Headspace Studios. Hi, and welcome to Radio Headspace Space. I'm Dora. Thanks for being here.

So I want to begin today's episode by inviting you to think about who you are in this moment.

The habits and routines you have, the people you spend time with,

the way you move through the world.

Now ask yourself,

if you had to let go of all of that tomorrow,

who would you be?

That question can feel unsettling, can it? Because so much of how we see ourselves is tied to the things we do,

the people we're with and the roles we play.

And when those things shift, we're left wondering,

who am I without this?

And this is a question I've had to sit with before. There was a time in my life back in my early 20s when I made a decision that completely

reshaped who I was.

I decided to stop drinking.

Now I didn't have a problem with alcohol in the traditional sense, but I do have alcoholism

in my family, and I was starting to notice how drinking was impacting my mental health,

my energy, my sense of self. For years, my Friday nights looked the same. There was this anticipation,

this underlying energy of seeking out fun and chaos.

It felt like a celebration that we had survived another week of school or work.

We'd go out, drink, laugh, dance, and stay out way too late.

And then I'd wake up on Saturday or Sunday feeling horrible. Physically, yes, but also emotionally.

There was also this regret of how I'd spend my time,

...