Partway through my month long experiment -- I was out on a trail run, suffering more than necessary due to too many drinks the night before -- I decided that I would reach out to a doctor about my drinking and ask for help. I was only about 2.5 weeks into the experiment, but it was clear to me that reducing my drinking on my own was 1) taking a lot of mental energy, 2) felt very hard, and 3) wasn't that effective. I got home from the run, and called the doctor's office and made an appointment for a physical. I also said out loud, for perhaps the first time ever, "and I'd like to talk about reducing my alcohol consumption". When the words came out of my mouth, even though I was just on the phone, I turned flush, I started to tremble. Waves of shame and guilt came over me, my voice cracked, my heart raced. I held back tears. The person on the other end probably didn't notice a thing. But that was a real moment for me to state out loud that I have a ...