○ Musical Guidance: Practice coexisting with others in melodies where "many sounds coexist."

For those who habitually use alcohol to manage their emotions, joining a group often means facing two difficulties: first, "how will others perceive me?" and second, "when hearing others' stories, can I bear the resonance and triggering of those feelings?" This lesson's music exercise invites you to experience the feeling of "many sounds existing simultaneously" using a polyphonic, layered yet not chaotic piece of music, allowing your nervous system to familiarize itself with this atmosphere in advance.
Practice method: Choose an instrumental piece with a clear polyphonic structure and different instruments taking turns, such as chamber music, string quartet, or some pure music with multi-track orchestration. Find a relatively quiet time when you won't be disturbed, play the music, and imagine yourself sitting in an anonymous group.
In the first half, please focus your attention on different "voices" in turn: sometimes listen to the main melody, sometimes to the accompaniment lines, and sometimes to the faint rhythms in the distance. Practice telling yourself, "Every sound is telling a story, and I have the right to decide which one I need to listen to more at this moment." When the music becomes slightly noisy or the mood rises, you can gently place your hands on your chest or abdomen and say to yourself, "If I hear many heavy stories in the group, I can also use this method to settle myself down."“
In the latter half, you can imagine a particular instrument representing "your voice": not necessarily the loudest, but one that finds its place within the whole. Whenever this part appears again, silently tell yourself: "When it's my turn to speak, I can say only a short part and save the rest for next time."“
After the music ends, please write down three questions on a piece of paper: ① What am I most afraid of happening in a group? ② If these things actually happen, what are some ways I can cope? ③ What might I gain from this experience that I would find difficult to obtain alone? This reflection will serve as a more personal reference when you consider joining a group in the future.

○ Eastern Healing Tea: A Transitional Tea "Before Going, After Leaving"

Whether it's your first time using AA or SMART, or you're hesitating about joining an anonymous meeting online, for many, those "minutes before leaving home or going online" are often the easiest time to back out. This section combines 24 types of Eastern healing teas, inviting you to design a transitional tea for yourself "before going and after leaving," while respecting your physical condition and medical advice.
在Before departureYou can choose a tea that allows your body to gradually stabilize: for example, a lightly roasted oolong, genmaicha, grain tea, or a mild herbal tea (such as chamomile, chrysanthemum with a small amount of goji berries, etc.), avoiding overly stimulating options. When brewing tea, do only three things: feel the sound of the water, smell the aroma of the tea, and mentally state one reason for joining the group—it doesn't have to be grand, just genuine, such as "I don't want to wake up drunk alone again" or "I want to know how others get through it."
在After the group ended and I returned to my own spaceYou can brew yourself another cup of slightly different tea—perhaps the same kind, or perhaps a slightly more soothing or calming blend if your mood allows. At this point, don't force yourself to review everything; simply ask yourself three questions: ① Was there a single sentence today that made me feel understood? ② Was there a single image that made me uncomfortable and needs further processing in a journal or therapy session? ③ Am I willing to retain even the slightest connection for my future self?
The purpose of these two cups of tea is not to provide magical effects, but to add clear boundaries to the process of "entering the crowd and returning to oneself": you are not someone swallowed up by the group, but someone who consciously moves back and forth between multiple spaces. This sense of rhythm will be deepened in your bodily memory with each aroma of tea.

○ Japanese dietary therapy: "Light meals" before and after group activities help you avoid facing emotions on an empty stomach.

Many people experience hunger, fluctuating blood sugar, or stomach tightness before and after attending AA, SMART, or other group gatherings: either they haven't eaten properly all day and attend on an empty stomach; or they react with heavy oil, salt, or alcohol afterward due to emotional ups and downs. Over time, the body's memory of "going to a group" becomes a mixture of "tightness + discomfort + loss of control." This section borrows the structure of 20 Japanese food therapy recipes to design two feasible small meal plans from the perspectives of gastrointestinal conditioning, emotional soothing, and gentle repair.
在1–2 hours before the groupIf conditions permit, you can prepare a light meal that is "stable for blood sugar and not too heavy", such as: tea rice or white porridge with pickled plums, accompanied by a small portion of kaiseki steamed vegetables or tofu and perilla salad; if the temperature is low that day, you can change it to kelp broth vegetable porridge or pumpkin and red bean porridge, so that your stomach can get energy in the warmth, but it will not be so heavy that you will feel drowsy in the group.
在After the group endedIf you still need to eat, choose dishes that are more "soothing and restorative," such as bonito broth with onions, soy milk and mushroom soup, sweet potato and yuzu honey soup, or a small amount of yam and taro puree with simple rice, to help the nervous system gradually recover from emotional fluctuations. For those who have a long-term heavy alcohol burden and physical exhaustion, under professional advice, you can moderately arrange dishes such as bonito flakes, spinach and sesame salad, and black bean honey soup as a slow way to repair blood and qi.
You don't need to prepare complicated dishes every time; just choose one or two to establish a "regular small meal before and after the group." Over time, you'll find that your body's memory of "going to a group" is no longer just associated with tension and emptiness, but also with the experience of being well taken care of. This will subtly support you in returning to your companions time and time again.

Stabilize blood sugar
Gastrointestinal regulation
Emotional soothing

Healing Recipes

recipe

return

Recipe content not found (path:/home2/lzxwhemy/public_html/arttao_org/wp-content/uploads/cookbook/jp_diet-1532(Alternatively, you could try relaxed="1" or use an existing filename.)

Upload your work (up to 2 pieces):

Upload an image Support JPG/PNG/WebP, single image ≤ 3MB

Upload an image Support JPG/PNG/WebP, single image ≤ 3MB

○ Theme Mandala: Observe "many concentric circles extending from a central point" (observe, do not draw).

Please choose a mandala that starts with a clear center and expands outwards into multiple concentric circles, with different textures or color blocks in each circle. Just 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 the state of "a person facing white alcohol alone": all the pressure, shame, secrets, failures, and expectations are crammed into a small dot, almost suffocating.
While watching, first focus your gaze on the center for a few seconds, allowing yourself to recall: how many times have you drunk alone at night, woke up alone, and cleaned up the mess alone? Then, slowly move your gaze outward to the first circle, imagining this circle as the layer where "you begin to acknowledge that you need help": it might be saying to yourself, "I think there's something wrong with me," or it might be the first time you searched for information about AA, SMART, or other groups online.
Going outwards, you can think of it as the level where you're "connected to a small, safe group of people": perhaps an anonymous online community, a few friends also on the path to sobriety, or a therapist knowledgeable in addiction treatment. Continuing to expand outwards, each circle represents a larger support network being slowly woven together: a little more understanding from family, minor adjustments to your work environment, and other stable elements gradually appearing in your life besides alcohol.
As your gaze wanders back and forth, you can silently repeat to yourself, "I am still the one at the center, but I can no longer bear it all alone." You can even stop at any circle and regard that circle as a symbol of a "peer support group"—it is not in the very core position, and it does not bear all your weight, but it is like a buffer ring, preventing external pressure from hitting you directly.
Even spending just a few minutes each day watching like this is like redrawing a map for your brain: from "I'm all alone" to "I'm in a circle, and there are people standing shoulder to shoulder with me." This map provides a small but real courage when you're considering whether to move closer to a group.

[mandala_gallery1532]

○ Chinese calligraphy and seal carving practice: "One person cannot support it, but many hands can help."

The seal carving practice sentences for this lesson are:

“"If one person can't hold on, many hands can help."”

In the long struggle against alcohol, "independence" is sometimes exaggerated into the only quality worth being proud of: many people would rather push themselves to the brink of collapse alone than admit they need to reach out. However, the core of peer support and group dynamics lies precisely in acknowledging that sometimes, one truly cannot bear the full weight alone, and allowing more hands to reach in is not a failure, but a sign of maturity. This course uses Chinese calligraphy and seal carving as a medium, inviting you to carve this new belief into a seal.
Even without carving tools and stone seals, you can use a brush or pen to trace the "seal carving" style of characters on paper: make the rhythm of "four characters in a group" steady, the lines slightly clumsy but solid, as if each stroke was slowly carved out of the stone. When writing the four characters "一人难撑" (one person can't hold on), let your memories surface: those moments when you drank yourself into oblivion alone, signed an apology letter alone, woke up alone in the hospital alone, and faced the test results alone. Entrust these images to the tip of your pen. When writing the four characters "众手可扶" (many hands can help), deliberately slow down and think of those who have reached out a hand or may be willing to reach out a hand—those in reality, in groups, on the other side of the screen, or even just supporters you hope will appear in the future.
Once finished, draw a frame with a red pen and use these eight characters as your "Peer Support Seal." You can stick it in your diary, next to your computer, or inside your wardrobe, or take a picture and set it as your phone's lock screen on the day you're going to attend a group meeting. When you're hesitating about attending an in-person or online meeting, just glance at it and ask yourself, "Am I willing to admit that, at least for this part of my life, it's really hard for me to cope alone?"“
This inscription isn't meant to deny your strength, but rather to remind you that sometimes, true courage isn't about "just hang in there," but about saying, in the right place, "I can't manage alone anymore, is there someone who can walk with me for a while?"“

○ Guided Art Therapy: My “Support Network Map”—From a Line to a Network

Draw a small circle in the center of a piece of paper and write your name or a symbol that only you can understand, symbolizing "me struggling with alcohol." Draw several lines outward from this small circle, and at the end of each line, draw a small dot, listing the sources of support you currently have or hope to have: such as a friend with whom you can speak the truth, a professional therapist, a group you are considering joining (AA, SMART, or others), a family member willing to learn about related knowledge, a recovery partner you know in real life or online, an online community where you feel safe, or a book you read repeatedly.
Next, try drawing more connections between these dots: for example, friends and family may know each other, groups and therapists may get to know each other, and online community resources can help you find physical institutions. You'll find that what was originally just a single line between "you and alcohol" gradually expands into a network.
Next to each step, write down a "realistic and feasible next step," rather than an idealized goal. For example: plan to first audit an online group anonymously, invite a friend to the first meeting, discuss with a therapist what type of group is suitable for you, or tell your family, "I'm considering joining a support group and hope you understand and respect my pace."
Once finished, write a quote next to the entire diagram that you'd like to give yourself, such as: "I am still at the center of this network, but I no longer have to survive on just one line." Place this diagram in your diary or on the inside of your wardrobe. Whenever you feel isolated and helpless, take it out and look at it: Which connections have already formed? Which are still in the works? Which ones only need you to take a little more step to illuminate them?

[arttao_Healing_Course_tts_group1531_1535]

Lesson 1532 - Log Guidance

① Reflect on all your past experiences with peer support/groups (not limited to those related to alcoholism): Which ones made you feel understood? Which ones made you want to escape? Please give one example of each and write down your feelings at the time.
② Write down your three most genuine concerns and three vague expectations about AA, SMART, or other support groups. Don't embellish them, just be honest.
③ Referring to the exercises in this lesson’s “Ideal Safe Group Profile”, list five key criteria for “the right group for you” (e.g., anonymity, facilitation style, whether it involves a specific belief, the language used, whether it can be participated in online, etc.), and mark each one as “extremely important/moderately important/flexible”.
④ Set a very specific, gentle, and realistic "small trial" for the next one to two months: for example, "just look for information about nearby or online groups online," "discuss suitable group options with a therapist," "sit in on an online meeting without speaking," or "ask a trusted person if they would be willing to accompany me to my first meeting." Write down when and how you plan to do it.
⑤ Finally, write 3-5 sentences to a future version of yourself who has just returned from a group activity—whether the experience was warm, awkward, complicated, or made you decide to stay away for now. What do you hope your future self will remember about today? In what ways do you not want him/her to belittle himself/herself? What message would you like to send to your future self to remind him/her that trying to get closer to someone is itself an important counterattack against the powerful inertia of alcohol?

Please log in to use.

When you're willing to seriously consider the role of peer support and the group in recovery, use AI to first describe your own safety needs, practice the rhythm of coexisting with others in polyphonic music, prepare for group activities before and after using Eastern healing tea ceremonies and Japanese food therapy, observe yourself moving from an isolated center to multiple concentric circles in a mandala, engrave a new belief for yourself with the seal "One person can't hold on, but many hands can help," and honestly record every step of approach and retreat in a "support network map" and log, you will no longer be just someone alone in your room facing a bottle of alcohol, but will gradually become a companion who knows how to reach out and allows others to hold that hand. Recovery from alcohol use disorder is not about becoming completely dependent on others, but about learning to walk alongside a group of people who understand you while still being the master of your own life.