○ Musical Guidance: Listen to your motif in a piece that "returns to the theme multiple times".

Motives are rarely linear; they're more like a piece of music that repeatedly returns to the same theme: you might swear to quit drinking many times, only to relapse; sometimes you're full of hope for the future, sometimes you just want to lie down. This lesson's musical exercise invites you to experience the rhythm of your own motives using an instrumental piece with a recurring theme, sometimes loud and sometimes soft.
Practice method: Choose a 12-15 minute piece with a clear main melody that repeats itself in the middle. Before playing it, write down a direction that you truly care about right now, such as "watching my child grow up," "keeping my current job," "not wanting to be hospitalized again," or "wanting my health to gradually improve." When you start listening, treat this direction as the "theme" of the music. Whenever the melody returns to a familiar passage, silently repeat to yourself: "Even if I waver repeatedly, this desired direction remains."“
When the music reaches its climax, allow yourself to recall those failures, relapses, and being blamed, while telling yourself, "Yes, I've taken many detours, but that doesn't mean I have no motivation." When the music transitions to a calmer section, focus on the subtle changes in your breathing, shoulders, palms, and chest, and observe: In the few minutes you sit and listen to music, away from alcohol, can you feel a sense of "life that hasn't been completely destroyed"?
Before you have a strong urge or are about to go to the clinic or seek psychological counseling, I suggest you use the same piece of music repeatedly as a "background sound" for your motivation: remind yourself that motivation can be drowned out and disturbed, but it will also come back again and again—just like this melody.

○ Eastern Healing Tea: A cup of tea that evokes a desire to "quit" yet also a longing to drink.

In many people's relationship with alcohol, there's a typical dialogue: "Do you really want to quit?"—This question is often accompanied by blame and shame, which diminishes the true motivation. This course, combining 24 images from Eastern healing teas, invites you to use a cup of "dialogue tea" to practice talking to yourself about quitting alcohol in a gentler way, while respecting medical advice and your physical condition.
Please choose a tea that you can tolerate, one that won't be overly irritating or upset your stomach, such as mild genmaicha, lightly roasted oolong, lightly fermented green tea, herbal tea (like chamomile with a small amount of grapefruit peel), or grain tea. The key is not the efficacy, but the "constantly occurring ritual": before you start thinking about "whether to continue treatment," "whether to reduce alcohol consumption," or "whether to attend a drinking party," slowly brew yourself this cup of tea.
While brewing tea, practice the language of Mindfulness (MI) in your mind: First, say to yourself, "I understand why you can't live without alcohol," then say, "I also see that you are actually very afraid of being hurt by alcohol again," and then, "Let's think together about whether there's a slightly different approach." When you take the first sip of tea, don't rush to conclusions. Just hold the tea in your mouth for a second, feel the temperature and aroma, and ask yourself an open-ended question: "If I really move towards drinking less and taking better care of my health, what am I most afraid of losing? And what do I most want to gain?"“
You can record in your journal: How many times, when you're willing to let this cup of tea appear first, does the voice of motivation become a little clearer than before? It may still be faint, but it's no longer a whisper completely drowned out by alcohol. This cup of tea isn't about making an immediate decision, but about giving you, who "want to quit but also want to drink," a chance to be heard in a safer space.

○ Japanese Food Therapy: Embrace your motivation with a "small meal that supports change"

Motivation, if not translated into concrete actions, can easily dissipate amidst a busy day and emotional fluctuations. This course borrows the framework of 20 Japanese food therapy recipes, inviting you to design a "small meal to support change" for yourself—from the perspectives of "warming and restoring physical strength," "clearing heat and soothing anxiety," "gastrointestinal conditioning," "emotional and sleep support," and "blood and energy repair"—turning the motivation "I want to live a healthier life" into a bite of food you can eat every day.
For example, on the day you're seriously considering a plan to quit drinking, going for a follow-up appointment, or discussing drinking with your family, you can prepare for yourself: a bowl of chicken and ginger congee or root vegetable and pork soup (tonju) to help warm your stomach and boost your energy; paired with a small dish of spinach and sesame salad or burdock root to support circulation and metabolism; if you feel anxious or have trouble sleeping, you can have a combination of bonito broth with onions, hot milk and kudzu root starch paste, or soy milk and mushroom soup in the evening, as prescribed by your doctor, to help cool down your nervous system. Those with long-term gastrointestinal problems can choose suitable combinations from mild dishes such as white congee with pickled plums, kelp broth and vegetable congee, or yam and taro soup.
You don't need to make a complicated meal all at once. Just prepare a small but complete Japanese-style meal for yourself regularly during key periods, and tell yourself clearly in your mind: "This is a way for me to practice turning motivation into reality." While eating, you can whisper to yourself: "Maybe I'm not fully ready to quit drinking yet, but I'm willing to start by taking care of my body."“
I suggest you record in your journal: After you finish this meal, when you face alcohol-related decisions, does the feeling of powerlessness and despair lessen slightly? Even if it's just a little bit more sober and has more choices than before, this meal is already silently supporting your change.

Support Motivation
Gastrointestinal repair
Mood and Sleep

Healing Recipes

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○ Theme Mandala: Observing "A Path Slowly Turning Between Contradictions" (Observe, do not draw)

Please choose a mandala that is symmetrical horizontally or vertically, but with slight differences in details. Simply observe it, do not draw it—a mandala is not about drawing something, but about observing it. You can imagine one side of the mandala as the "force to maintain the status quo": continue drinking, continue living as usual, and temporarily avoid facing the uncertainty brought by change; the other side symbolizes the "force to move towards change": reduce harm, repair bodily relationships, and move towards a longer-term life.
When viewing, first focus your gaze on the center of the mandala, treating it as "the you who truly wants to live well." Don't label it; simply acknowledge that you are someone who wants to live but also fears pain. Then slowly move your gaze to the left half, carefully examining the lines, colors, and repeating patterns, visualizing it as "maintaining the conversation": perhaps the lines are denser, tighter, and heavier, like habits, inertia, and fear. Next, move your gaze to the right half, imagining it as "changing the conversation": the lines may have more space, the colors brighter, but perhaps there is instability and the unknown.
As you move your gaze back and forth between the left and right, you can coordinate with your breathing, mentally "translating" each side in turn: with each inhale and exhale, first say a sentence for the side that is being maintained, then say a sentence for the side that is being changed, for example: "I'm afraid of losing the companionship of alcohol," or "I don't want to wake up and regret it again and again." You don't need to force yourself to take sides immediately; just see that both forces are serving some important needs of yours, just in different ways.
Finally, bring your gaze back to the center, pause for a moment, and say to yourself, "Between these two sides, I can slowly choose which side to move closer to, rather than being completely dragged away by either side." Even spending just a few minutes each day observing like this trains you—not to eliminate the conflict, but to learn to maintain a position where you can make choices amidst the contradictions.

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○ Chinese Calligraphy and Seal Carving Practice: "Taking a Step Forward Despite Contradictions"

The seal carving practice sentences for this lesson are:

“"Even with contradictions, we move forward."”

Motivation enhancement interviews emphasize that people can...Still contradictoryIn situations where you are not struggling, make decisions that benefit yourself, rather than waiting until you have completely given up before taking action. This lesson uses Chinese calligraphy and seal carving as a medium, inviting you to carve this new attitude towards abstinence onto paper.
Even without a seal stone and carving knife, you can still use a brush or pen to imitate the "seal carving" style of characters: write each character squarely, with a compact structure and slightly curved lines, slowing down the pace, as if each stroke is leaving a mark on the stone. When writing the four characters "with contradictions," allow all complex feelings to surface: the attachment to alcohol, the fear of the future, the shame of failure, and say to yourself as you write: "Yes, I am contradictory." When writing the four characters "also take a step forward," deliberately make the strokes slightly forward and the horizontal strokes more stable, as if telling yourself: "Even so, I am still willing to abstain from drinking for one more night, have one more drink, see one more doctor, and speak the truth one more time."“
Once finished, draw a frame around the eight characters in red ink, and consider them your "motivation seal." You can stick it on the refrigerator door, wine cabinet door, next to your desk, or take a picture and put it on your phone's lock screen. Whenever you waver, you don't need to immediately promise "never to drink again." Just look at it and ask yourself: "Even now, when I'm so conflicted, am I willing to take a step forward? What exactly is that step?"“
This inscription is not meant to judge whether you are qualified to quit drinking, but to remind you that as long as you are still willing to move forward a little bit today, you are still on the road to recovery.

○ Guided Art Therapy: My "Motivation Balance" and Small Steps in Reality

Draw a simple balance scale on a piece of paper: write "Continue drinking as you are now" on the left pan and "Try some changes" on the right pan (e.g., reduce alcohol consumption, set an alcohol-free day, seek professional help, inform family members, avoid certain drinking occasions, etc.). Draw the fulcrum in the middle of the scale, leaving a large space below for writing.
Next, under the left tray, write down the benefits and costs of continuing to maintain the status quo: for example, "I can relax quickly and don't have to face my emotions," "I can still be with my friends as before," "My liver function will deteriorate, my memory will worsen, and I will feel unwell the next day," "Conflicts with my family will intensify, and I will accumulate guilt," etc. Under the right tray, write down the benefits and costs of trying to make changes: for example, "My body has a chance to recover," "I can save money and repair relationships," "I will be more anxious in the short term and my sleep may worsen," "I will have to face emptiness and boredom," etc.
Then, write a sentence in the lower half of the image: "If I want to make the right tray a little heavier, what is one step I can take in reality today?" For example: Choose not to store alcohol at home today, postpone drinking time by one hour today, try to appease yourself with a cup of tea and a Japanese snack today, promise yourself that if you drink, you will record it truthfully and no longer cover it up.
Finally, draw a small icon (like a pebble or a leaf) for this step and place it on the right pan of the scale, symbolizing that you've put real weight on the "change" side. You can then draw another pebble each time you complete a small step, gradually transforming the whole image into a visual record of "how you tip the scale step by step," rather than just the abstract words "I want to quit drinking."

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Lesson 1529 - Log Guidance

① Write down your current relationship with alcohol in 5–8 sentences: What do you appreciate about it, what do you resent about it, what are you most afraid of losing, and what do you most want to change?
② Referring to the "Changing the Conversation/Maintaining the Conversation" exercise in this lesson, write at least 5 sentences that represent your two voices, and circle the two sentences that touch you the most in each group, writing down which need they touched on.
③ Reflecting on the past three months: Was there a moment when you suddenly and strongly felt, "I don't want to keep drinking like this anymore"? Please describe that scene, moment, and feeling in detail, and write down: If you could say one thing to yourself at that moment, what would it be?
④ Set a small "motivational practice" goal for the next one to two weeks: for example, "make tea/eat a meal before you feel like drinking," "spend 15 minutes each week writing in your drinking journal," "schedule a professional consultation," or "carefully review your medical test results." Write down how you plan to implement this and what obstacles you are most likely to encounter.
⑤ Finally, write 3-5 sentences to a future version of yourself who will drink again: What do you not want your future self to forget about today? What words are you willing to promise never to use to attack him/her again? What reminder with the spirit of MI are you willing to give your future self, so that he/she knows that even if you fall, the motivation has not disappeared, but just needs to be invited back?

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When you're willing to view yourself through the lens of motivational interviews, no longer explaining everything with just the label of "lack of willpower," but instead earnestly writing down both the voices of change and maintenance, embracing that fragile desire through music, Eastern healing tea, and a Japanese therapeutic meal, observing the paths that still exist amidst contradictions in mandalas, establishing a new fundamental attitude for yourself with the inscription "taking a step forward despite contradictions," and recording every small pebble placed on the "tray of change" in paintings and journals, you will no longer be just someone dragged along by alcohol, but will gradually become a practitioner who can negotiate with themselves and never give up on moving closer to life despite repeated falls. Recovery from alcohol use disorder is the accumulation of countless moments of motivational ups and downs, yet still choosing to "take a step forward" time and time again. This lesson lays a gentle yet solid foundation for these steps.