Hello! I’m Olivia, co-founder of Kursiv Organics and CBD oil enthusiast. I’m jazzed to be writing on our new “Resources” page to talk about why I’m participating in Dry January.

What is Dry January? Simply put, Dry January started as a public health campaign encouraging folks to abstain from alcohol for the month of January. While I’ve participated in Dry January’s in the past, this year feels different.

I’m someone who has managed an anxious disposition for a long, long time. In an effort to curb my anxiety I meditate, I exercise, I therapy, I eat well, I pursue a life of wellbeing. Often when I would drink it was an attempt to calm my nerves or quiet my anxious mind in a social setting. It didn’t dawn on me that the act of drinking (even conservatively) was aggravating the anxiety I was trying to quiet down. One day I was scrolling instagram and I read a quote from Laura McKowen that said, “Alcohol is like pouring gasoline on your anxiety.” I went on to read that “alcohol depletes nutrients that are necessary for making your serotonin and once the alcohol has been removed from the system we are left without or with critically low levels of B6 and zinc to boost serotonin. This is why people often wake up with hangovers that include anxiety or depression. The serotonin is missing.”

I was dumbfounded. My self-proclaimed “responsible” and “moderate” drinking was in fact messing with my anxiety level? It sure was. As time went on and I observed my drinking patterns I arrived at the personal realization that drinking wasn’t doing me any favors and it certainly wasn’t improving my health. As I’d also read: You don’t have to have a problem with alcohol for it to be a problem in your life.