The Brave Babes Battle Bus - In Search Of Sobriety, Sunshine & Survival!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse :)

Welcome to the thread, or our mythical Bus called Gerald!

There is room for everyone. Always

There is help for everyone who wants it. Always

There is unconditional support and kindness. Always

We have two sentences that we believe in here -

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

No matter what it is that you drink, how much, how often, we've ALL been in your position at one point or another...... so most of us WILL know exactly what it's like to be YOU

If you'd like to read the last thread, it's below -

THIS IS THE PREVIOUS THREAD

And if you want to read a pretty sobering thread and the history behind these many, the reason why we are all here, fighting to stay/get sober is here -

FIRST EVER BRAVE BABES THREAD

Hope to see you soon :)

Mouse x

Hello, I'm quite new here, can I join in if my feelings are the same except it's not alcohol I'm needing support with?

Not sure what the protocol is but it would be great to have somewhere to offload a few feelings and judging from what I've read you are all so very supportive.

I won't be offended if it's not appropriate for this thread, don't worry about saying no it's just alcohol!

Beaches Hello Pumpkin, really glad the move went well. Day 3 is really good, don't falter stick with it. I'm on Day 3 today We can do this together, Hope is with us too ! Oh yes the unpacking, I've still got about 12 boxes in the loft

I had another fitful sleep, kept waking up, so this morning I feel shattered. DD1 is going to work this morning so she's just had a shower (thank God as she is such a 'soap dodger' and beginning to pong)

Wry darling I hope you're ok this morning? don't worry about your blip, it was a small one and you're back on track. I wouldn't have got in the car either, very wise not to. I hope that you told him to fuck off forever. Maybe last night will re-confirm what a Twunt he really is and you will finally get shot of him? Have a good day and don't let the bastard get you down. Head up, put your lovely smile on and keep those shoulders back

Just welcome to the bus and well done for posting Can you share with us what your addiction is? it may help us to give you better support. Stick with us and just keep posting

Have a good day y'all xxx

wry are you OK hen? Well done for standing up to the wankbadger. Another small step to freedom. Man, its fairly pissing soon out there this morning..gonny get fair drookit!
just you are most welcome. Take a seat. Mouse will be round with tea trolley shortly. Unless you are addicted to tea?
Anyone seen alias recently?

Morning!

Great to see some new babes joining the bus. Well done and good luck with quitting the ww/fags/whatever it is that's causing pain. I'm convinced that more and more people are cutting down or stopping entirely.has absolutely no proof

wry you did really well to stand up to him. Didn't like being wrong did he? Massive red flag that one. Hope you slept well.

Now about those bath bombs- any left?

Morning Guggs have a good day lovely

Morning Ma hope you're feeling better today

The rain has made it down south, it is pissing down

Vicar good luck with fitness test today. It will be fine please don't worry

Day 3 and I will not be drinking or smoking

I did it!!!! I was anxious and really tempted by wine but resisted and feel virtuous (thanks to some great advice on here). Day 9 done [happy]

Well done bloodyusername :)

Day 5, work was the usual, enforced overtime and I didn't get in till nearly ten. I went to bed feeling like I hadn't even unwound and realised this is why I often reach for a glass when anybody else would just take themselves off to bed...I'm also having to guard against drinking because I 'deserve' it for enduring a week at work!

Guggs I've also noticed more people seem to be changing their lifestyles. I don't know if it's an age thing, I'm fourty and friends are late thirties and up. I know I don't feel like I can get away with drinking, in the past I could have a bottle of wine and be up for the gym, now the next day would be a write off. Plus I'm much more conscious of what a waste of money it is...I baulk at the price of coffee yet I'd think nothing of the price of wine...

Yay! Day 3,5 & 9- well done. They are the hardest days,after that it begins to get easier,little by little. It continues to get easier as long as you don't pick up. Women I know from my group who have been sober for a long time don't have any cravings or interest in the boozy stuff any more and that's what I'm aiming at.

annie I really hope that attitudes to alcohol are changing,though I realise that I spend time talking to people who are in sobriety or who have a normal reaction to drink. Dh has a couple of drinks a year
So not really a cross section of drinkers!
Yes it is an enormous waste of money and calories and time.

Hi Just, welcome to the bus. We have a babe who was with us to help with her drug problem (although she's not posted much recently) and a lot of the same strategies apply.

Changing routines, habits, taking it one day at a time, seeing the big picture, all those sorts of things. This bus isn't just for alcohol and it's not just for women, so feel free to post away, whenever you want, about whatever's on your mind

Thanks for the welcome...
Sorry to be secretive, but yes you are right it's about changing habits, and also I guess having the self esteem (what's that?!) to believe you can change those habits.
I feel my life has been taken over and I'm constantly thinking about how, when, where I guess that's the same?
Counting down to wine o'clock?

Right, Ma, here is the bend and snap (and just for everyone who loves this film!) Wry, you are my twin - the minute I read Ma's post I thought of the bend and snap, but then after what I've heard about her famous norks I discounted it on health and safety grounds. But now you've mentioned it!!!!

Hello fellow travelers. I have come to hop aboard again. I have had a few days in London eating, drinking and making merry but I am heading home now and I need to claim my seat on the bus once more.

I am pleased to say that even though i drank over the past 5 days, I never had excess and I had no hangovers.

My mum is making good progress after her heart attack but is still in hospital. I now realise I will be predisposed to heart problems so I now need to continue not drinking as well as eating more healthily and losing weight. It feels a bit scary.

It's good to be back. I am not the wittiest poster and I don't often have much of interest to say but everyone here is very welcoming and forgiving.

Right, now I have that out of my system...

Day 5 here and feeling better, though sleep patterns shocking and eating erratic

Wankbadger now being civil and even attempting nice - I think prompted by DS telling him to stop behaving so badly. As ever it is tempting to forget how dark the last week was and just go back to normal because am so busy, but don't want to still be that person everyone loses patience with who won't change.

In the short term have dd's birthday at weekend, then she starts high school, ds has some massively important races coming up and I am away in September for a week with work, so nothing to be done in the short term apart from eating better and staying away from the WW, exercising and getting my finances into shape. Of these, I have only done the staying away from the witch bit, but that has been massive this week, so, diet and exercise regime to be phased in (again) soon. Anyone care to join me???

And of course I have been up all night making bath bombs for you lot , so here are some lavender ones for relaxation, citrus ones for those of you who need some boing, and vanilla as they are my favourites.

There are loads of tutorials on the internet about bath bombs but lots of them seem to be really complex, so here is my quick guide...

Hope's quick guide to bath bomb loveliness

Basically - two parts soda bicarbonate to 1 part citric acid. Mix it up in a clean and utterly dry bowl, then to bond it add some oil, very slowly (drop by drop slowly). Almond oil is nicest but a light olive oil is fine too. Don't use a heavy oil as it won't blend. Any liquid causes a reaction so it will clump a bit - add in and then squash any clumps in your fingers till it is like course sand (it's a bit like making a crumble!) Then add in food colouring for colour and essential oils for scent (just a few drops, and again do the squashing thing). You can also add things like rose petals or glitter at this point. Then pack them tightly into moulds (cake ones will do or you can buy round ones which you pack both halves and then squish together). Really pack them tight, like making sandcastles, and leave to set over night. They can be quite hard to get out of the moulds but you are an ingenious bunch. You can buy the ingredients cheaply off the internet too.

Now, who is going to teach me to crochet???

Hi little, missed you there! (and don't be so self-deprecating, I love your posts!) So glad your mum is on the mend and glad the holiday was a success. You make a good point about heart health - my friend whose funeral was last week died of a heart attack and believe me he had no stress in his life, but he was a massive drinker (not that I'm saying your mum drinks of course, just that either a genetic history of it or drinking can be bad for the heart). Makes me think it isn't just the hangovers and embarrassment I need to worry about. Can't bear to think of my poor liver either..

Wry - glad you told the wankbadger what's what and got a taxi

Vicar - what scary job do you have that you need a fitness test for? Are you a superhero / SAS member / pole dancer? Am prepared to be very impressed as I mostly sit down for work (with a bit of anguished pacing)

Beaches -how is the unpacking going? I moved in here years ago and still haven't finished, just got bored and threw a load of stuff in the attic. Clearing out dd's room pre-decorating is a task and a half too, we all have the hoarding gene

Spanna - was it you that asked about dd's room? She's gone for aqua with different shades - it will be lovely I think. Have some matchpots to play with next week before the decorating starts and have chosen some lovely accessories for her birthday presents. Got to go to IKEA for a wardrobe though. And if I can get through that without drinking, I will be on for a medal, bloody hate the place. Wardrobe handles only available from the kitchen section, I ask you - bloody anarchy

Rural, Guggs, Venus, Soc, Baby, Mouse, Anne - how are you all doing?

Just - welcome on board. Doesn't matter what the addiction is, they are all the same. I have noticed that when I'm not focussed on wine I am odd around food, so same coping behaviours work, and you will get lots of support on here.

Take care all...

Thanks looking I'm definitely going to have to give that a go, lush is great but so pricey.

Hope DDs room colours sound lovely, very fresh and zesty. I try and avoid IKEA, it's like Woolworths you go in for one thing and leave with 20 because it all seems so cheap, it's such a lie!

Finding it really hard today, craving ciggies so eating tons which doesn't seem very satisfying, slight element of boredom from the 'non hazzy' feeling from wine. Can't be bothered to do anythng constructive. Right winge over - point for me is that Day 3 with no wine or cigs is a huge achievement for me - it's been a long long time since I haven't smoked I am very grumpy and short tempered not good for DDs around me, they are currently hiding, bless them

Sorry for self self post. Good evening Babes how are you all?

Tum Tum Tum, Tumty, Tum Tum, Is there anybody out there?

Hi all :-)
I'm again apologising for not giving much away but I'm in a bad place, nothing life threatening, or in need of medical attention but I'm finding it very hard to work out WHY I behaved the way I did, and how to change that.

My theory is that I don't have faith in myself and don't think enough of myself to stop the self sabotage.

Someone mentioned Rachel's holiday... Josephine says this and it completely struck me as the truth... If I did think highly of myself I wouldn't poison myself.

It can't really be that simple though?!
Sorry I'm rambling a bit

Hi spanna - well done on getting through day 3, especially kicking two bad habits in one. I'm finding the one hard enough (did the cigarettes a few years ago, hard but so worth it)

just - I just wanted to say hi and I hope you find what you need here

Hi Username If I'm not drinking then I'm not as tempted to smoke. Did you give up smoking just by stopping?

Just keep posting babe. Can you tell us a bit more about your addiction. I was a cocaine addict for many years. I have been clean now for 16-17 years. I knew that I would kill myself if I didn't stop I used to earn alot of money and got into bad habits, when I met my X I was 6.5 stone and thought I looked great

Ha ha spanna if only, it was nicotine replacement all the way for me. I was grumpy, agitated and developed a horrible cold (quite common apparantly) for the first week but it quickly wore off.

It's a nice feeling not wheezing when running for the bus.

just you don't need to give us any personal information,unless you choose to. Love and support come for free round here.

Do you have any rl support? No stopping an addiction is not simple,neither is it easy to analyse or understand- so try to let go of the hows and whys etc. I drink because I have a problematic relationship with drink,I can't react normally to the sauce. If I want to stay sober I need this bus and I need to go to a meeting,and I need to remember the ODAAT slogan.

Personally I don't make a difference between being addicted to drink or drugs or sex or food. Best wishes to you.

'Lo there spanna- that's really good to hear that you've been clean for so long. Well done. I eventually realised how unhappy alcohol was making me because I had isolated myself from my friends and family. Eventually I was going to islolate from my dh and son and just drink- I certainly didn't want that to happen but it was the direction I was headed in.Awful!

Hi there bloody good luck with quitting

Anyone heard from baby? Are you ok lovely?

Night all,sweet dreams and a kick in the fanny for the WW.

Hey, Spanna well done on day 3 - kicking two things at once can't be easy. I stopped smoking when pregnant with ds but actually started again a few months ago when work stress was peaking.. only have the odd one and only when drinking, and have to do it in secret as dd actually cries if I smoke (even though her dad does and she doesn't care about that, but she says she's given up on him!) But could kick myself for it because with my addictive personality I could be back up to 20 a day in no time! Not had one all week though, (as not drinking) so here's hoping

Username good luck with the bath bombs! Let me know how you get on.

Just - keep posting here, this is an amazing place. If you stick around long enough the babes might even share some green opal fruits with you...

Watched GBBO tonight and had a doughnut and an ice cream. Am going to go from being the drunkest woman in town to the fattest at this rate. D'aaaagh.

Going to read my book. One of you babes, and I won't read back and point the finger, suggested I read Lianne Moriarty, and now I am addicted, have downloaded the lot on Kindle and am up reading into the small hours. On Little Lies at the moment and it really brings back all those playground torments from when ds were little, haha! . So whoever it was, thank you but also slap round the chops with Barrie as I am getting even less sleep now But hey, am sober enough to read and remember the plot next day, so it's all good...

Night night babes xxx Snuggling down on the back seat with a blanket now...

Hi my gorgeous creatures, I have been reading every post but I'm having a slightly melancholy phase so didn't want to bring the thread down. I have really only been sober since just before the holidays, my dd's have been a wonderful if exhausting distraction to my RL "issues". As most of you know I had a full on breakdown and it reached it's peak with long lonely days of drinking and popping pills non stop to the point of worried sick family intervention, now been sober for 10 weeks but being back to days to myself I fear loneliness and frustration at my disconnected relationship with dh may set me back, I'm literally petrified I will look for my old friend to patch the holes in my soul.

I feel I've changed so much for the better but nothing around me is changing with me, what's the point of doing myself up every day, keeping a nice home, cooking nice dinners when all any one cares about us that I'm not "mental" anymore, not really addressing why!!! I don't really know either so I don't have the knowledge or wisdom to stop myself retreating back, nothing's changed except me, is that enough, am I enough????

Sorry for the profound thoughts but I feel a bit like an actress in my own life, as long as Baby behaves everyone is happy, will I ever be "normal"???

just welcome to our lovely circle if friendship, I look forward to getting to know you and believe me magic happens right here, the love and trust you will find here is very real and feels warmer than any liquid or substance your fighting, hugs to you.

I will check in first thing and hopefully not be the "poor me wench" I am tonight.

I thank my lucky stars for every single one of you xxx