The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Shaping Up For A Super, Sober Summer!

[Mouseface]

Hey, I'm Mouse

This is 'Gerald', our trustworthy, non judgemental Bus, full of a variety of posters who have travelled long and far, or even just joined us a few stops ago.

This is a place where you can be who YOU want to be. 24/7, 365. This lovely place is just like your best friend, there's no slagging off, no judging, just us.

Drinking or not, embarrassed, fed up of the way things are, or just lonely of living the way drinking makes you do, come and take a peek and see what you think.....

THIS THE LAST THREAD WE HAD

AND THIS IS WHERE THE BUS WAS BUILT, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

We can't wait to meet you, we won't bite! Well, unless you ask very nicely.

Take good care until we see you. :) xx

I'm still reading back over May, feeling guilty that I dropped out, but also privileged that like one or two of my very best RL friends, I can pick up with all of you just where I left off, even when I've been a solitary, curmudgeonly moo; and the I read Small's post for weds 27/05 21:24. And I'm holding back tears and applauding her eloquence. If you haven't read it, it's page 9 of this thread, go read it, reflect, and be kind to yourselves x.

Getting to be a big boy now.

Quick check in. Welcome to all newbies
lobster my brother hit rock bottom too through alcoholism, his story is on the threads about two years ago. On May 13th 2013 he was taken in by the Salvation Army. A couple of weeks ago he moved into his own flat. Full time job. Doing a degree via the OU. 2 years sober. It can be done.
Not by me obviously as I'm still here. But it can be.
Not in a great place. Big hugs to indie and venus and mouse for being there, and to all of you for being there. Don't know what I would do without you all.

Evening all

Just looking in to say hi. Last night I got in from walking home from work after a long hot day and to say I was gasping for a drink was an understatement!

I didn't jump straight into the box of wine though and took my time to think about what I should do, considering how bloody awful I was Sunday/Monday.

I waited until 6.30 then poured a gin and tonic, filled it with ice and savoured every mouthful whilst I cooked our tea, I had one more after tea and that was enough.

I think I've got to be realistic and cut down gradually, for starters not drinking every night [Mon,Tues, Wed, possibly Thurs] and wine is off the menu for good.

I hope I don't sound a sap but to be honest I'm setting myself up for failure by going teetotal straight away.

Classy, you need to work out what works for you. For me, not drinking is an easier sum to resolve than moderation. So tonight, I'm drinking (Sorry) tomorrow I will be AF, now I'm watching TFI and feeling much younger than my 44 years.

How's everyone else tonight?

Happy birthday Sweet . Hope you've had a fab day. Forgot TFI was on, has it been good? I'm on day 12 . I'm feeling great now but wish the tea time cravings would piss off. I've got some becks blue in for the weekend, I'm worried all this diet pepsi is ruining my teeth!

Hope everyone's ok. Welcome to the bus new babes xx

Hands I think it's good if you are 'of an age'; scarily some of the old clips are fresher than things I watched last week! 12 days is great, but I didn't find the cravings lessened for a month or so, and then when they came, oh dear. Keep thinking how good you feel now, you don't want to lose that.

I had a lovely meal out with DH and DS, and a gorgeous welcome home from Pup and (remarkably) Puss.

Pup is gorgeous. Is he a field spaniel?

Happy Birthday lovely Sweet so glad you had a good meal with your family Have to say I was a bit of your champagne earlier, hope it was lovely & cold with bubbles up your nose - such a great buzz fizz is! You are an amazing 44 year old

BEACHES babe so so good to see you! Really glad that you checked in, please stay around (I do know what you mean about 'not being the right time to post) I've had a headache for most of the day I think it's these new glasses and having to switch between them, both feel too strong, but I think it's because I'm so used to not seeing properly and probably lack of water (never been keen) Are you still selling diamonds? Hope the boys are good, they must be looking forward to the summer holidays! I know my girls are. DD1 finished her gcses today She's going in next week to do a btec in Information Systems. I think the school predict that they've not done well in gcse ICT so they're wing ing the schools stats this way. Win win for her My brain aches and I'm in grumps mode I hope you've had a good day babe. These are for you

I was gagging for a PIMMS earlier. I left work, hot, tired, headache (sorry I know I keep mentioning it) and there it was, that trigger moment, bastards! I let the moment pass approx an hour probably more and I was fine and back on track

Khalisi ,Hands you're both doing brilliantly

Welcome to all new Babes sorry I'm not name calling you individually, I have brain ache, looking forward to getting to know you! You're in the right place for some helpful support!

Hugs Ma

Baby

Fox babe you are so lovely

Love to you all and I hope you're all having an enjoyable Friday evening x

It is such a relief being sober

Morning All.
Hands he is a working strain Cocker Spaniel, though he does look like a Field Spaniel.

Spanna and here am I envying you all of your AF days Honestly, it was ok, but just OK, the meal and the company would have been as good with out it. Hope your feeling better this morning.

So, day one for me, and I am actually looking forward to it.

Well, I was out last night and did drink, predictably, though at least I managed to slow down and drink lots of water too so actually feel fine this morning.

What was weird about the evening though was that I felt quite preoccupied, not really able to participate in the conversation. I was out with really good friends and normally the conversation just flows. Last night I felt very detached and couldn't really engage. Not sure why I'm telling you this. I think I just wondered if my internal 'battle' is beginning to take over and affecting my relationships. God, it is so depressing. I used to think alcohol helped me relax and be myself. Now I wonder if it is actually doing the opposite.

And (on a more superficial level!), my God, I am so fat!!!

Reducing your intake is a positive step, Beonit, the first couple of times I went out sober I felt like that, detached and not quite connected, but it did get better. Can't comment on your weight, but not only is alcohol empty calories, it also make me puffy and bloated - after two weeks at the beginning of Jan, I hadn't lost weight, but I had found a waist I'd forgotten I had!!

Thanks Sweet. Good to know that the detachment thing isn't just me being strange. A waist - now that would be nice.

Belated happy birthday! And good luck for day 1.

Good morning all and thank you very much for the welcome . I'm on day 22 today ..... I'm deeply envious of those of you for whom moderation works. It definitely doesn't work for me! My longest period of sobriety was two years, after which I became complacent and thought "yes, I've kicked it!" conveniently choosing to forget the shares in AA of people who'd been 20 years sober and within a week were back to the same levels, two bottles of whiskey, that they'd been 20 years previously. I'm all or nothing in pretty much every aspect of life - there are positives to this but there are also most definitely negatives. The drink is the main one. Thinking "one drink will be OK" is never the case. It's never one drink, one bottle, one day - it escalates at a rate that scares the hell out of me and becomes a couple of weeks. Then, because I risk seizures and DTs by stopping, I have to stop gradually which is hideous. I'm not talking the shakes - I mean locking up green ghosts in the bathroom, anything electrical talking to me, hearing voices etc. Even George Best in his autobiography said he's never had full-blown DTs (not sure if that could be interpreted as a stealth boast but it's one I wish I couldn't make ...)

Weirdly, when I am off drink, I have a positive aversion to it - I can't walk down the alcohol aisle of a supermarket without feeling sick. I'm going to a 50th birthday party tonight and I've bought the birthday girl a bottle of champagne, which DD is keeping in her room because she knows this stage of recovery and the fact that any alcohol makes me feel ill.

Anyway ..... thank you all again for having me and look forward to getting to know you - when I have time I will read this thread and the previous ones in more detail. Hope everyone has a great day

Morning ladies . Day 13 here. I had to take DS to a tennis tournament at 8 this morning and we were both singing along really loudly to "Twist and Shout" on the radio - something I definitely wouldn't have done on a hungover Saturday (and DS certainly wouldn't have done had his friends been in the car!). The cats have got a new infestation of fleas so I'll be spending the morning defleaing the pets and the house. Makes a change from delousing the DD's!

Could have murdered a cold glass (bottle) of Sauv Blanc yesterday evening when the sun was still shining. Fortunately we don't have any in the house.

Have a fab Saturday babes and hope you're all ok. Haven't heard from Hope for a while. Are you ok lovely? xx

Morning Lobster day 22 that's brilliant . I'd love to drink in moderation too but sadly it just doesn't seem to work for me. I really envy people who can. I also envy the people who have wine racks full of bottles in their kitchen. You visit them again a couple of months later and the same bottles are still there!

Morning Hands and thank you! I'm feeling really positive but also that deja vu feeling because I've been here many times before .... still, progress not perfection as they say. I'm trying to work on how and why this stage becomes the "other" stage - there is something in my brain that switches from the doing well, no need for drink, everything going smoothly and DD happy and not worried about me all the time - to the "hit self destruct button" mode. I'm not sure whether I just feel that I don't deserve to be happy and therefore quite deliberately sabotage my attempts to be so. Or whether the trigger is boredom (I do get bored easily). And yes, I am with you on the wine racks!! I speak as someone who's well versed in which shops serve wine at 7am and am used to trying to disguise my imminent need by buying shopping that I have no purpose for ........

Yes and the amount of times I've been to fill the car up with petrol - not the petrol station down the road obviously but the one about 5 miles away that has an off licence attached to it!

Just checking in, hope everyone's okay...

You alright ma ?

All good here. Just back from a training walk, sitting in the garden

Morning Babes.

Hope you're all out having lovely weekend adventures.

Morning ladies Day 14. I'm off to zumba soon. Have a lovely Sunday xx

I'm here. Not great but here.
Can't stop thinking about things and seeing only the negatives in all situations - work, relationships, health, finances. I feel like something is ticking and about to explode. I try some mental health stuff to redirect my thoughts but they come back endlessly to run in the same grooves as they are all interconnected....I'm not sleeping,not eating.
Need to get dressed as dd2 and her bf are coming home for lunch and I need to go and visit dad.