The Brave Babes Carry On The Charabanc Trip - Leaving The Booze Behind!

[Mouseface]

Hello and welcome!

This is thread number eight!

The Brave Babes are all at different stages of quitting the booze. Some have stopped, some are thinking about it and some are just cutting down.

They are full of support and wisdom for those of you wishing to climb aboard the Bus or Charabanc!!

The Babes aren't an exclusive club, they never judge and they don't charge for advice either!

So, come meet them. I'm Mouse, by the way, and I've been sober since August 2nd 2010, something I would never have even considered without the support of these threads.

Here are the first seven threads, if you want a bit of history.

JWN's original thread

Thread two

Thread three

Thread four

Thread five

Thread six

Thread seven

luci well done for not going for the whiskey. It absoloutely would not help today, and it wouldn't help tomorrow when you felt crap and awful and guiilty, and you know it's not worth it. Just keep on doing what you're doing. It really is worth it.

wasindie, oh wasindie. Come on, you are an intelligent woman - you know about systems thinking ffs, you run your own business, you have a wonderful partner and 2 adorable babies. Most of all you have you. And you are worth more than the crap feelings you had this morning, and you're sure as hell worth a load more than getting yourself pissed last night.

Why can't you be like your friends? Well find enough friends and you can be. Find one friend who has a G&T at 6pm, and be like her. Find another who has a glass on wine when she's making dinner. Find another who likes one glass with her meal. Find another who likes a nightcap before bed. Find another who drinks a lot at the weekend. There you are, you can be like all of them. But you know that that is not what you want, and in reality you don;t want to be like the one who has a G&T if that is all she has, or like the one who drinks lots on Saturday if she has nothing the rest of the week. So be like them in their non-drinking habits. Find one who never drinks before 6pm and be like her, find one who never drinks on weekday nights and be like her, find another who never drinks when they have to drive the next day and be like her.

Come on wasindie you CAN do it.

venus - great post to Wasindie

Well done Luci and everyone who is doing well.

Just got my dc back they have been to ow family do last night and out with her and xh for lunch.

This would be where I need my emotion shielding bottle of wine because today its really hurting me.

I am in a rage. I am not drinking. I wont go and buy any because why should I be stupid enough to let that tosser get to me so I go against todays decision to not drink

DP's furious with me (not through drink) but because I told the Housing Association I told them my partner was broke and we are having to live with family.
He says I've dragged him into it and now they'll be chasing him for the rent.
That won't happen, will it?
Oh God!

Can this day get any worse?

Not drinking but too wound up and upset to do anything else.
Can't even have a bath as only one bathroom and FIL needs the loo (cardiac meds) every 5 minutes.

Gettingeasier, I'm sorry you're hurting.
Extreme emotions are so hard to deal with.
I have always numbed them with alcohol.
I have had a lump in my throat all day.
Am going to take a Piriton to help me sleep tonight.

Thanks SAF and Lucil well this is the hardest night yet. Its showing me that stress , sadness makes me a bit wistful and fancying a drink but anger makes me want to kill for one.

I just want to go to bed and wake up tomorrow instead of sitting here tapping away on MN and looking at my watch willing the fucking corner shop to close. And then I think of others on here with real problems and thing Oh fuck off getting get a grip. So thats what I'll do !

Luci, if and when you see your GP, could you ask for some sleeping tablets on a strictly short term basis? I am very anti-drugs for myself and always have been, but as a short term measure?

I would only I am worried I'd become addicted to them.
Anyone think Rescue Remedy is a bad idea?

Am going to try and get some sleep now.

It's been a long day and I am desperate to shut off from all my worries for a while.
Also worried DC2 has autism as she's not speaking yet (aged 25 months) and is very aloof and unsociable.
Anway, there only so many worries my small brain can cope with but at least I'm sober.
Today I didn't drink.
Goognight and sleep well babes, especially Mouse.

Hi Luci

If you are having trouble sleeping try nytol herbal available from boots/supermarket - it realy does help and it's herbal! Also get yourself some meditation cd's (for some reason they seem to sell them at garden centres) and play it on low while you are trying to get to sleep - works for me every time.

xxxxxx

Luci (hi, by the way ) - Rescue Remedy has BOOZE in it! You can use the night-time stuff but make sure it clearly says 'no alcohol' on the label. Otherwise you might find you're dipping into the RR a bit too much ...

Keep going, you're doing really well.

Hi Brave Baves, flitting in again.

Lucil, hope you managed to sleep. Definitely worth looking at natural remedies. I also once had help with anxiety and was told to spend half an hour (not before bedtime!) writing down worries and working through them as a means of coping with it. There are also techniques for letting them go at key points in the day - literally pretending to set them free out of windows and all that - its odd but it did work.

getting - I can't imagine how difficult the sitation must be, so well done for getting through it.

Big wave to everyone else.

ok here, still not drinking. house sale continuing to be stressful but I am learning that I have no control of it, so need to let it go. Hard to do though. DD sick at the moment so spent yesterday catching sick in my hands and scrubbing sofas. Nursery have announced that they are putting up their already ridiculous fees so am worrying about that and if combination of cost / recent concerns / lack of structure there means that I should consider other options. Its all a bit too big to take in at the moment though so might need to just suck it up till after the move. Which will be Xmas at this rate.

Morning everyone, my friend came home from holiday yesterday evening and I called up for a catch up. She opened a bottle of red wine and I accepted a glass but after two mouthfuls I felt ill so poured it out and ended up drinking tea:) Think the anti-depressants played a part in that as I have also gone off coffee, whatever the reason the desire for drink has definitely lessened - happy days:):):)

That's great desire. How long have you been on the AD's? I found when I started mine that I got pissed really quickly, after just one or two glasses. I was slurring my words. I also felt sick (and did vomit) but that didn't stop me.
Hoping for a less stressy day. Have made an appointment for DD2 to see a HV next week regarding her speech so feeling proactive and a bit more in control.
As for the flat, it's out of my hands for now. The Housing Association will make their decision re-sub-letting and my fantastic parents have offered to pay off my arrears for me if they agree.
Hopefully I will be able to pay them back when property prices pick up in a few years.
If however it's repossessed, well so be it. I've done my best to avoid it but if it comes to that, at least the family are healthy and safe.
I am not drinking today.
Morning to everyone else. Hope you are having a good day.

morning everyone!! i just want to say -

YOU ARE ALL BLOODY MARVELOUS!!!

i have just read yesterdays posts and they are incredible, you are dealing with poorly dcs, house moves, money worries, emotional worries you name it and its here, and its all being dealt with by sober women - there should be a bloody great medal for everyone one of us! (i know about medals now cos i looked at loads of them yesterday! ) seriously though, it makes me feel very humble and small to read of the pressures that others are under!, last night i looked longingly at several glasses of red, i didnt have one but i kept trying to think of a 'resonable' excuse to pick one up!, i couldnt find one and thank god!, reading all yesterdays posts i really would have felt bloody stupid if i had - after all, what do i need to numb, forget about?, absolutly nothing! - to have drunk that wine would have been purely selfish on my part!, anyway, just trying to say that i feel honoured to 'know' you all!, you are a total inspiration for me when i feel a bit 'waverery'! ( and i did feel like that yesterday! )

i chatted with a guy yesterday who has lost both legs in afganistan , i would like to bottle an ounce of his courage and give us all a swig when we wobble!, he was amazing! (and his sense of humour! , he had me in tears!)

btw, regarding booze in teh shops, have you noticed that the alcohol free beers are placed right next to the super strength largers? - thanks very much tescos! , bloody idiots!

Have been on the anti-depressants just over 2 weeks, but been ill with tonsillitis this week so maybe anti-biotics and alcohol didn't mix well either

Morning.

Wow. What a difference a day makes!!!

Luci - you are a new woman. Look at you! Your posts today are so positive! You have accepted that there are things in life you just cannot control.

Your drinking is NOT one of them. And this you now know. Well done. Seriously, I feel so bloody proud of you. You have shown such courage to keep going and keep trying. You are a credit to us all. xx

JWN - here, have one of these ((((( ))) but keep it to yourself or they'll all want one.

Well done for not picking up yesterday. No matter how long you've been sober, your post shows that you can still be tempted!

SAF - yay for a day out AND away from alcohol. Have a wonderful time.

desire - what a wonderful post from you! So positive and in control.

Brave Babes - I second JWN. Look how far you have all come. Please don't feel I'm patronising any of you but I am and that you have all got so far in such a few short days/weeks/months.

Each with your own worries, stresses, problems etc but each of you has realised that you CAN live your life and cope with whatever comes your way WITHOUT being smashed!!

Even the slips are showing you all that now. The realisation of your actions is hitting home.

Brilliant, just brilliant. Well done all of you!!!