Curiosity Is The Cure For Gray Area Drinking
Dec 22, 2025
She Quit Drinking for Six Weeks—and 14 Months Later, Everything Is Different
When Carrie Chojnowski first joined my Six-Week Alcohol Reset, she didn’t think alcohol was a “problem.” She was a holistic health coach, eating well, exercising, supporting her gut health, and doing all the things we’re told should make us feel good.
But something still wasn’t working.
She was waking up at 2 a.m. with guilt. Struggling with brain fog. Feeling anxious and irritable. And deep down, she knew alcohol was the one area of her health she hadn’t fully examined.
Like so many gray area drinkers, Carrie wasn’t drinking every day or hitting rock bottom. She was doing what’s considered “normal”—a glass or two of wine on weekends, at home, to unwind. And yet, it was quietly affecting everything.
Carrie describes hearing a still, small voice telling her alcohol was holding her back. She’d already addressed stress, food, exercise, and inflammation—but alcohol remained untouched. Not because she loved it, but because questioning it felt uncomfortable.
When she joined the reset, she fully expected to drink at her nephew’s wedding three weeks in. Instead, something surprising happened.
She didn’t want to.
By day 18, her sleep improved. Her anxiety softened. Her clarity returned. And at the wedding, surrounded by family, stress, and expectations, she stayed alcohol-free and felt proud, present, and confident.
One of the most powerful moments came when Carrie asked her son if he’d noticed anything different.
His response?
“You’re not like this anymore,” he said, shaking his finger as if scolding someone.
Her husband echoed it later: she was calmer, easier to be around, less reactive.
Alcohol hadn’t just been affecting her body—it was shaping how she showed up in her relationships.
Fourteen months later, Carrie shared a moment from the airport that stopped her in her tracks. Watching a frazzled mom chug two glasses of wine before boarding a flight, she realized:
“That was me.”
Not with judgment—but with compassion. She finally saw how normalized alcohol is as a coping mechanism, especially for women juggling stress, responsibility, and exhaustion.
The difference now? She has tools instead of numbing. Curiosity instead of guilt. And rituals that support her instead of drain her.
Carrie doesn’t call herself “sober.” She calls herself aware.
She’s tested alcohol since—and each time, it confirmed what she already knew: it takes more than it gives. The sleep disruption, fatigue, and mental fog simply aren’t worth it anymore.
As a coach, this shift transformed her work. She now helps clients address alcohol honestly, offering mocktail alternatives, nervous system regulation tools, and realistic ways to support dopamine without self-destruction.
