A New Yorker's Guide To Detoxing

This is the hardest thing to do, but it's totally worth it. Whenever I'm feeling awkward or insecure with something I'm about to do, I automatically lean on a crutch to help me endure it. Everyone does this. However, a lot of times, these crutches are not healthy and keep you from being self-possessed and evolved. My crutches? Alcohol and my phone. If you take a look at any bottomless brunch at a place that has Instagrammable food, you'll know that I'm not the only one. 

So yeah, I'm hardly like party girls turned social media starlets Cat Marnell or Steph Maida, but still I've still got it pretty bad. If I'm waiting for friends to arrive to a restaurant, I automatically look at my phone to feel less awkward. If I'm waiting in line at Sweetgreen where there's a million girls exactly like me who I can easily converse with, I still stare at my phone. If I'm feeling nervous about texting someone for the first time, I would drink a glass of wine or three. If I was outside tanning this summer and didn't want to be alone with my thoughts, I would pound Fisher's Island Lemonade. I'm not a tech addict and I'm not an alcoholic, but these crutches are still debilitating. Since cutting back on phone time and taking a sabbatical from alcohol, I feel more confident and comfortable already. It's tough at first, but it works. Just take time off from those vices, you know? You can integrate them back into your life after some time off, I swear. 

[Photo via @stassischroeder]