Can We Talk? Please? — Nicole Sallak Anderson

A month into my alcohol and social media free experiment, and conversation has been on my mind.

Actually, it’s a lack of conversation that’s on my mind.

Hmm, perhaps it’s better to say, it’s a lack of sober, deep, and meaningful conversation that’s on my mind.

Let me explain, I’ve done Dry January many times in my past, but normally my husband and I shelter in place, avoiding all parties, eating out, and happy hours, longing for the end of the month so we can have that glass of wine and rejoin society. This time, while we still long for that glass of wine at the end of the month, I decided to find tools to help me explore why I drink. I was blessed to find the author Annie Grace and her books, The Naked Mind and The Alcohol Experiment. Using the latest in neuroscience and cognitive behavioral theories, I’ve been able to dive into my relationship with alcohol, starting with that first taste of peach schnaps that led to my first kiss, up to the past three years where somehow between the Covid lockdowns and my house burning down, a bottle of wine most evenings had become the norm. In addition, I added a reduction in use of my smartphone this month, for hours upon hours have been wasted since the pandemic started on that device and I want to explore my addiction to both the fermented grape elixir of life as well as…