The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Getting Ready For The Golden Sights Of Autumn In Search Of Sobriety.

[Mouseface]

Hello everyone, I'm Mouse :) and this is the Bus I've been on a while now!

It's filled with a variety of drinkers. Those that do, those that don't, and those who are desperate to STOP but hide it, or embrace it and get the help they NEED.

'Help' in whatever form works for them, your friend or you. Be it AA, a Local Community Alcohol Counselling Group, your GP, your family/friends, this thread or even a combination of all of the above!

You have to want to stop drinking more than wanting to breathe.

I know that right now, that may sound like a ridiculous goal.

They got sober, One Day At A Time then came here during the process to chat about it, discuss their feelings, but more than anything else, their experiences HELPED OTHERS TO BELIEVE that they too could get dry.

They might not get dry and stay dry, sometimes they'll be lying about their consumption, fooling themselves as well as others

BUT when the posters do get dry for good, come back and post to help others with their tricks of the trade or just to say 'I did it!!' my heart jumps for joy because that person, poster, Brave Babe has gone through hell and back, lived to tell the tale and now wants to share that with the rest of the Bus to see if one simple trick or technique will put them on the track to recovery, sobriety, to the life that they want to lead :)

There's two saying that have appeared to stick with us -

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

We all have our own reasons for starting to drink 'too much', we all have an excuse don't we.... we all have a "but....."

Well, as I say to Nemo (who you will get to hear about ) - goats butt!

And for those of you who want to know a bit more -

HERE IS THE MOST RECENT THREAD

AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, OVER FOUR YEARS AGO!!!

See you soon x

Oh ma we're all only human, you've so much on your plate, have a chat with lovely boss and he'll see the bigger picture.

Hugs xxxx

Just checking in to say I'm still here, and a quick note about anxiety and alcohol. I've been reading about Dr Oliver Amiesen and Baclofen Guardian article. I must download his book. Anyway... He knew there was a link, from his own experience, and thought he had found a cure for alcohol cravings and anxiety.

I was also on the My Way Out website a few months ago but didn't like the idea of having to buy tablets off the internet - but could they be on to something?

I will come back when I have more time and reply to the point about being mediocre, which totally resonated with me.

ma I so so feel for you. I do hope you can talk to your lovely boss about whatever has happened.

Hi, I'd like to join this thread - I've used mums net on/off for advice but never joined or posted before today. Ha ha imagine my delight when I find this thread and know I'm not alone! - I don't have time at the moment to read from the start, so just quickly scanned the last couple of pages - sorry, but got a 2 yr old at home and masses of chores to do - but I've read enough to get that I'm in the right place- i wanted to know whether AA groups actually exist? Or if they are just on telly and in movies???Not that I'm looking to join one, but it could be an option in the future, as I have very little RL support, so I don't really envisage me stopping drinking any time soon as I still feel it's helping more than hindering - I'll expand on that skewed comment if anyone wants me too!? So I can only see it becoming more of a problem in the future as I crave it and 'need' it. However I do take medication and I'm too scared to find out if the combination could be the reason why I feel like shit all the time, as I don't feel my consumption is 'that' excessive - if I found out it was damaging then I'd HAVE to stop, and so I'd lose my crutch? Tnx for listening :-)

ma hen you are under so much stress it's totally understandable that cracks appear. I betcha anything that your boss is disappointed with the situation not with YOU. Does he know about your dad?

thanks all. Feel just dreadful. I didn't follow up on something which I should have done which had led to a client being really embarrassed in front of HIS clients....it was a communication foul up but it could have been avoided and makes us look bad and client look bad. Lovely boss has taken himself out of office all day probably to do damage limitation...I feel so bad that I have let him down when he has enough on his plate and is relying on me to deal with stuff while he tries to save the company. I know nobody died etc but I think the fallout will be big....pissed off client has direct line to Board of Directors :-(
What a shit day.

Sorry ma, these things happen but that never makes it any easier to bear. Dh often comes home with a big smile because it was "someone else's cock up today"

I think the trouble is that so many of us are trying to mange the workload that, forty years ago would have been for two full time employees. Now we all work longer, harder, faster, skip lunches and juggle balls until we drop something.

Put it down to 'bound to happen at some point' and move on. It's done now, hopefully damage limitation can go some way to repair relationships. It always helps a lot if the person responsible just takes the 'blame' too. Much easier to forgive someone who is genuinely sorry x

Hi to all the new babes

MrsMindful we had another MrsM on the bus a while back. If you want to have a great read and get loads of advice, you might find the first ever thread a good place to start. Other than that, just dip in and out when you can and post whatever you like.

Just how are you, is everything ok? Give us a wave if you're lurking x

ah well, fuck it.... day 1 again tomorrow not doing well just now am I. bastard bastard WW and her incessant whispering in my ear.

Tnx for advice Fairenuff - wen I get a spare minute I will go back to the beginning of thread and read thru

Welcome mrsmindful
Spoke to lovely boss. He is OK, says we will just move on and he will deal with any high level fall out. Got some bad news just at the end of the day on some funding which has now been delayed - the referendum effect I think- but it will have a big effect on us, so I had to phone him. What a shite day! And then this bloody vote tomorrow and all the arguing. Am as low as a bug's ass at the moment

MrsM well done you for having the courage to post, god I remember my first post, sending that first scary message is daunting but we're all here for the same reason, we drink or drank too much!!!! I have Crohn's disease and takes lots of strong meds and anti depressants as my drinking spiralled from a little to much to far too much since the birth if my 3 year old. I'm only telling you this so you know I've been messing around with my physical and mental health for 3 years so if your worried about booze and meds, a few of us are and I know the AD's don't work properly when I drink but I'm still lured back. What I mean is your not alone and we're here to help. Tell us more about yourself if you need some support.xxx

ma more hugs for you. Xx

eccles tomorrow is another day xx

Be back later, wish I could NC every single babe but I can't scroll up but you know I'm thinking of you all and willing you strength xxx

ma Don't give yourself a hard time- shit happens
Grit your teeth and repeat : This too will pass etc etc.
Have a and an early night.

Sorry fellow travellers, I ended up falling asleep last night, just zonked out.

Day 2 completed. Phew.

ma it's nae muckle wonder ye've buckled. ma you are a Caryatid. You are supporting too much weight upon your shoulders, my lovely. It's time to get the scaffolders in, give you a bit of a rest. Speak to your lovely boss, he gets you - how could he ever be disappointed with our lass, eh? It'll all look a little better in the morning, Everything can always be made a little better.

We're right with you ma. ((((HolyThistleHeidedBatBosies))))

Thank you and hello! still not able to read earlier posts but promise I will - yes I am mixing ad's, beta-blockers and booze - red wine mainly - I'm not ready to stop I know that much - I was depressed and anxious for 12 yrs after the birth of my 1st daughter - I have a history that dates back to my early teens - but I refused meds and was terrified of being 'out of control' hence none or little alcohol consumption during this time - which I use as an excuse to carry on - because 'I'm making up for lost time, and im now consuming all the booze I wud have had then if I hadn't been such a fucking mess looking forward to getting to know you guys - I feel happier already

I was humbled by all the wise words of support, y'know. Touched beyond belief. So many fighting my corner, keeping me strong.

Inde for someone like me, who allegedly is blessed with common sense, yes. You are right. I am a silly tart. I hope you feel better today lass,

ooh wry a new word - Caryatid! I love learning a new word and thankyou for the image too. holythistleheidedbatbosies made me laugh.

I cracked, and emailed distracted chap about my crap day - not going into details. His response "If you're not dead or unexpectedly pregnant it will be ok" made me smile too.
You guys rock!

have cast my vote today - I think it is the quiet before the storm today, god knows what tomorrow will bring.

I like distracted chap ma. Email him a bit more often is my advice.

Go ma!!!! Has he got a brother??? (Kidding) xxx

wry luffs ya girl xx

MrsM just keep posting at your own pace and know we are all in the same boat. Ps I'm on propananol which is a beta blocker and was drinking up to 2 bottles a night at my worst, can you tell us how much your drinking at the mo??

Love to all, dodgy day 4 and dh off work to vote so will be a stressful one which him anxiously awaiting vote result. Yikes xxx

Vote cast here too. There's sort of a strange feeling - possibly just the misty morning - but it feels very odd... Whatever views are held, I am glad that once again, this thread is a safe place on mn where ignorance and vitriol are not being flung around.

Have a safe day everyone.

oh ma anybody who can bring a smile to your face gets a thumbs-up in my book. He sounds lush

wry: do take me up on it. I'm certain we could do this.

The way it works is this: the photos are stored on a little memory card in the camera. It's a slim bit of rectangular plastic that looks like a bigger version of the sim card in your phone. It'll be about 2cm by 3cm.

The card is designed to be removable, so that you can physically insert it into a port on your computer the same way people used to with floppy disks.

If you get a chance, when you're finding out the make, have a quick look at his camera to find where the card is: on the bottom or on the side there will be a little hatch that says something like 'CARD/BATT' or just 'CARD'. If you open this you'll see the card (little) and possibly the battery (much bigger).

To copy off the pictures you'd need to remove the card from the port: make sure camera is off, then take out card and insert into memory card port on computer.

Once it's in, the computer will read the card and bring up a window which will let you see the pictures, select the ones you want and copy them to your computer.

You can then eject and replace the card, and there will be absolutely no way for him to tell you've copied off the pictures. Everything will be just as before.

If all goes well you should be able to do this in well under 10 minutes.

To give you more precise instructions, I'd need to know the make of your laptop/computer (so I could tell you whether it has a memory card port and where it is). I could then give you step-by-step instructions.

PM me if you like. I feel like I'm in a hacker film! I so want this to work so you can have those precious pics

Love to all other babes

Hi all, I used to consider alcohol to self-medicate anxiety, but was TOO anxious to! Lol - my ad and beta blocker are working fine, and I love being a mum second time round ( I have 2 dd with a 14 yr age gap - dd1 is 16 dd2 is 2 and a bit) - my life is far from perfect, but essentially I am happy - my feelings towards my husband are questionable as is our whole 17yr relationship - I'm bored and lonely - I drink about 4 bottleof red wine a week - but I'd like to drink 1 a night if I could - but obvs I have too many commitments to do this in reality - I also wudnt like to lose complete control to it bcoz id be less likely then to be able to make anything happen in my life at all! I'm knackered as it is now - the reason I'm concerned is bcoz I like it and need it too much, as previous posters have already said, also the vast majority of my drinking is alone and at home - any thoughts/comments/advice?

phrase what a star you are, it really is quite simple to download pics once you KNOW HOW so wry f you get the chance do listen to phrase and try it out then you can breathe a big sigh again and get rid of the wankbadger! hope everyone is doing as best they can, I am failing madly just now but am building my determination for next week.

Eccles I used to think if I live to be 90 then I'm going to drink and smoke and eat myself stupid, what have I got to lose

But, I don't really want to die young. I wouldn't mind going tbh because I would be out of it but there are people who love me and would miss me.

If I die a sudden death I will be pissed off though because I would feel cheated of my planned elderly binges

(Btw I told myself this when I stopped smoking and now there is no way I would go back to it, even if I'm 90. It holds absolutely no attraction for me whatsoever. Can't believe I found it difficult to stop. Disgustiing, expensive things)

< morbid death thoughts or intellectually philosophical musings? >

PS I think I have an addiction to skittles

fairenuff well skittles won't kill you I guess? if i carry on drinking as I am just now then I definitely will, and it's scary so why the fuck can't I stop.