The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Starting the Summer Filled With Luscious Mocktails.

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse and I used to drink far too much. Too much vodka to be exact, then too much wine, then too much cider....... you can imagine how it went.

This Bus is full of people like me, and people like you actually. Sober people, drinkers, a few not surers, and those who are simply 'somewhere'.

The one thing that we have in common is that we can/do/did/will abuse alcohol.

Some for a number of years, some months, some for their entire adult (and before) lives.

The support here is for everyone. Those in AA, those who are taking medication to help, those going it alone, those with the support of others. We're all here for the same reason.

Why not come and say hello? We are all so very different in our every day lives but we all have a common theme.....

And, for those who want to see where all of this began 2 years ago, HERE IS a link to all of the past Bus rides.

Just booking my seat .... scurries off before I get into trouble for posting here before the other thread is full :)
Mouse good to hear you had a lovely day yesterday.

just marking my place and wondering what you have to do to get a go at driving? and if you need a driving license to drive gerald?

i stopped drinking exactly 2 months ago and just about everything in my life has been improving ever since.

before that i was caught on a merry-go-round of attempting controlled drinking and eventually, inevitably, failing again. for me not drinking at all is the answer to many of the problems i had had for a long time and never even realised all had the same root cause - drinking.

now i just have to stick with it and watch out for moments of madness that could be my downfall and keep on at fixing my life and myself from the damage i did to both.

Just been for a walk in the rare glimpse of sun - bright and breezy (me and the weather ). Tomorrow a lovely friend is picking me up and we are going to spend the day with another friend. At one time I would have been gleeful and the thought of the opportunity for drinking at lunchtime, but then in reality I would have been irritated by the slowness of other people's drinking and the need for me to wait for them to finish every glass. Tomorrow I just anticipate an lovely day.

saf - you are very inspiring.

Changing GP is tricky, not impossible but tricky. I would like to see if I can sort myself out first. There is lots of uncertainty here right now. I don't know if my husband is leaving or not, I think perhaps not, but that might not be a good outcome. I just don't know. I suspect that some counselling would be in order if I cold find someone I like :)

Perhaps if I did not drink I could afford it?

Come on brave babes - time to blow your own trumpets! Tell me how you look better and feel better. Tell me how much money you have saved and what you are doing with it?

Would it be very cheeky to ask everyone to say what is the best thing about stopping drinking/getting drinking under control?

freedom from the total and utter web of lies and deceipt and bullshit and excuses i had to entangle my own rationality in.

saf - i think silver is the designated driver but indie swipes the keys when she can and careers off with us all hanging grimly onto our seats.
But feel free to have a go - we haven't moved in ages whispers keys are under the front seat.
silver how are you my friend? Did all go as well as could be expected?

Plumps cushions, sits down :)

ok in that case tomorrow i will be driving. i hope there are seatbelts!

will check the weather and see if anywhere has any bloody sunshine.

The sad thing is that I (almost) no longer feels guilty when I alternate glasses from bottle to box so no one sees how fast it is going down

Buckles seat belt....and whispers 'i will try not to drink tonight, but promise not to crack before 9.30.

I feel so much better having climbed somewhat gingerly abroad, going for the big guns pain killers means that that excuse will not wash tonight. And, I bought some antihistamines so I can't get panicky about lying awake....and have an empty house this eve! That has knocked all my 'reasons' on the head in one fell swoop. I can't remember who was doing the I will not drink tonight list, am thinking.

Oh and another reason not to drink tonight. My son bought me some green and black's chocolate this afternoon so that is the sugar need sorted.

BTW - is it presumptuous to join in your conversations? I have been stalking lurking for a long while so feel as though I know you all. But it feels rude to jump in - it also feels rude to talk about me all the time...tricky

Today so sorry that you are in pain and suffering from the effects of the beast today.

Being sober for such a long time 12 years, I think it's the mellowness you feel. Acceptance and humility. Don't get me wrong, I can still get fired up when I know something or someone is wrong or wronged, but am now completely sure that I am coming from strength and not just a load of confused babble and often back then, assumptions. No longer do I people please, or need the seemingly ever increasing social oil of wine. I am far less judgmental, alcoholism is a classless disease, and all consuming, physical, mental, spiritual. One of the most influential experts I have ever met on the subject of alcohol misuse, describes it as the cancer of the soul.

I think that after a while it's not so much trumpet blowing but a quiet piano concerto a change of pace without dissatisfaction eating away at you that could only be healed with the oblivion of booze.

Mouse so glad all went well, and the weather was kind.

Hope everyone has a productive week, silver thinking of you, Saf, Puerto Rico is looking like a good option, the best I can say about the UK at the moment is that it's good growing weather.

Soma, you really are sounding AMAZING.

Such inspiring words sarah. I want to get to that place you describe.

today, well done for deciding to try not to drink tonight.

I have two social events this week and I'm going to drive to both so that I don't have to make decisions about drinking. What a relief.

Don't worry about diving in and posting Today, or about posting about yourself. That's what the bus in here for, isn't it? I hope so anyway, because that's exactly what I did when I joined! I think that lasting change requires at least a little bit of introspection, so that you are aware of why you do what you do (I know there are many people who feel that this bit isn't necessary, that you can move forward without looking back iyswim), and more importantly what your triggers are and how to deal with them. I love reading other people's posts; they give me insight about myself and it's interesting to hear others' stories.

Best thing for me about having cut down my drinking... not feeling so weak and guilty all the time. Feeling that I've regained a bit of self-control. I am not drinking tonight or tomorrow, yet there is an opened bottle of white in the fridge and an opened bottle of red on the sideboard - that would've been way too tempting a couple of weeks ago. And what's more, I just poured a smidgen of red into some arrowroot to thicken a sauce and was only minimally tempted to spill a lot of it straight into a glass. Small changes, but very significant ones for me.

Silly me, posted on old thread - well done on yet another great new title Mouse.

Water* tis true, there are a lot of problem drinkers out there who don't think they have a problem. Best thing is to not compare yourself to them and be thankful that you've recognised that YOU have a problem - well done! Just think where they may be a few years down the line when their bodies start to fail them. I dillied and dallied for so long deciding whether or not I had a problem and it was a HUGE relief when I finally accepted that I did. Even if I didn't drink as often or as much as some people, my drinking was causing so many negative feelings in me that I stopped caring about how other people drank and just focused on what it was doing to me. Which was causing me to live with constant guilt, remorse and self-loathing. The amount I actually drank was largely irrelevant.

Today how are you doing this evening? I second those who suggest you find another GP - not a good idea to see one with whom you have a professional relationship and can't be totally open with. I had to shop around a bit until I found a sympathetic one but it's completely acceptable to do so; no decent practice would turn a hair.

I am sitting here browsing ebay and drinking...water. It is a struggle not to walk into the kitchen for a glass of wine but so far so good.

How are we all doing this evening?

I've been on the bus nearly a year now. I had a few false starts and loads of help and am now in a totally different place than I was a year ago.

It would be true to say that I was sinking into a cycle of despair. I could not see a way out. I had to drink. I didn't know how to beat the daily craving.

I couldn't lose weight because I was drinking loads of calories and eating badly. I was afraid of being without alcohol. Seems strange now.

So I am way, way happier now, nearly two stone lighter and have saved literally hundreds of ££££s

I have learned so much. The most important, for me, was to take it one day at a time. Alcohol lies, promises everything, gives nothing. It takes and takes and takes. And then it takes some more. I will never, ever again drink like I used to. I couldn't if I tried - I am too aware, too mindful, too changed. And s'all good

And I have huge admiration and respect for the inspirational JWN and generous Mouse and compassionate Venus and brave Ma and intelligent Isinde and delightful LittleMissGee and all the other wonderful babes and honorary babes who ride this bus.

Today stick with it, you are one of us now x

im hoping to be back here..
son is getting bathed for bed...
i know my life is screwed...i so thought it was ok.
we both drink too much... people suspect.. no-ones acually knows. i just dont know if i can divorce a second time.. i know its not a the end of the world .. but actually to me.. i think i cant move on.. i feel too old.. i feel like my life is done,,..i know you will flame me..i lurk ...i habe for a long timex

try no-one will flame you here. This is a safe place! Come back later and chat with us. Are you drinking? Can you do the drill?

i know..u will all witness the end of my second marraige..i will never marry again...i feel like i wasted my life

Try, I am still, just about, only drinking water...care to hold my hand on the back seat?

try has something happened today in particular? Are you and your ds ok?

faire you are bloody amazing.

I, needless to say, have failed again.

Aw shucks ma
I could never be as tall as Jesus, I don't wear heels
x

we are ok.... we ..i believe and hope.has always been ok... me and husband have been drinking for some years..since my father and his siser died..habit now...we know we love each other but i dont think we will love each other sober all day every day... we function perfectly in the day.. we both have responsible jobs...im just so unhappy right now...i want too stop...i have tried depressants..they sent me crazy...beyond belief... worried about stopping altogether,,scared ill have a heart attack or something.. not had high blood pressure tho

today don't worry about being introspective and talking about yourself. I'm afraid thats all I do, because I don't really have much advice to give out yet. But I still like reading everyone else's posts, and hopefully one day will be able to give something back.

today you are doing brilliantly :)

try you sound so low. Hope you are ok.