Brave Babes - Barging through 2017 in style

[SweetLathyrus]

Hello, I'm SweetLathyrus (Sweet for short), and I've been hopping on and off Gerald the Brave Babes Battle Bus for three years now because, like some many of us, I struggle with alcohol.

The Bus is a supportive community at all stages in their relationship with alcohol and with lots of different goals - for some, it's abstinence, for others it's moderation, for others, it's just about getting a bit of control and perspective.

So, if you think you'd like to join us, don't be shy, flag us down and jump on board and share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with; sometimes there will be silliness, but there will always be help and support.

If you would like to know how the Bus first rattled into action, here is the first ever thread

And if you would like to know where we have been more recently, here is the most recent thread

Happy to see you baby looking forward to hearing more from you.
No doubt you'll be simply riveted by my updates of moisturised elbows and chin plucking 😀

Hope everyone else had a good day and that gugg is on the mend.

Tuesday is my old danger day but I think I'm over that hurdle now.

Catch up later with those I've not responded too just yet x

Checking in and reading back. Will catch up with you all later. A F today 😀

baby most certainly did, my lovely. I've been missing in action myself but I'm delighted to be back on board this bus of miscreants. Please come back when you are ready and talk to us. X

lux I have been doing small luxuries and treats because of you. I had a very nice juice this am containing kale, carrots and turmeric. (I can almost hear the vom noises from some parts of this bus! ) and I have some ''maple syrup water ' which is vair trendy and vair expensive. (It's some spring water wot is a bit sugary but it is a damn sight better for me than 🍷

I'm still ill so all this carry on isn't actually doing me any good!

I have to mention that my amazing but very quirky ds seems to have turned a corner with his behaviour. We had a fab day. Probably be a little horror tommow!

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

Arrgh...I can spell really!

Hello gugg I got a lotta crap iv had to deal with regarding to my parents so much i have had to handle and things i shouldn't and of known as a child.iv been reflecting a lot without trying to resent them. I can only make my life and my family's life happy but I always have things on back of my mind. I dunno maybe I do resent things but I try with them for my Dc they are brill grandparents just wasn't so good bringing me up.
Thanks lux my heads in a pretty deep place but I think I'm handling it well and not letting it takeover.
Got loadsa deep heat on tucked up in bed back and neck stiff always bloody something

Hey gugg that's brill about your ds makes it all a lot easier. Must be something in the air ha ha

Checking in,sorry not to name check everyone but reading all the posts and love hearing about all the ups and downs.
Day 19 today so looking forward to getting to day 20. Not perfect but a massive improvement! Richard was AF yesterday. Unfortunately he has had to go back to his flat as he has to sign on tomorrow and then see the GP on Thursday. Hope he's OK on his own.
Baby so good to read your posts and see how your life has changed.

Hi sorry I haven't been around much but I have been reading when I can.
Well done to everyone who has remained AF free or almost AF since 1st January 👏👏
Whilst I haven't been perfect I have definitely been a lot better since joining this bus.
The changes which I have noticed include less bloated , much better sleep and my mood is more balanced and rational.
One of my secret weapons was to go to the cinema because I just wouldn't think to drink before seeing a movie. I like to be clear headed and to focus on it so I found my cravings disappeared once I was en route to the cinema.
I have calculated that I have only bought 2 bottles of wine this month and I poured half of one of them away because it was really cheap and nasty. The old me would have forced it down anyway .......and would have thought that was normal 😳😳
Anyway I just need to now stop tipping a bag of sugar down my throat instead
Sweet dreams everyone

Same as you Tis, my sugar consumption is out of control. No DJ weight loss going on here!

Oh babes...I'm still doing DJ. I sleep better, I have more patience, I have more energy and I am a nicer person. So why am I counting down the days until Feb 1st so that I can have a drink...? And I don't mean one drink, I mean lots and lots of drinks. It doesn't make sense and yet I am so impatient to get to next month and get back on the booze.

Anyone else? Can someone please give me a slap?

No slaps Margie but lots of encouragement. I am a little different in that I'm actually scared of going back to the old days, and feel if I do then why bother trying DJ? On the other hand I simply cannot see myself as teetotal. I am gaining lot of self-awareness and been doing a great deal of thinking as I'm sure we all have. For me it will have to be on a 'case by case' basis depending on the occasion. I really don't want to spend £40 a week on alcohol and don't want to bugger up my sleep again, plus, my stomach is thanking me and my oesophagus is too, and yet...

Hope everyone else is ok, good to see you tis will catch up with everyone else later.

Hello all.... can I get on the bus? I am really struggling now and need some folk to talk to.

Godotsarrived Of course, good morning, plenty of good people to talk to here, simply non-judgemental support and a good few laughs, just share a little or as much as you like, there's always someone around to talk you through at struggles or just to chat with.

Afternoon All.

Another busy day at work, and an evening at the theatre - I've asked DH to drive, just because my eyes are so sore with all of the marking, but the theatre is the only place I know that sells Fevertree Bitter Lemon, so, not too much temptation.

Slap Slap Margie! I understand what you mean about counting down the days. It is a massive step to realise that you are sleeping better, having more energy, more patience etc. Me too. When I have work to do, I can articulate things better and place ideas better which I need to do or the whole thing falls apart and isn't worth doing. Not drinking puts the engine back in the car. When you run out of any future, then you can have a drink or loads. But it really is a depressant, and I think you are learning some really lovely things about yourself. I have found myself far sharper without booze. I think I drink to dull it and to disappear. I can't join the dots. But sometimes, I don't want to join the dots. Right now I can't afford not to.

Evening all

What are you going to see sweet? I love the theatre but rarely get to go these days. My dream is to live in a tiny flat, in the heart of a big city next to theatres & arts cinema & restaurants. Bliss!

Welcome goddot great nn!

tiger very thoughtful posts. Both drinking and sobriety can weigh heavily. It does get easier, the sobriety I mean. What are you thinking about? Being teetotal or moderating? Or just seeing how it goes? The one day at a time phrase helps me. I'm not good at joining the dots either,my brain chemistry doesn't allow me to think through consequences very well (you may mean something quite different) but I've learned so much from the times I achieved sobriety. Think I might be waffling now!

My luxury today is a shiny new set of antibiotics. The pharmacist promises me that they will turn my wee purple. Not sure I have an emoji for that particular event!

I drank a glass of wine earlier. That's the end of the bottle and there's no more. I still have an account with a wine company that needs either closing or spending. But the last time I used it, the wine didn't last very long. Anyway, for a bit of inspiration.. I hope.. <a class="break-all" href="//www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/how-giving-up-alcohol-affects-the-body_uk_588217f3e4b0f94bb303b0f2?utm_hp_ref=uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Huff Post

Evening all tiger that huff post article was a good reminder, the stomach and anxiety points are my areas of concern.
I need to change my thinking, as I read you have a wine account my first thought was 'gosh how adult and sophisticated' those messages run deep don't they?

Gugg purple wee you say? Very regal!

I have a streaming cold so yet another early night with my thoughts about the fast approaching new month.
A friend today said my skin looked good, I was caught on the hop by her and had no foundation on so, blimey!

Do you remember that song, Gugg, Purple Rain? Clearly you're not the first. I hope you get better very soon. LuxuryWoman, the wine account affords about 2 cases a year. I know what you mean by feeling adult and sophisticated. But it's not so adult and sophisticated that I drink it all at once! It's not very grown-up either that I was in the habit of buying a bottle or 2 of wine on my way home from wherever I was and drinking them on my own playing stupid games on the computer. My life is pretty sad and even sadder when I wake up feeling hungover, buffered by antidepressants so I don't feel total shit. But having experienced a bit more sobriety, I now realise that although my levels of shitiness are countered, they're still shit.

Welcome Godot
DS parents night tomorrow.Given his prelim results and recent report card, we are in for a fun evening!!!Yes, an A in music means you are damn cool on drums and bass guitar, but failing pretty much everything else is really something we perhaps need to chat about? Hmmm?

Thanks for the welcome all. Having my first dry night in the last 12 days. Got a headache. I get a headache when I don't drink... go figure. I suspect it's withdrawal.

Yes I had pounding headaches too Godot but well done on a dry day. Nurofen and bed for you. Hope you sleep ok.

I'm in bed snotty and sneezing. Hope to sleep it off.

I'll say goodnight now and check in tomorrow.

It's Burns Night. I had a fake whisky sauce. 8 days to go, I'm actually thinking of trying to do the 90 day challenge . I've actually lost the desire to have a wine. The big test will be Saturday at a dinner party.

Thanks for the slaps Tiger and Ma - worked a treat. After getting on the scales this morning and wanting to weep, I have decided that Feb will be devoted to dieting. Going to do the only diet that has ever worked for me which allows one day of v moderate drinking per week.

Have a good day babes.

Oh Margie, throw the scales away! You are being hard on yourself! I am completely the wrong person to talk about weight loss since my weight has been stable since I overcame a horrible eating disorder. I do know though that some people eat when they're worried or depressed and some people don't eat for the same reasons. There are little things you can do which are kind to yourself, like eating off a white or blue plate which won't be the same colour as your food, eating off a slightly smaller plate, and eating slightly less. I have really noticed that I drink wine in response to hunger. Perhaps instead of thinking of dieting, which has negative conotations, could you think instead of eating to be kind to yourself? I also find that especially in the evening, I am cooking more, when under 'normal' circumstances I would be too pissed to make anything much. I am by no means out of the woods and I have never tried to stop drinking before. I am smoking[boo]. One thing at a time! When I stopped smoking, I drank for Britain. At least at the moment, drinking far far less, I am not smoking like a coal-fired power station.

Hello, everyone! Had a busy week - don't really know where the time has gone. Have decided to go to AA for the first time tomorrow determined face.

Doing ok... still drinking, because we've been told to continue untik detox... but feeling a lot more calm about things because I'm getting help.

Hope everyome is doing ok.