The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Stepping Into Christmas With Sobriety On Their Minds.

[Mouseface]

Hello, tis me, Mouse

This is a thread for those who are worried about their drinking habits, relationships with alcohol, and/or drugs.

Even if you think your intake has gone up more today than the last or this week than last, come and join us on Gerald, the amazing, always room for more, fully stocked with glorious treats and donned in his Christmas Decorations, Bus!

We are a supportive thread, full of very different posters, from various backgrounds. Some of us drink in moderation, allowing ourselves the odd glass or two as a treat, or just because we're in control of our drinking for that day.

One Day At A Time.

We have those who abstain completely, and those who wake every day to Day 1 and hope with all of their hearts that they can, and will, make it to Day 2.

If you've followed our journey to date, you'll know who most of us are by now smile and we kind of have two 'sayings', that sum up who we are -

1. • The Vulnerable Need Our Support, Not Our Judgement
2. • Alcohol Fosters Inertia

That said, we will not have any bashing of support groups, such as AA or Community Addiction Support Teams, or even other support threads, posts like that will be reported if the need arises, so 'Orange Paper supporters' don't waste your time please :)

This Bus is a place for honesty, sanctuary and safety, something that has taken almost four years for a number of very special, very lovely, very honest and caring Babes to establish.

So, come find a seat, grab something warm from the supply cupboard at the back of the Bus, it's filled with (non alcoholic or narcotic) delicious, luxury treats and HUGE fluffy quilts, plus anything else you might need to help YOU get through YOUR day a minute, or an hour at a time.

And, if you'd like to see where this all began - This Is The Reason We're All Here, The Original JWN Thread

And This Is Our Previous Thread, With Links To Those Over The Past Few Years

We hope to meet you soon :) x

Been thinking how it went for you soc
You made me happy i think you did bloody amazing! I don't know what to say but just understand the strength needed and obviously you have got! Just think of those poor buggers with pounding head this morning x

soc bloody well done babe!
I KNEW the "official" sweetie monitor would turn up as soon as I tried to claim the title
I thought you were in charge of Christmas carols and the salvation army band. Must go and rub my triangle........

Sober Saturday done, here's to sober Sunday

Where is indie

Can I join you ma in sober Sunday?
I'm running off to Tesco to spend my spare money on food etc so I don't buy booze later at about 1 ish when I change my mind

Speaking of euphemisms, ma, "rubbing your triangle"? Have fun with that.

Soc you are awesome well done babe xxx
Mama day 3 keep going girl

Ma you go with that triangle enjoy your sober Sunday. Can I join you and I'm

I'll join you in a sober Sunday Im and ma. Going to have a quiet potter at home today.

Dd has got a brand new academic year wall calendar and I am going to help her put coloured dots on it to mark her mock exams in the new year and summer exams too, so that she can work out a revision timetable.

Yes, we are that organised.

And I know the lure of new stationery will bring Isinde out of hiding

I actually once made myself a 'trigger' calendar. I marked the morning and all the hours leading up to 'wine o'clock' green, then when I was nearing my danger zone (which, for me was about 2pm), I marked it amber and, finally I marked the 'danger zone' in red (4pm - 8pm). After 8 I was back in amber for about an hour and then green again.

If I felt a wobble, I could look at the calendar and see at a glance that I was approaching the 'danger zone' and put my strategies into place. Seeing the 'green' zone ahead would remind me that this would pass. Any other weird tips, babes, or is it just me

Ma when you've finished polishing your triangle, pass me the tuba willya.

x post with Spanna, that's four of us then.

Nuff that calender idea sounds like a good plan

Day 1 today and WW is already calling, it's not even midday FFS

Beaches how you doing babe?

Ma keep that triangle to yourself

Great nuff the more to the army the better
I really like the calendar idea visual things help me thinks

spanna she called me a while ago shes still calling now too wish shed leave me alone
X

spanna, I know about that ugly ww calling early in the day, I think it might be the energy we have to think about not drinking that puts the image of our drink of choice firmly in our mind? I like the idea of your trigger calendar faire, what strategies did you employ? How's it going today isinde? anne, how did you get on last night? Sorry to others I haven't name-checked, not deliberately leaving you out. All of you are so brave & reading your posts gives me lots of inspiration.

Mama last night was fine. I had one glass, poured another but then tipped most of it back on the bottle aa I just didn't really want it. I was eating ben and Jerry's so probably more interested in that. I'm not going to kid myself that I can drink like that all the time as I will probably find myself back in a cycle of daily drinking, and inevitably the amount will creep up.

I can't remember who was 'stuffing their pork' yesterday tries to ignore all euphemisms, especially ma's triangle and who was trying not to think of a nice cold, dry glass of wine....

.....anyway it made me remember exactly that feeling. However it also made me remember that often my mind played tricks on me, and I'd be fantasising about something dry and refreshing, when actually what I would drink would be acidic and sour and a bit sickly and would make me screw my face up. Yet I'd persist.....

By way on contrast, I sat down last night to watch Borgen (now there's a programme you need to be sober for - 2 hours of subtitled stuff late on a Saturday evening) with a huge ice-cold glass of rhubarb, ginger and soda. Mmmmmm

And by the way, I'm so glad that you spend all your time fighting over the green opal fruits. I just wait quietly and pick up all the unwanted red ones, which are my favourite. And I donate the orange and yellow ones to the opal-fruit-food-bank.

Venus save me the orange and yellow ones, they are my favourites. Especially the yellow, which have been marginalised by Starburst.

Pouring a bath now, ready to get out and about with kids. Really need to get out of this negative mindset - when I am stressed my brain just shuts down and I either whizz about on autopilot at 90mph or I have literally no energy. DH fed up with me, am normally organising dynamo then have weekends like this where I don't even have the willpower to put a wash on. I know why he gets fed up, but believe me he isn't perfect either - if I didn't have the entire financial responsibility for the house I would be in a far less soul destroying job....

Faire like your danger zone plan. I used to send myself phone alarms from my sober self on a night out to warn me to stop drinking at 9.30pm then 10.00 and one at 10.15 saying 'go home'. Wish I'd done that this week frankly. Feeling very anxious about staying up late on work night out with clients. Must start again.

Anne well done on last night - if I may congratulate you as the new girl. I have no room to talk to anyone at the moment, but am trying!

Happy Sunday all xxx

Can I please just vent
Kids driving me insane arguing fighting swearing toys thrown down stairs I'm trying to cook lunch then go park take dog out but I can feel the wine calling
FFS I just want to relax with a film ;(

I'm any way you can change plans? Put lunch on hold, grab some bread and cheese, take pesky kids and dog to the park for a run around. Make impromptu sandwich / picnic lunch (or just buy some crisps and cheese slices and a couple of bananas). Then this afternoon promise kids some time with tv / games while you make tea (which was lunch).

I promise you that wine does NOT make the toys any tidier, and it does not make the kids any better behaved.

Thanks venus
Yes I know your right if anything it makes them worse as they get away with more if I have wine.
Well lunch is done so going to head out after ill keep trying

Afternoon, tis me, Mouse

Mum has just been blue lighted to hospital. She can't breathe properly. :(

Sorry to burst in and blurt that out.

Dad said "I can't do this anymore" and starting asking me about managing her feeding tube, whilst the crew were loading her into the ambulance, he was panicking. Naturally. :(

She'll have the NG feeding tube inserted whilst in hospital, put on a drip for additional fluids and she'll have a dedicated NG nurse to come to the house to manage the tube.... when she comes home.

I need to go but wanted to say to Soc well the frickity frick done for not giving in and still being able to enjoy the night :) xxx

I'm - keep posting, keep talking and keep calm. :) xxx

venus - will you share the red ones with me please? They're my faves too. :) xxx

Right, calls to make and a wee fish to feed. Be back later.

Thank you Babes - today is going to be very hard, waiting for news, but I've been here before with Nemo, I can do it again. One Minute At A Time. :) xxx

Imdoing I am currently hiding upstairs from my dc! I have a hundred and one things to do around the house, which I can't do whilst dealing with their constant fighting - it gets overwhelming and the ww comes calling :(

Thanks lookingfor, I hope I can get back to af days although tonight might be difficult with an open bottle of wine in the house. Did you say you work in the public sector, I do too, and the pressure is ridiculous now. We actually had our chairs taken away as it was felt we'd be more productive standing up! I hate it but it pays the bills so I'm stuck.

Aw bless you mouse Thinking of you and your mum and dad. At least you know her breathing will be managed in hospital, and having a nurse will help your dad manage. Sending hugs xxx I hope she improves soon x x x

Oh Mouse what a sad, sad day . She is in good hands now, they will watch her and take care of her and she can rest and start to heal x

Another one here shaking pom poms for Soc

Mama the strategies are all the things we talk about on the bus, such as seeing the movie through to the end, remembering HALT, doing the drill, breaking the time into half hour chunks and keeping busy. Anything to avoid that first glass.

Anne I find that if I have sugar in any other form than alcohol, cravings go away pretty fast. I think, for me, they were sugar cravings and my brain just thought, 'Ah, sugar, a glass of wine will be the quickest and easiest way of getting sugar into the bloodstream'. Then, of course, by the time the sugar craving is satisfied, the alcohol endorphins have kicked in and my brain goes, 'Ah, yes, wine is pleasant, let's have some more and keep that pleasant feeling going'. So, yeah, I blame my brain

However, I have trained myself, or rather my brain, to look for other sources of sugar and stop that merry-go-round. Now I am still trying to wean myself off sugar, as part of my healthy diet, but it's not easy because if my sugar levels drop I am back to square one. If that makes any kind of sense? Basically, Ben & Jerry's good, wine bad.

hope I love that phrase 'pouring a bath'. I would say run a bath. 'Pour a bath, not a glass' has a good ring to it

Im when mine were little I would separate them and send them to their rooms if they couldn't play nicely together. It's ok to tell them they are not allowed to throw toys. I agree with Venus that getting them out of the house and running around outside would probably be an enormous help. Try to wear them out without wearing yourself out too much x

Ps Anne if there is an open bottle, can you just pour it down the sink?

Hi Spanna, things are ok here, today is a day for stacking wood in the basement for the long winter. Unfortunately the basement is only 4ft something so it is necessary to do it all with your head constantly at a right angle to your body. Not the most comfortable! Your description of your brother's visit with the wine was spot on, from the 'only one bottle?' to the anxiety of the wine finally being finished. I recognized that relief when the stress of 'losing out on a drop' is over. Crazy but yet so true

mouse again (((hugs))) a very emotional time. Agree with the other posters that she is in safe hands now.

Faire that dastardly brain, I blame mine too for ALL sorts of things

soc wow! No wonder you were exhausted, you must have been on you guard every second. Sincere admiration for you babe.

anne that was an interesting result actually, I was kind of expecting you to drink a bottle because that is what I would have done (I think).

I read the other threads yesterday and was rattled by both to be honest. My dad was a heavy drinker and a pub man. A few pints every lunchtime and a few more each evening. I remember as a child thinking why does he have to drink EVERY day? His moods dominated everything. So here I am in my early forties, not going to the pub but drinking wine every day. In my panic not to turn into my mum it appears I may have turned into my dad . Joking aside, these are pretty uncomfortable thoughts.

So I will join you in a sober Sunday Ma, Im, Faire and Spanna are you in too Rural?

Hi Beaches I can only imagine how cold it must get over there mid-winter Brrrrrrrr! Glad you're ok, sounds like you could do with a hot soak.

WW is still whispering - she's such a bitch, hanging tightly to my seat, white knuckles

to you Mouse she is in the best place where they can help her the most xxx

It's been a long Day 1

Keep going Spanna, white knuckles and all. I should bury her deep in my log pile and NO that is not a euphemism!

Can I join the bus please. I love my wine, and can get through a bottle every other night, it makes me feel better for a little while but then I feel so guilty for drinking and think of my health, but it's been a hard year and drinking helps me forget for a bit