Every September, I get the same feeling I used to get as a kid walking into a store full of sharpened pencils, notebooks, and fresh backpacks. It feels like a beginning. A chance to reset. Even now, with my own kids nearly grown, that feeling is alive. Yesterday was my youngest son’s first day of his senior year in high school—his last, first day. And that milestone carried with it a flurry of nostalgia of many back-to-school seasons.

But here’s the thing: September hasn’t always meant a clean slate for me. In college, the return of campus life meant a return to freedom—more chances to drink and celebrate with friends. Later, as an adult, September carried a different weight: the stress piling on, the return of routines, work demands, and a busy household. And yet, in both periods of my life, September often meant one thing—more drinking. I always told myself I “deserved it.” That alcohol was the way to take the edge off, or to join in the fun.

But deep down, I knew I was digging myself deeper into a rut.

It wasn’t until I finally experimented with a break in the fall that I realized: September is actually the perfect month to hit pause and experiment with a reset.

The Power of a Fresh Start

Psychologists call it the fresh start effect: the brain is wired to respond to beginnings. Mondays, birthdays, the first day of a new season—all of these moments give us a sense of possibility.

September is one of the strongest of these “temporal landmarks.” It carries a cultural weight of new beginnings—back to school, back to routine, back to structure. That extra bit of structure makes it easier to create new habits and shed the ones that don’t serve us.

Why Alcohol Habits Are Hard to Change Without Support

If you’ve ever tried to “just drink less” in the fall, you already know how tricky it can be. By September, the summer fun has blended into busier routines, and happy hours, football season, and weekend gatherings keep alcohol in the spotlight.

On top of that, alcohol hijacks your brain’s dopamine system. It feels like relief in the moment, but over time, it lowers your baseline mood, increases anxiety, and makes you crave more. Add cultural cues and marketing myths (like red wine being “healthy”), and it’s no wonder moderation feels like an uphill climb.

The Gift of a September Reset

Taking a break this month doesn’t have to mean forever. It’s not about labels or willpower. It’s about giving your brain and body a rest long enough to notice how you actually feel without alcohol in the mix.

Even a short pause can deliver:

• Clearer mornings (no foggy starts to your day)

• Better sleep (deeper, more restorative rest)

• More focus (as the year winds down, productivity matters)

• Calmer nerves (instead of using alcohol as a stress response, you’ll find new ways to cope)

And here’s the best part: by pressing pause now, you’ll head into the holiday season with new tools, more confidence, and a stronger sense of what you truly want.

Your Invitation

If you’ve been feeling that September itch—that sense that it’s time to slow down, it's time for a reset—consider this your sign. And, you don’t have to do it alone.

My 30-Day Reset Experiment was designed exactly for this moment: a guided, neuroscience-based pause to help you step out of the drinking loop, retrain your brain, and discover what life feels like without alcohol weighing you down.

Why wait until January to feel better? September is the perfect time to start.

👉 Learn more about the 30-Day Reset Experiment here.