frame around the eight characters to create an "invisible abstinence mark." You can take a picture and set it as your phone's lock screen, put it in your wallet or card holder, or stick it in the place where you usually pack your clothes before going out. Before you head to a high-risk place or accept an invitation that makes you uneasy, take a look at this sentence and ask yourself: "Whom am I protecting with this choice? Am I willing to put 'self-preservation first' before saving face or the atmosphere, even just once?"“
The significance of seal carving lies not in how beautiful the characters are written, but in reminding you that true strength is daring to draw boundaries for yourself, rather than repeatedly pushing yourself to the brink of disaster.
○ Guided Art Therapy: My "High-Risk Map and Backup Route Map"“
Draw a simplified "life map" on a piece of paper: write "Home/Safe Haven" in the middle, and draw several key locations or situations around it: company, school, frequent bars or restaurants, places where friends meet, supermarket or convenience store, family home, commuting route, etc. Connect them with lines, just like drawing a subway or bus route map.
Next, next to each location you think is highly associated with drinking, draw a small danger symbol (such as a triangle or wavy line) and briefly write down "who is present," "what they are usually doing," and "what time of day is the most dangerous." Then, draw one or more "alternative routes" for each of these locations: for example, the route from the office to home, in addition to the straight route past the convenience store, there are routes that bypass the small park, go to the supermarket to buy groceries to cook at home, or go to another friend who doesn't drink to sit for a while; between home and the friends' gathering place, in addition to going directly to the bar, you can stop at a nearby coffee shop or library to give yourself some buffer time.
On the map, use different colors to mark:Green lineRepresenting relatively safe routes and scenariosYellow lineRepresentatives need to be more vigilant.Red lineThis represents the routes you should temporarily avoid or that require someone to accompany you. Finally, write two sentences in a corner of the map: one is "Whom am I willing to notify in advance when I enter a red-line area?" and the other is "If I am very weak today, do I allow myself to completely avoid any red lines?"“
This map isn't about aesthetics, but about helping you see that the decision of "going to or not going for a drink" isn't just a simple switch, but rather a series of routes, turns, and stops. Every time you're willing to follow the green or yellow route, you're giving yourself a chance to practice "staying away from danger and prioritizing self-preservation" in real life.
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Lesson 1528 - Log Guidance
① Write down a high-risk situation you recently felt was "easy to get into trouble today": Where was it, what time was it, who was around you? How much did you want to drink? What happened in the end?
② Referring to the "red, yellow, green light" concept in this lesson, break down that experience into three stages: green light (at the beginning), yellow light (gradually tense), and red light (approaching or already out of control). Write down at least 3 physical, emotional, thought, or behavioral signals for each stage.
③ Review these three stages and honestly write down: At which point do you feel that it is most likely to be possible to insert a new action (such as taking a different route, eating first, making tea first, making a phone call first, or listening to music first) without feeling that it is "too difficult or impossible"?
④ Design a "mini high-risk coping plan" for the next two weeks: include a tea ceremony you can prepare in advance, a simple Japanese-style meal, a piece of music, a reminder you'd like to write in seal script or stick on your phone, and someone you'd like to ask for help from during red light periods. Write down how you plan to try using them before and after your next high-risk period.
⑤ Finally, write 3-5 sentences to your future self who is standing at the entrance of a bar, in front of a convenience store shelf, or receiving an invitation to a drinking party: What do you hope he/she will stop and think about first? What space are you willing to allow him/her to "take a step back"? What gentle yet firm words do you hope to say to your future self, letting him/her know that even turning away is not cowardice, but a courage worthy of deep respect?
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When you're willing to meticulously depict your high-risk situations, use AI to organize traffic light charts, create buffers for the "emptiness after wanting to drink" and the "emptiness after refusing" through music, take care of your body at crucial moments with a cup of Eastern healing tea and a Japanese therapeutic meal, visualize the path between danger zones and safe havens in a mandala, carve a bottom line for yourself with the motto "Stay away from danger, self-preservation first," and design new routes for life through painting and journaling, you'll no longer be someone led astray by alcohol, but gradually become a practitioner who can negotiate with risks and fight for a way out and a tomorrow. Recovery from alcohol use disorder is never a one-time decision, but rather an accumulation of many small steps taken for yourself even when on the verge of high risk—and this course helps you prepare the map and tools for these "small steps."
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