In the world of veterinary medicine, stress is constant. Alcohol is often celebrated as an acceptable coping mechanism and as a result, many of us wind up drinking more than we want to. Ask me how I know! Strict and outdated approaches didn't work for me. They don't acknowledge the spectrum of drinking habits, and don't allow any room for change without total abstinence. But real and lasting change isn't just about willpower - it's about rewiring the brain with compassion. Join me in taking a kinder path and establishing a healthier relationship with alcohol your own way.

Do you ever feel like your relationship with alcohol isn’t as simple as normal versus problematic? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Society has conditioned us to see alcohol in 2 opposing ways, without much of a middle ground. But I’m here to share that the sober curious movement is growing.

I pulled into the parking lot early and parked my car. I took a deep breath, grabbed my backpack with my lunch and tried to exit the vehicle but I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed and panicking. It wouldn’t be so hard to just drive away – my car was still idling, like I subconsciously wanted to keep running away from it all as an open option. Has anybody seen me yet? I could call out from the road. Say I was acutely ill. There’s no way they saw me. I could pretend that I still actually liked my job and wasn’t thinking of walking away from a career I used to be in love with. Eventually the panic was replaced with a familiar numbness I’d come to accept. This was how it was, how it would always be.