Shift was created by writer/professor Amelia Skinner Saint (AKA Skinner), and researcher/professor Melissa Dittberner (AKA Dr. Mo). After Skinner blindly 5 groped her way through a mindful break from alcohol, which consisted of journaling and reading every scrap of quit lit she could find, she reached out to her long-time friend Dr. Mo for support. Mo, who, in addition to having lived experience with addiction, has a Master’s degree in addiction studies and a PhD in Counseling Psychology Education, helped Skinner understand the science behind what she was doing. Dr. Mo (who has ZERO chill) then cajoled, pushed, and pulled Skinner (who has too much chill) into co-authoring this curriculum.

After a year of daily pandemic drinking, Skinner found herself feeling unhealthy: mentally, physically, and emotionally. She was drinking at least three hefty IPAs every day, and more on the weekends (even though, because of the pandemic, the weekends were no different from the weekdays). Because this level of alcohol consumption had crept up slowly over the course of several years, it seemed normal, and that was the problem. Skinner realized that, while she was generally healthy, fit, and mindful about what she put into her body, she had a HUGE, blind spot when it came to drinking.

She started with a week-long break, then, noticing how much better she felt, she talked herself into a month-long break, then (after some research into addiction and habits) sixty-six days. Once she reached day sixty-six, she found she wasn’t ready to celebrate with a drink. It was another few weeks before she encountered an occasion that felt right for a celebratory drink, when that occasion came, she enjoyed her IPA, but wasn’t at all tempted to have another. Now, more than a year later, she can count on one hand the times she’s indulged in more than one drink. She doesn’t avoid social situations that revolve around alcohol, but she also doesn’t feel the need to drink as much as everyone else. She often goes days or weeks without drinking, and without really noticing that she isn’t drinking. After shifting her mindset around alcohol, Skinner now sees alcohol as a treat that can enhance a celebration or special occasion, but it is no longer required to make the occasion special.

With Dr. Mo’s research and expertise, and Skinner’s writing background and creativity, the two have crafted this unique combination of education and guided journaling that they hope will help many gray area drinkers curate a healthier relationship with alcohol, which will in turn lead them to live a longer, healthier, and happier life.