The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Carry On Past The New Year Wine Offers!

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Hello all.

We are the Brave Babes. We're on the Battle Bus, travelling around sobriety and going day by day, hour by hour, through the detox hell of not drinking, cutting down or sometimes even not.

Come say hi. We won't bite.

No doubt one of us has been where you are now......

It's fine. No judging, no nasty jibes, just us, the BBs.

Come meet the others..................

jwn, I fucking love you. You put it so brilliantly! So clear, so simple. You're right - all that pain and anxiety (and that's just the worrying, never mind what we actually did while pissed), just for a fucking glass of wine.

And your dress sounds FAB. Have a great evening!

Wow JWN your dress etc sound amazing, I bet you'll look fab

What I don't understand about you is how you could be so successful and drinking so much all the time? I mean how on earth did you maintain a professional approach whilst feeling rough and how did you maintain it if you were getting slaughtered on a night out with business associates?

Not sure why I'm intrigued but I am. Fancy sharing that info?

practice ruby! , seriously, the industry i work in is very 'work hard, play hard' and tbh, i think a great many of my professional 'friends' have a drink problem too (or if not booze, coke!) sooo many meetings are held in bars/clubs etc, i dont know how, but i did generally manage to keep it together in front of clients, because im the boss i can go into the office when i choose and work late if i wish, so early mornings were not too much of a trouble - my work life balance is actually very good and in a way it almost facillitated my drinking!, thats not so say of course that i have never fucked up royally , i once told a client that his staff hated him because he was such a prick, i have puked up at a gallery opening (i had been drinking ALL DAY!), i have puked up outside the dorchester while the doorman was hailing a cab (cabbie drove off) so, in short, i have been very lucky, in any other work envoirnment i would proberbly have been sacked!

"But of course you are right I don't remember in any detail my last hours of tv/net surfing."

So you DO black out?

evening all sorry i disappeared last night my ds had a melt down but fingers crossed he is not 2 bad 2 today i love the idear of a trip 2 cornwall as thats where i am we will meet here for a nice cup of tea :)

Hey folks. Day 3 off the sauce for me. Good to hear this gets easier... Tomorrow will be hard (thirsty Thursday - a habit I got into!) then Friday. Gotta get dd2 to bed, but will be back later. Thanks for the info Ma

Well its gone 7pm and I have not drunk yet...and not planning to. fingers crossed I can get through the evening. DH has gone out as well so this is my most vulnerable time when he isnt around to see what I am drinking...

Evening missy glad to see you back.

Hiya mssoul do not start fretting about tomorrow.

This is one day at a time, worry about today, today, tomorrow will still be there, and you can worry about it then.
However you can plan. Get nice soft drinks in, treat yourself to a new book or a new DVD instead of buying booze. Make sure that there is no booze in the house.
My way to deal with bad days is to get into the bath with a book, and then stick my jammies on, then I can't get to the shops to buy the booze, I will lie in the bath for as long as it takes the desire to drink to go away. (am also doing this for smoking) - Am spending alot of time in the bath Smell lovely - well a hellava lot better than fags and booze.

Quick question - is drink really that perceptable on people's breath?? I have never noticed it before, but am very aware of it now. Makes me to realise how often I must of smelt like that with the wine and the fags. The only person I was deluding was myself!

Hey Chardonnay - what are you doing to distract yourself?
Book, tv, sorting out the filing, ironing? Something to take your mind off what you want to be doing.

Just keep posting and we can chat to you

Hi everyone - first challenge as DD's dad has announced he is coming to see her a CMs on Friday (long story). Not drinking, don't want a drink, but need to learn to deal with these emotions as I find it really hard.
Am getting all anxious and dithery - keep it in the day (trying to take own advice from the other day). Breathe...

Hey mousie but you and I know that drinking will not help the situation, the situation will not change, you will feel disappointed with yourself tomorrow,
but you have already worked that out yourself.

Distraction techniques, what can you do to take your mind off being anxious and dithery? Clean some cupboards, use the energy and put it into something that you are going to be proud of yourself about it the morning.

Or just stay here and chat to us!!

Thanks bafana not only will it not help but I have the freedom to choose and I absolutely choose not to. I am willing to go to those any lengths.
Have read a bit and washed up and texted my sponsor who I thought woul dbe sick of me but she's told me not to be stupid and will ring me later. Which made me cry - I have never ever known anyone could be so nice to me. This AA stuff, it works!

How are you doing this evening? Are you headed for another of your loooong baths or are the cravings at bay?

I understand now JWN so it must be quite interesting for you to go to these functions and see all those pissed or coked up people around you.
Thanks for sharing with us

Cravings are fine today, so not having a long bath tonight, it's really amazing to see how far we have come in such a short period of time isn't it! who knew that it could be done. You are right AA is amazing, the best phone call I have made in my life.

I have not even looked at the sponsor thing yet, I just have a long list of people who are constantly texting and encouraging me, which is really fantastic.

I am just getting over a bug which DS very kindly shared with me - bless him, so not firing on all cylinders and therefore just trying to be kind to myself.

thanks bafana - I read a mag whilst cooking instead of drinking whilst cooking. Had a fizzy water with my dinner and then a decaf and some chocs as a treat. I've done it! No booze and I am going to go to bed and read now. Thing is now I dont feel like drinking, its as though there is this timeframe when I feel like I want one but once I am past a certain time, no interest....hmmm. I am so pleased with myself!

Well done you chardonnay, it's amazing how the feeling - that is indescribably strong can be overcome, and the euphoria when you get out the other side is good too.

Big big congrats!

Mssoul definitely take it one day at a time, do not think about tomorrow. If you can make it to bed tonight without a drink then that is another day down......and that is a powerful motivator! Believe me, I spent months worrying about the next weekend, Fri night beers (but the weekend starts Thurs doesn't it) etc.

Now I think, well I did it yesterday, I can do it today!

I feel a bit of a fraud dishing out advice but I am nearly 5 weeks sober, and it is something I could not have imagined 5 weeks ago!

missy I hope you have a calmer day tomorrow
Chardonnay keep going, you will honestly feel better for it
JWN your dress, nay choos, sound fab.... I am

Keep going Babes, you can do it

xx

noteven - write it all down in a diary.

Simple

keeps you busy

gets it out of your head and onto the page

Buy a notebook that you really like - blow a tenner on one - and buy some pens that you like to write with........

Been my on and off life line for the last 5 years

xxxxx

Hey babes, I had a wobbly moment this evening, went for supper with a new friend who doesn't know my drinking history, therefore doesn't know I have stopped drinking. She offered me a glass of wine... Well I have to say I wobbled, I thought I could have that glass, no-one would know, but I managed to say no and asked for a soft drink instead. Do you know what? She put the cork back in the bottle and said oh I'll have a juice as well! That babes is what 'normal' drinkers do - take it or leave it - I know I would never be able to do that, so it has to be just no alcohol for me.
Thanks for listening - hard to tell that story to anyone in RL I don't think they would understand how amazed I was that she didn't have the wine

Well done BB

Awesome BB it's the little victories that allow us to win the war

Hey folks. Thanks for the support - this bus rocks and I go on a lot of buses! Wish I'd been on it today on your day trip.

Bafana and Monkey (you go well together ), yup, tomorrow is another day... My dp is off tomorrow night and we are going to view a new flat (we can't afford but ran out of space and it seems cheap for the space which means it's prob about to collapse) then I am going to Scottish Slimmers for the first time in 6 months then for a swim. I will die, but it's time I got my finger out if I'm gonna do a 5k.

BB - Well done that took some resolve esp as it was physically sitting there! I wonder if your friend is quite tuned in - maybe she too has an issue with drink or a parent who does? Or she's 'normal', but that would make us abnormal and WE ARE NOT, we are unlucky and in my case I am also Scottish and don't know anyone who would put the cork back in unless they are 'aff it'

do you live in Scotland mssoul?
i have wobbled and fallen. no excuses, no reason, no apologies.
it was all going so well.......

Yeah ma, I do. Edinburgh. You? I expect I will wobble and fall more than once before the end of my drinking habit. Indeed, I have done for the last 15 years. Don't let it get you down. Sounds to me you're doing amazingly well.