The Brave Babes Battle Bus - New Year, New Start, The Journey So Far.........

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

Welcome. There are all kinds of lovely Babes on board this Bus, drinkers, non-drinkers, part-time drinkers and those who have no idea what they are when it comes to drinking. Some are newer posters and some have been here forever for a little while.

Come and say hi, there are no rules, no 'must haves', just plenty of open and honest support.

You can talk about whatever you like. Your life, your love or even your laundry. We've seen it all!

The important thing is that you can post if you want to, or not if you don't. There are posters in AA and posters who are using medication to beat The Booze and of course posters who are just trying to cut their drinking down with the support of The Bus and the people around them.

See where we've been so far by following this ---> LINK TO PREVIOUS THREADS HERE

Sleep tight. Hopefully you will feel better tomorrow. Do you have lots of snow? Stay warm and safe ma x

Hey ma - pm'd you

Mouse you are not allowed chocolate under any circumstances ..............only cheese

off to bed

vair vair tired again..

HEY all babes

laters xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ma ((( ))) I could have written your post a week ago. When we are drinking it seems so impossible to stop.

Then for me it got impossible to carry on. It gets tiring. It sounds like you're tired?

Day 3 here. Not so much one day at a time but ten minutes at a time x

Hello all
Have had a few drinky nights this week and feel lousy. Wish me luck for tonight. x

ma I know what you mean about the not being pissed wanting a drink as habit thing, that was/is me. I say is because Im not sure I'll ever stop wanting a drink with dinner. or on the balcony. Or when out. But I know my life is easier without it.

mouse I'm ok, just was a little pissed off. My therapist suggested in the nicest possible way that I might be getting a little OCD about the diet/exercise thing. Which is probably true but not what I needed to hear. Seems i will always have OCD about something.

msgee day3 and the boing is coming!

onesunnymorning good luck!

But you know you
Don't really need luck
Don't you

You are brave and you CAN do this

Ooh, how weird. My post has gone up in bits

Sort of like a haiku. Ish

ma, how about looking at drinking as a habit you wnat to break rather than thinking that you have a drink problem you need to deal with, maybe a change in thought pattern would help? all habits can be broken, i once read that it takes four weeks to break a habit, so perhaps, instead of thinking 'i must not drink' try 'i want to change a habit'? - might work!

well, looks like im cinderella this evening, the forecast is for heavy snow this evening, im not keen on risking damaging the car just to get to a party (last time it snowed it cost 1K to get 2 wheel rims replaced after they got bashed by the kerb, this car is even more expensive so im loathed!) think i will get in some posh dinner for me and dh, light the candles, find a good film and curl up!

Boss

I seem to be experiencing something opposite and a bit strange. The craving has gone. I don't think about having a drink with a meal. It's a little scary because I can't understand where that really strong, compelling feeling has gone and I'm worried that it'll sneak up on me again when I least expect it .

Full of cold today but I must go out and buy some new work trousers. Mine are falling off me. I've lost 11lb so far this year and am nearly 2 stone lighter than I was this time last year!

No snow here yet . . .

sounds like a plan jesus

tis very grey here today - yesterday was freezing but with the pay off beautiful bright blue skies. we've done nothing thus far today

ma - honestly my gut feeling is that your drinking is because you are unhappy and would rather drink than face that unhappiness. drinking is your way of coping through the unhappiness. the real cure would be to be in a position where you don't have unhappiness to drown. it seems like you don't want to stop drinking, presumably because it is preferable to sitting there unhappy. not that the alcohol actually makes you happy of course.

it's like the loneliness thing again isn't it - the drink is being used to mask or cope with something rather than act on the something instead. it's a handy way of keeping oneself paralysed whilst numbing the frustrations of paralysis. vicious circle ad infinitum.

i don't think it is just about do you want to stop drinking but about do you want to be happy and do you want to do what it would take to be happy.

some of us have clear alcoholism and the addiction therefore is alcohol itself and that's what needs to be broken. some of us have emotional or life problems and the addiction in a way is to not facing those issues and softening our unhappiness or pretending we can't do anything about it.

well done on 11lbs faire that deserves some new clothes i reckon!

mind you the two types i've just described can very easily end up becoming both - re: the addiction to hiding our feelings, numbing ourselves and not acting on our problems can lead to drinking and for some that with time then can lead on into outright alcoholism that becomes a problem in and of itself. and that's the gamble taken when alcohol is used as a crutch.

wise words saf!

Afternoon, tis me, Mouse

Ma - you've been in my thoughts this morning, my post reads back as a bit smug and I REALLY didn't mean for it to come out like that.

It's habit, it's your crutch, it's your 'pay off' or reward for putting up with your life as it is I guess. Almost like if you have to be here, with your DH then the least you can do is have a drink?

Does that make any sense? I think Saf has a great insight into the habit and loneliness/hiding side of drinking.....

I hope that you are okay Ma. Please keep posting and talking to us about YOU. I love to see posts from you, whether you're drinking or not, just stick around. xx

Faire - so in less than 2 months, you've lost 11lbs? Wow! Is that just from stopping the drink and exercising more? Good going!

TheBoss - OCD? Ha! If that's the worst of your worries lovely lady then bring it on I say. I've been OCD all my life, my lovely DH just smiles at me these days in a 'you daft mouse' kind of way, affectionate.

Talking of mice, MrGuestMouse has yet to make an appearance and wander into the chocolate filled trap!

Apparently, once you catch them, you have to release them about 2 miles away otherwise they come right back to the house!

IT'S SNOWING!

DH has just come in from walking the wolf and said he's off to chop wood for the log burner as it's getting colder. He shut the door, I looked out the window and ta-da, we have snow!

i can think of a quicker, simpler solution than taking it for a 2 mile drive...

Me too saf

Yes, yes I know you pair of meanies! but I want it to live. If I give it to the cat, she'll toy with it and slowly rip it apart, throwing parts of it in the air to play catch. Very impressive actually but no thank you.

If I give it to the wolf, Jeff knows what he will do to it!

So, I'm going to let it go (assuming that we actually catch it) at the gym where there is a canal and trees behind it. It's not out of my way, the mouse can run free and I won't feel bad at all.

Simple.

I'm off to the gym to have a bit of calorie burning whilst the boys watch the rugby, drink Guinness (DH not Nemo but he may dip his finger in to taste it which is fine with me ) and eat crisps.

it's a house mouse. what's it going to do out there?

enjoy the gym.

saf and everyone else - really good posts, thank you. yes, it is about comfort, being unhappy, lots of things. Perhaps I need to change my thinking as Jesus suggests.
Heart/chest pains are not good so am going to make an app with GP and ask for complete overhaul. Am also due a smear so no crevice will be unprobed
Have made soup today and lemon drizzle cake and have a sausage casserole in the slow cooker, so it's now time to relax and watch the rugby.
come on England!!!

Hey Babes

Very insightful post Saf

Not much to say really - DM on the mend at the moment with a view to coming home but I have learnt that things can change drastically overnight.. It is lovely to see her feeling so much better though.

Love to all and have a peaceful resting evening if you can xxxxxxx

Ma - get yourself a full MOT at the doctors, bloods, the lot. Why not? Start the new you with a complete picture of what's going on.

Cracking win for England although I thought you'd have been voting for the Scots!

Silver - I hope that you mum continues to be on the mend and that you get some sort of break from living on the edge, worrying if she's going to go off the boil again as such..... big hugs xx

Saf - you really aren't helping with the mouse situation you know! WWYD? I want to keep him but not if he's going to defecate in Nemo's room. There must be some level of bacteria involved with mouse poo? I'd rather like to ask him to leave as opposed to catching him.

The gym was fab, nice and relaxed, nothing too strenuous either. Great shower afterwards, and the showers there don't leak (unlike ours) so it's heaven not having to be super quick as not to flood the bathroom!

Time to spend time with my family. Garlic and ginger chicken, in soy sauce and chinese rice wine. And chilli Thai prawns too. We did a course when we were on Honeymoon in Koh Samui.

Thai food is so very fresh and tasty. I'm thinking that we'll be cooking much more of it in the next few months as it's so easy to put together

So have safe nights Babes xxx

I'm English mouse, but I live in Scotland. Glad you had a nice time at the gym
Dinner sound lovely and healthy - we had a rib sticking sausage casserole

fairenuff how did you lose the weight? Have I missed something? Very impressive! Please let me know your secrets...

Am sitting here eating soup. Hoping that will take any cravings away. DH should have landed by now, but not heard anything so am a bit worried. Also, just got kids to bed and it is really hit me that I am now on my own for a bit.

Hi to everyone else

ma what do you think of the recent posts about habit etc?