The Brave Babes Battle Bus - All Going On A Sober Holiday! <crosses fingers that it stays sunny>

[Mouseface]

Hello, tis me, mouse

Welcome to The Brave Babes Battle Bus, grab yourself a seat, they're really comfy and a , oh and a home-made chocolate chip before they all get eaten!

We're a Bus full of alcohol abusers/addicts, some of us say it out loud, some whisper it and some aren't ready to say it at all just yet.

That said, there are a few of us who just have the occasional drink and that's something that they can handle. There are a few of us who must NEVER have another drink because that first one will lead to many, many more which will only ever end badly.

We're open to all....there are no requirements to join us on our journey to sobriety, there's support, great laughs, tears and tantrums here and that's just me!!!

If you'd like to see how we got here, follow THIS LINK

Swallowed - My food discipline is terrible at the moment.. it's what's keeping me sane at the moment. FAR too many crisps and chocolates. I'll worry about it in a few days when I feel I'm a bit more balanaced. I've not been too bad yet, but there is cheese to be had, ice cream in the freezer and plenty of sweets . Well.. I want drinking up to 800 cals of crappy beer so suppose it's normal to be craving sugar.

its a bit late, but silver that post about you're not 'giving up' alcohol, you're gaining a life was great!

hope your anniversary weekend is going well mouse - its funny how dogs and children nearly manage to ruin the best-laid plans.

I had a hangover this morning . The reason it's a shock is I never used to get hangovers, presumably my body has learnt over the years to tolerate alcohol... but the 7 weeks (7 weeks!) sober has 'cleared the system'.

On the positive side, I tried the 3-minute thing, actually I poured myself that last glass of wine dregs after everyone had gone to bed , but then went to the loo and forced myself to think of you lot. Came out and poured it down the sink.

ooh jareth you've reminded me of the camembert in the fridge!

glad you poured it away joey.

i think the other thing with hangovers is if you've constantly got one it just feels normal. when you stop drinking you remember what it feels like to be hydrated and healthy and un-brain-damaged as standard

Well done joey :)

swallowed - argh.. I knew I forgot to buy something today. Could really do with some brie. Oh well, I'll have to make do with crappy cheddar.

You haven't failed. You've had three clear days.

Can you stop now?

Don't be too down on yourself, every bit of time off helps.

What LRD said, kotinka.

Do you know the drill? Put down the booze, brush your teeth, drink plenty of water (it's possibly a bit early to go to bed).

Be kind to yourself lovely xxx

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your kind words, yes gugg was on day 6 yesterday.
Day 1 again today.
venus Belated happy birthday hope you had a good one
mouse you are spot on there are pressures in my life, your perception is amazing. Reading the posts on here when I was lurking made me realise I had to get the drink under control and stop telling myself that anyone who had my life would drink.
Happy anniversary, hope you are having a wonderful time in Aberdovey.
Koti thanks for the kind words. A very big WELL DONE ., really pleased for you.
gugg sounds like you are going well today, good for you

ma hope you can resist, whatever happens try not to end up feeling like I have most of the day deep fried dog shite is an understatement.

I must admit as some of the other babes on this bus I can't stop snacking, mainly chocolate, cake, biscuits, crisps and I am overweight already but have decided I can only do one thing at a time (not even that on yesterdays performance).

Well off to find more snacks and drinks soft of course.xxx

xposted everyone Im so slow.
koti don't beat yourself up. You did well YOU HAVE NOT FAILED.
Like you said start again tomorrow, hope you sleep well
and don't feel like deep fried dog shit tomorrow. xx
.

joey
well done, you did better than me yesterday I got through a bottle of wine and I know what yo.u mean about the hangover
.I was only on day 6 but thats the longest i've been without a drink in many years. Ive had the hangover from hell most of the day when normally I need to drink well over two bottles to have any sort of hangover.
I thought it was really strange but perhaps not I suppose even after 5 days the blood alcohol levels would be a lot lower.
Impressed by you throwing the wine down the sink

rural yes it was really weird to get a hangover; one of the things that used to persuade me I wasn't an alcoholic was that I did NOT get hangovers, but I think my body must have now 're-set' to normal... which was actually good - I mean thats what should happen. And if I drink a lot less then I will be much more aware that a hangover WILL occur if I overdo it (I don't know if this is making much sense to anyone?!)

Tonight I bought pear cider. Again I'm trying to kick the habit of always heading for the wine - and it's also lower in alcohol.

I'm aiming planning for an alcohol-free week until Friday. Better stock up on ice-cream. (The side-effect of Mirtrazaline is 'increased appetite' )

Hi,

Koti is it to late to say pour away the drink and get some water?

Rural 6 days is fab! I agree with you and joey re the lowered blood alcohol levels. The hangover I had the other day lasted all day and really sucked even though there are many times when I've drunk more and recovered more easily (not proud of that by the way!)

Either the break I had is helping my body or my recovery is slower because I'm getting older. Either way I don't want another hangover like that one again!

Mouse I agree that reading your posts makes me realise how quickly I was to use the excuse ' I'm stressed' to pick up the bottle. How long have you been sober?
What happens when you have had a really tough day?

Hang on- mouse has better things to do tonight than answer questions!
Have a lovely evening

joey what is Mirtrazaline? don't answer if that is a personal question!
'Re setting the body to normal'- yes that's what happens. 'spose we can feel how poisonous alcohol really is.

Tell me again why we do it?

How did I miss silver's fantastic post about what's great about this thread?!

You are spot on.

guggs it may be 'resetting the body' to normal - on the other hand it could just be we're getting older and as you say recovery is slower!

mirtrazaline (not sure of the spelling) is a new drug I've just started for what the GP thinks might be chronic fatigue/ME. It seems to be helping (so far) but I just can't stop eating. It's actually an anti-depressant, although I wasn't depressed - so obviously has other actions (eg. appetite stimulant...)

We do it because... (I think) it feels good to begin with, and then we find it hard to stop because it's addictive - moreso than anyone realises.

Just a quick log-in before work.

Sliver thanks for the post and yes I've stopped drinking because of this thread, it's amazing.

Joey glad the new drug is working for you, def sounds like mirtrazapine, an SSRI.

New babes, am reading with interest and just wanted to say I was in your shoes a couple of months ago and am a changed person because of the support I found (and am still finding) here.

Went to parents yesterday and was the only one not drinking - they've got used to it now! And preparing for my first sober holiday on Wednesday, flying to France with DD and staying with friends. Leaving Alfie (new dog) will be hard but my brother's coming to house-sit so he'll be in good hands.

morning,

joey hope the drug helps and I hope you didn't mind me asking. I wouldn't worry about the eating: enjoy!
Yes, drinking does feel good to begin with and I know lots of people who can leave it at 1 small glass. Not me though!

I don't understand the science of addiction, what happens inside our brains that makes it so hard to stop when we (me,anyway) know what will happen?
That brings us back to the boxer : why get in the ring in the first place?

Soma good luck with your holiday, I expect you will enjoy it even more than if you were drinking. Have you found it hard to abstain?

Right start of day 4 for me.

Thanks gugg. No I haven't found it hard, I took antabuse until a few days ago and it helped get me out of the habit. Now I hardly think about drinking at all (apart from when I'm appreciating how lovely it is not to feel hungover/ashamed/90 years old). Early days though and am guarding against complacency.

Morning everyone

Belated Happy Birthday to you Venus I hope you had a lovely day.

Mouse belated Happy Anniversary to you, I hope your break was/is? everything you wish for.

My Dad's Birthday dinner went well, two glasses of champagne and a (big) glass of white wine for me, but not too bad really, and I didn't stop on the way home !!!!

Up at 3.30am on Sunday to pick Dc1 up from Heathrow, back from Australia, so completely washed out for the rest of the day.

Today I am hoping going to start the healthy eating weight loss plan, that I should have started three weeks ago! But I haven't had breakfast yet, and don't think I can do without toast. I can't bear cereal in the morning, it tasted too sweet (that's my excuse anyway!).

Gugg I've often wondered about addiction, like you, what makes me do it, when I know the consequences, surely anyone in their right mind would walk away without a second thought, so why is it so hard for me to do sometimes.

Hi everyone.

Hope mouse is enjoying Aberdovey.

kot - onwards and upwards!

gugg - I'm not a scientist, but as I understand it, the way any addictive substance works is, your brain is naturally set up to respond to chemicals that are present in the body, and it will also respond to chemicals you put into it, like alcohol or caffeine or whatever. But it adapts - if you keep putting in chemicals, it adapts to make this the 'normal' state. That's why you need more and more alcohol if you're drinking a lot, in order to get drunk: your brain is used to the effects and has to some extent normalized them. When you take the alcohol away, it's as if you are missing something that's become standard. Your brain has adapted to expect alcohol, and now it has to re-adapt - fast!

I think that's chemically why we crave it ... that's why normal people who drink a bottle of wine will be groaning the next day and sipping water, whereas some of us will be groaning but thinking 'hmm, a sneaky glass of white would just take the edge off this'.

I think there's also the psychological addiction. There's a site someone linked to on here over a year ago that explains it better than I can, but basically it was saying that human brains are very, very clever at filtering information and re-presenting it in a useful form.

If you're an alcoholic trying to stay sober, your brain is working against you to persuade you for its daily dose. So you say to yourself: I drink because I'm stressed! So long as I avoid stress, I'll be fine! And your brain then convinces you: yeah, but look! You had a rough day, you're feeling awful, look, you had a row with your partner - this counts as stress! You can drink!

Soon that turns into 'oh, no, you stubbed your toe - have a drink!' and you're back in that cycle of drinking and feeling guilty. Basically psychological addiction is like having a constant wrestling match with your own mind, and always having to remind yourself that you know these tricks your mind plays.

I'm sorry if that is useless and you wanted hard science with diagrams! Sure someone else can provide if so.

Oh, I am sooo sleepy babes ... I hate this bit feeling groggy all the time, I can't get anything done. Meh.

That's exactly what I wanted to know dragon particularly the behavioural aspect. Thank you- I'm going to re read and have a think about that info.

I suppose that there is also the cultural aspect of drinking being normal and very freely available.A bit like when you go shopping and all the chocolate at the till is on toddler level : not much chance that the toddler / drinker will be able to resist!

Personally, I struggle with the 'being stressed and reward' thing. I had a very stressful career pre Ds,and constantly used the stressed excuse.

Thank you. Where does your name come from, it's a good'un.

soma yes, the feeling hungover, ashamed and ancient is a familiar one too .

I've just met some friends from the party last week - where I got plastered and not unreasonably, they smirked a little but I was able to remind myself that I've finally jumped on the bus and am trying to stay sober. What's that funny little feeling...oh yeah, pride