The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Waving Goodbye To Summer Nights, Sipping Mocktails.

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse Welcome to the Bus. :)

Well, it would appear that Autumn is on it's way I have the heating on and can't wait to use the log burner.... shhh!

So, who are we? We're just like you. Married, single, divorced, lots of children or no children, working or a SAHM, it doesn't matter, we all breathe the same air.....

We're just trying to live our lives on the Bus, like you do each day. Well, except for one thing...

I know don't start my day with a swig, or seven, from a litre bottle of vodka (choose your poison) any longer.

And that's what has kept me here, for years now. And no doubt many more to come. Reading the stories of others struggles, wanting to say "I feel like that" or "I do that too!" but being to ashamed to be the first to put your hand up.

Well, let me reassure you here and now, there's not much that we haven't read about on here or done ourselves over the years.

We've laughed at stories of haphazard nights out, we've cried at the loss of loved ones and we've shared the pain that only an alcoholic knows when all that they want is to STOP!

Push the pause button, get off the ride, shut the door, bury yourself under the duvet for days. We've all felt that sickening feeling in our gut that makes us want to curl up and hide forever. And we've shared it all on here.

You see I don't know you and you don't know me, so we're just words on a screen to each other. Eventually, you'll get to know me more and I you, and the other fantastic Babes too, some will stay, some leave us, then some come back.

One thing I can PROMISE - here you are safe, here you won't be judged, turned away (unless you're not genuine) and we even have a huge stock of Opal Fruits but that's all down to Ma.

So, if you think we're you're kind of lovely bunch of people to help you stop drinking, slow down, hold your hand while you decide what to do, then come find a seat!

OUR MOST RECENT THREAD

AND A VERY SOBERING READ, THAT LEAD TO THE BIRTH OF THE THREADS THAT FOLLOWED

Oh, and the appt I have booked it with a new GP.

Well done . Try to be as honest as you can with GP. Have no booze in house, healthy food etc

Looks like my dad has finally gone into theatre for his op.

I'm off for a long shower before getting kids.

I'm thinking of your dad and family, Pop

Hope it all goes well pop, thoughts are with you

Big cheery hello waves to thewitchscat and takingbackme

GBBO tonight. I might have to indulge in cake

Taking, one of the problems with depression and anxiety is that you get to thinking, you can't, shouldn't want or need or deserve help. That is the illness talking; you can, you should, and you do. As Pop said, if a GP doesn't think ADs are right, there are alternatives. In my area it is a CBT service that combines telephone, online, group and face to face therapy depending on your need. That said my GP recognised I wasn't even in a position to do that until I had got a little balance with ADs. If it helps, write down what you want to say, if you do what I did and burst into tears, you can just hand it to the DR!

As for too late, from a health point of view, the liver is a remarkable organ, it has the capacity to heal itself, your skin will look better in only a few weeks, and not being topped up on wine will leave space and strength to make better food choices. You will be able to take your antibiotics - having an underlying infection will not make you feel good, and as counter-intuitive as it seems now, you will feel less anxious - or at least more able to deal with the causes.

All of the Babes will be able to relate to some element - if not all of your story, so take a seat and keep posting - if you want a drink now, well, give it a minute, and then another, then an hour, you can do it.

Mutton - art galleries? cinema?

TWC, seriously - friends who won't listen when you say you don't like something, are not friends. I'm afraid, for a while, the only way around may be to avoid that particular crowd until you are more solid in your resolve.

Well here you all are!

Hello all

pop hope everything goes okay with your dad

mouse thanks for setting up the new thread

faire I love what you wrote on the last page of the other thread, very wise!

Hi ma! Good to see you back. How was London ?

I'm still waiting to hear about my dads op. Rang hospital but they don't seem to know anything. He went in for surgery at noon !

Wine virtually talking to me to fill information gap. Firmly switches kettle on and reaches for secret stash of chocolate eggs hidden from small hands.

Thanks joey

How's things with your dh? Has he cheered up yet or still acting suspiciously?

Evening, tis me, Mouse

Thank you for the 'thank yous', I actually love setting up the new threads, it gives me a sense of purpose, and it reminds me why I came here in the first place, venus you are a huge part of my first post....... I think the question I asked was, "How much is too much?"

The rest, as they say, is history!

Sorry to ignore you all, but I need to let you all know about a little something called GO SOBER!!

It's in aid of MacMillan Cancer and of course I am talking about alcohol. Even if you stop at two drinks when you'd have three, that's better than nothing.

If you are interested, you can find out more information here GO SOBER

It's all for MacMillan Cancer, a charity that is very, very close to my heart and just for October.

So I'll be joining in with the fun and festivities. There are so many ways to help raise a bit of money..... that bottle of white you were going to buy... how about not and putting the money in a pot and at the end of the month, then send a cheque to MacMillan Cancer?

Just a thought, and now back to meeting you lovely new Babes and trying to catch up with the thread.

Be back in a bit, dinner beckons. :) xx

Hi babes - I've been drinking too much wine for many years.

I am frightened about the future but can't stop.

Big Hi to Mouse and the Babes for providing somewhere to lurk incognito and gain perspective and learn lessons. I know I have issues with alcohol though it is still providing me with a buzz with little to zero downsides but when I wake up in the morning and my first thoughts focus on where my tipple of choice is on "special offer" and how I can get there, I know something isn't right.

Welcome. I'm currently trying to get to the end of day three but really fighting a red wine urge triggered by several sources of stress. About to eat something nice and divert with TV. Boswell and Orange - do you have goals you'd like to achieve regarding cutting down or does that feel too far away?

My dad is in recovery after his op. Phew! My mum is with him now. I'll get news later. Hurrah. Feel like a celebratory glass. Will have a lamb chop instead

Hey Ma - how was that there London?
Popstar - You're doing great, lovely
Mutton - I feel for you. There are non-alcoholic meet up in some bits of the country though, have a squizz on the Dry thread, and Lucy should be able to point you in the right direction, I think.
Orange & Boswellox (great name, btw!) - hellooo!

Gotta go - hooligan cat is systematically destroying the living room!

Popstar - and breathe! So glad to hear that - it takes sooo friggin long for the news to get through, doesn't it?

I think I might have a celebratory hot chocolate in your honour x

Pff...so tired. Just about up to clambering on the shiny new bus and curling up on the back seat for a nap. But am clinging on to being sober, anyway (if only cos I am too tired to stagger to the fridge), so that's day 8 done. But gosh, am i snappy. Thought this would have passed by now. It has to be said I am enjoying this second attempt of the year at sobriety less than the first. The first was all shiny and new. This one is a bit 'here we go again'. But I remain sleepily resolute.

Huge apologies - am too dopey to NC and welcome all the lovely newbies, but a big sleepy wave to you all, and a proper catch up tomorrow, i hope. Thanks for the thread, and the inspiration, Mouse.

Hey all and welcome to orange and Boswell
London was very busy but I enjoyed being somewhere different and "exotic'" compared to the rural dullness of here. Although the air is sweeter here and the scenery lovely. I actually like getting the tube and feeling free and independent. Am knackered though and no-one in this house has bothered to ask me how it went!

Hey Pop, it's 8.30pm so is it really worth starting to drink now? I know it's easy for me to say, I'm sat here with a glass of water after trying to force my dinner down.

I'm desperate to lose weight and I need to get back into my OWN routine now the children are back at school. So, not only am I cutting out sweets, cakes etc, but cheese too.

CHEESE! With a name like mine it's going to be tough. I've already got withdrawal symptoms. Every advert has cheese in it, I guess it's like when you're trying to give up anything else and it's EVERYWHERE you look!

The added pressure is of course that this month it's STOPTOBER too, for those of you who smoke anyway.

A wise friend once posted that "you should try to give up the one thing that will kill you first...."

And I agree.

Sorry, I forgot to say a big hello to ALL of the newer posters that have joined us. Welcome, and congratulations.

You've already done the hardest part, posting about the fact that you're drinking is out of your control at the moment.

Stick with us and we'll do all that we can to help you. Not judge you, hold your hand if need be, snuggle you under the giant, fluffy duvets that we have etc.... whatever you need to get you through a wobble, even if it's just for a fleeting moment, there will usually be one of us here but please, even if it's in the middle of the night, post about how you're feeling.

It always helps :) xx

Forgot to say, am AF tonight. Too bloody tired to drink.

Hi all & hello to all the new babes. Having a serious wobble tonight. Had a bit of a fail last week - drank 4 nights out of 7, one night was just one of those small (187ML?) bottles but the other 3 nights were a normal bottle each night Was o.k. on Monday night, as still remembering the panicky anxious feeling of 3 a.m. Monday morning, last night was harder, but stuck to chamomile tea, tonight the WW is screaming at me. I have a couple of questions for you:-
Do you also find that 'playing the tape to the end' is less effective after a day or two, and do you have times when you don't want to come on here and ask for help because you don't really want to be told 'don't do it' IYSWIM, I sometimes feel like I'm going to drink, so sod it.
Thanks

I didn't come on last Friday and sat night cos was getting sozzled and didn't want to be stopped. So yes. Am deafened by wine witch tonight. Humphh. Bloody minded determination will get me through but need new strategies for the longer term.

Everyone who has ever had a hangover has sworn 'never again' at some time in their life and gone on to repeat the action at a future date. So, yes, the memories do fade.

I suppose you just have to trust yourself. You made that decision not to drink. You had a reason at the time. It was good enough for you then, I guess it's still a good enough reason?

The thing is, Anne, whilst you could drink, tomorrow you would regret it. Instead you could just go to bed and see how you feel in the morning. One thing is sure, you won't regret not drinking.