Lesson 1591: Withdrawal Reactions and Emotion Regulation Training
Duration:70 minutes
Topic Introduction: This course focuses on the physical and mental reactions and emotional regulation training during the "internet addiction withdrawal period." Many people experience withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anger, emptiness, boredom, increased anxiety, sleep disturbances, and increased difficulty concentrating when trying to reduce their internet or gaming time. This doesn't mean you've "failed," but rather that your brain's reward and habit systems are readjusting. This course will help you understand why reducing internet use feels like a "protest" from your brain. It will also help you build a workable toolkit for emotional regulation through breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, emotion naming, grounding, behavioral substitution, and micro-goal design. We won't ask you to "completely disconnect from the internet immediately," but rather assist you in treating withdrawal symptoms as a training ground, learning to manage tension, boredom, and emptiness without relying on screens. The goal is to gradually regain your rhythm during withdrawal fluctuations, rather than being overwhelmed by repeated self-blame and feelings of giving up.
[arttao_Healing_Course_tts_group1591_1595]○ Clarification of the characteristics and misconceptions of withdrawal symptoms
- Both physical and mental reactions:Withdrawal is not only a psychological issue, but also involves the rearrangement of the brain's reward system, sleep rhythm, and neural excitability.
- “The illusion of "worse":Many people feel more emotionally chaotic and in a worse state of mind when they reduce their internet use, which is actually a temporary resurfacing of feelings that were previously suppressed by the screen.
- Emptiness and boredom:In the early stages of withdrawal, it is common to feel that "life has no content," which is the nervous system re-adapting to a lower level of stimulation.
- The cycle of self-blame and giving up:Once they can no longer persevere, they fiercely criticize themselves, becoming even more reliant on the internet to alleviate their shame, creating a vicious cycle.
- Trainability:Withdrawal is a process that can be learned and trained; it is not something that can be endured solely by willpower. Instead, specific emotion regulation techniques can be introduced.
▲ AI Interaction: Seeing "Yourself During Withdrawal" Instead of Just Focusing on Failure
When you try to spend less time on your phone or playing games, you might suddenly become extremely irritable, anxious, or even feel like "I should just keep playing." This lesson invites you not to deny this experience, but to make friends with it.
Please write down your most recent experience of trying to reduce your internet or gaming time: the time you decided to reduce, what actually happened, and how you felt physically and mentally at the time.
Next, try to describe yourself at that moment in the third person, for example: "He/She/TA is practicing not to force himself to stay calm online, so he/she is temporarily flustered."“
You can explore with AI: During similar withdrawal moments, can you do a small emotional regulation exercise first, instead of immediately surrendering to the screen? For example, take three deep breaths, drink a cup of hot tea, do a simple stretch, or write down a couple of sentences about your true feelings.
Click the button below to rename your withdrawal experience with AI: from "I can't take it anymore" to "My brain is learning new ways to regulate."
○ A sense of stability during withdrawal: Music therapy
Choose a gentle instrumental piece with repetitive motifs, such as a minimalist piano or soothing guitar. Keep the volume at a level where you can hear the details but not drown out your breathing.
Try the "breath counting exercise" to music: inhale and count from 1 to 4, pause for 1 beat, then slowly exhale and count from 1 to 6; repeat 10 times.
Whenever you have a strong urge to pick up your phone or open a game, make sure you take at least three breaths before making your choice. It's not about forcibly forbidding it, but about adding a conscious pause.
Write down a sentence you want to say to yourself during your withdrawal period, such as: "Your current irritability is because you are learning not to keep yourself company with screens." Let music be the background for that gentle reminder.
○ Oriental healing tea
Recommended drinks:Lemon Balm Green Tea
Recommended reasons:The refreshing taste of green tea combined with the soothing and relaxing properties of lemon balm can help relieve tension, irritability, and mild anxiety during withdrawal, while maintaining adequate alertness and avoiding excessive fatigue.
usage:Take 2g of green tea and 1-2g of dried lemon balm leaves, steep in hot water at around 80℃ for 2-3 minutes, then drink. It is recommended to drink a small cup before and after your planned "short break," treating the tea-brewing process as a brief dialogue with yourself, appreciating the water temperature, the aroma of the tea, and the rhythm of your breathing.
○ Greek-Mediterranean Dietary Therapy: Yogurt, Nuts, and Honey Bowl
Based on Greek yogurt, this drink is combined with walnuts, almonds, a touch of honey, and fresh fruit slices to provide high-quality protein, healthy fats, and probiotics, which help stabilize blood sugar and support a balanced gut microbiota. For the mood swings and urges to overeat that are common during withdrawal, this simple combination provides satisfaction without being overly burdensome, allowing the body to more easily cope with emotional training while feeling light and full.
○ Free Mandala Healing
Image therapy: Seeing the "regulating brain" between the undulating lines.“
When you look at the repetitive patterns and undulating lines in a mandala, you can imagine one circle as "the urge to surf the internet" and the other as "self-care." They are not mutually exclusive, but rather they continuously approach, recede, and approach each other again within the same image.
Mandala drawing is not about drawing something, but about observing. While observing, you can silently describe your withdrawal experience: "Right now I really want to go online, but at the same time I'm trying to look at myself for a few more seconds." Let your gaze linger on the details of the image, the edges of the color blocks, and the blank spaces. Practice not giving the impulse to act immediately, but first giving it a space to be seen.
○ Suggestions for practicing Roman script
In this lesson, ancient Roman script is used to convey the imagery of "moderation and regulation." The neat, clear, and orderly forms of the letters can help you cultivate a steady, non-extreme attitude during periods of withdrawal.
- Writing words:
Latin:Moderatio(Moderation and Harmony)
Meaning in Chinese: To find a sustainable middle ground between extremes. - Psychological Intention:
When you write "Moderatio," focus on the possibility of "neither never going online again nor completely losing control." Let each letter remind you that small adjustments are much easier to maintain and more respectful of your brain's rhythms than extreme decluttering. - Writing method:
Using a slightly thicker ballpoint pen or fountain pen, write slowly on lined paper, deliberately keeping vertical lines perpendicular, horizontal strokes steady, and letter spacing moderate. Each stroke can be accompanied by a slow breath, treating each stroke as a clue to "bring back to reality." - Emotional transformation:
When you experience intense self-blame due to withdrawal symptoms, stop and write "Moderatio" three times, next to it a realistic and achievable small goal, such as "Put your phone away 15 minutes early tonight" or "Complete a small task before logging on." Let the words be gentle prompts for action, not a new source of criticism.
○ Withdrawal reaction and emotion regulation training; guidance suggestions for art therapy
This page uses drawings to visualize "withdrawal symptoms" and "emotional regulation training," allowing you to see that you are not simply "quitting bad habits," but rather relearning how to interact with your emotions and body. The drawings are for self-awareness purposes only and do not replace medical diagnosis or professional treatment.
I. Waves and Steps: The Upward Path in Abstinence Fluctuations
- Draw a wavy line on paper to represent the intensity of emotions and impulses during the withdrawal process. You can mark several high points (strong urge to go online, irritability, and the urge to give up) and low points (slightly stable, able to fall asleep, and completing some tasks).
- Below the wavy line, draw a slowly rising staircase. For each staircase, write down an emotion regulation exercise that you are willing to try, such as "take 3 deep breaths", "stand up and walk around", "make a cup of tea", or "write down 3 sentences about your true feelings".
- Connecting certain high points with corresponding steps using arrows indicates that when withdrawal symptoms intensify, there is more than one way out than "continuing to surf the internet." You can also take a small step up the ladder of self-regulation.
II. Internal Resource Map: Who is supporting you through the withdrawal period?
- Draw a small circle in the center of the paper and write "Me practicing withdrawal".
- Draw several branches outwards, labeled as "physical resources," "environmental resources," "interpersonal resources," and "internal resources."
- Next to “Body Resources”, write down the strengths you can utilize, such as “a reasonably healthy heart and lungs”, “legs that can walk”, and “a sense of taste that can still feel the heat of tea”.
- In the "Environmental Resources" section, write down spaces and items that can help reduce your stress, such as quiet corners, softly lit places, and objects that make you feel at ease.
- Write down one or two key names or traits in your interpersonal and internal resources section, such as "a friend who is willing to listen to my complaints" or "experiences I have tried many times." Finally, write an encouraging sentence on the edge of the page, such as: "Withdrawal is a wave, I am not that wave, I am just someone who is learning how to ride the wind."“
Tip: When you draw yourself during withdrawal, you'll often be surprised to find that you're not just "lacking willpower," but rather struggling to survive with limited resources. If you experience severe insomnia, intense feelings of despair, or suicidal thoughts during withdrawal, please contact a professional psychiatrist, mental health service, or your local crisis intervention hotline as soon as possible. Your safety should always be your top priority.
Please log in before submitting your drawings and feelings.
○ 1591. Withdrawal Reactions and Emotion Regulation Training: Journal-Guided Suggestions
① Context Review: Write down the last time you tried to reduce your internet or gaming time, starting with the time, place, and what you were doing, and try to describe it as objectively as possible.
② Withdrawal Scan: Use a scale of 1 to 10 to assess your "irritability", "emptiness", and "urge to get back online" at the time, and write a sentence to describe the location of each feeling in your body.
③ Adjustment attempts: Reflect on whether you have done any alternative adjustments (even just one deep breath). If not, please write down one small exercise you would most like to try if you could go back to that time.
④ Positive Testimony: Summarize today's insights in two or three sentences, such as: "I've discovered that I'm actually more willing to endure a few more minutes than before, which is also a kind of progress." Let words become a gentle testimony to yourself during the withdrawal process.
Please log in to use.
Withdrawal symptoms are not evidence of failure, but rather a signal that the brain is learning a new rhythm. May you see yourself, through each small adjustment exercise, not as someone who "can't control themselves," but as someone earnestly practicing a gentler, freer way of life.
EN 
ZH 
ES 
FR 
JA