The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Braving The Wine Witch & Her Alcohol Free Autumn

[Mouseface]

Hello

I’m Mouse one of the Brave Babes who ride on this wonderful Bus, called Gerald, along with all the Opal Fruits wrappers and of course Barry The squid.

We all have a wise variety of life experiences and experiences with alcohol too. We’re not admirers of hang overs and we certainly don’t do judgey pants!

We’re here to ride along with you, when life is pants but also when it’s not as well and you my want to celebrate that bit too much!

So find a seat and come take a ride. I’ll link the previous and also the very first link and the reason we’re all here.

*Mouse

Snoozing on the sofa ma trying to breathe 😕 still reading, still ill.

dementedma I know what you mean. My eldest moved out of home years ago but I still never sleep so well as when all my kids are asleep under my roof (roll on Christmas!). Did your lad have a great time?

grey please don't laugh... If a craving strikes try 5 star jumps followed by a glass of water. I'm embarrassed to even suggest it, only it works for me every time I have an unwanted thought. Even if the unwanted thought is just a bit of self-criticism.

@Dutch1e ha ha*@Dutch1e* ha ha love that idea! I'll get fit and up my water intake as well. Winner

Sorry for typos there

Evening All
I've done over 200 miles driving in 24 hours - pooped. In bed and very tired. DD2 came 3rd in acro gymnastics. Proud lioness 😀
Beach earlier this afternoon.
Love to all x

GreySocks pleasure, glad it didn't sound too silly!

I’ve been in hospital for 48 hours having my broken elbow repaired. Just got ‘home’ to the psych ward. It hurts like fuck, I don’t know how I’m going to manage to sleep. But it’s 2 more days without drink but only because I haven’t had any opportunity. The real test is yet to come

Well I'm done. Today was supposed to be a make or break day and thanks to the fucking selfish cunt, it's broke. I'll check in when I stop raging.

S'up mint?

evening all - well i lasted 2 nights at least.
today i was outside all day from 7.30 til 4.30 and i was cold and miserable so when i came in i was warm and snug and, well you know what happened next , sigh

now watching blue planet, really?? no bits added in by the techno folk?
anybody else a doubting thomas like me?
My thoughts to MsHoolies and Mint and Grey and just about everyone else
Ain't it a bugger????

lux I'm sorry you've had a horrid bug. Hope you're feeling soon.

mint hope you are ok.

sofa go you on the two days. Each time I have any af free days makes the next af easier. The first day never seems to be easy somehow but each time something goes a bit better.

Mshoolies I hope your elbow heals quickly.

heman by the way something you said yesterday has really got me thinking. You talked about being honest about drinking- not the way you hope you are with that first drink but the reality.

The only way I stopped smoking (after a million attempts I honestly don't have time for that number of attempts for alcohol!) Was to change the image I had of smoking and it becoming something I hated. Just wanted to say thank you - it's really got me thinking I need to do the same with alcohol.

Day 9 af today.

That bobbit thing on Blue Planet is the stuff of nightmares....

You ok Mint?
ma, I remember that thing about 15 year old boys growing up all too well, I had 3 of the buggers, youngest is 29 now. They never really grow up.
MsHoolies hope you're ok, I think about you a lot.
all the other babes sorry not to namecheck. I've had wine tonight and the last 2 nights, but not excessive, back to AF tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it!

Is the bobit that worm Ma that was a scary fucker! Made me jump

MsHoolies glad they've fixed your arm, that can only be good, can they not give you more painkillers - hardcore variety with an 'ene' on the end. I hope you manage some sort of sleep x

Saywhen Day 9 is awesome well done babe

Slings good for you for not going mad over the weekend

Sofa can you stop now, brush your teeth, make a cuppa and get an early night? Tomorrow is another day x

Mint rage away, get it out. I hope you're ok? can you get yourself to bed and ignore him?

Hope everyone is ok, bloody cold wind here. Sleep well all x

Yes spanna. The words " carniverous worm" were enough.....it was like a willy with teeth!

just poured a litre of gin down the sink ta - da
and I WON'T BUY ANOTHER

Goodnight

sorry I’ve been missing for so long... but I heard a rumour that ma was polishing her Christmas triangle, and I had to hop on and see 😀

Hello. I am very much struggling and I hate it so much. But AF today. I’ll be back tomorrow. I am at a loss to understand my behaviour/ habit etc Really. But I’m too tired to post more right now.

spanna thank you!

sofa go you!

stilllearning look forward to hearing more from you. I'm still learning too, disbelief at my own behaviour too. I am trying to keep those memories and embarrassment as reasons as not to pick up the glass again.

Day 10 af.

Hi everybody, long time lurker here hopping on to join you fabulous lot if that’s alright with you?
Firstly, thank you to whichever poster mentioned the bubble hour podcast, that has totally helped me to get to day 29 AF, along with sober blogs people have mentioned along the way.
This is my longest booze free stretch in four years, way back when you all helped me to reach 16 days.
This time I am coming to terms with the fact that moderation doesn’t work for me and I may never be able to pick up a drink again. But my goal initially is to reach 30 days and then aim for 60, then hope to achieve the bigger goal of 100 days, one day at a time.
So truly, thank you for being here and spurring me on to get to this point.
Secondly, I kind of feel like I am white knuckling it, and wondered if any of you have any tips on getting real life support? I’m skeptical/reluctant about going to an AA meeting, no offence to anyone who has found it beneficial.
I don’t have any close friends nearby and while I have opened up to a dear friend who lives 5 hours away, she’s not in recovery and doesn’t get it like you all do.
I hope to be able to open up to others as I get more sobriety under my belt but for now, it’s my other half and one dear friend who know, and I feel a little isolated.
Finally, to all of you struggling to beat the wine witch, keep going, I can’t have been the only lurker cheering you on silently. Your struggle is absolutely inspiration for others like me. I’m more grateful than you know.

Wecome made huge well done on day 29

Morning Babes. I am enjoying my 2nd morning of waking up glad that I didn’t drink the night before. Admittedly this feeling fades as the day goes on but I never ever regret not drinking.

I was wondering if anyone else wears a Fitbit and tracks their bpm? I notice that when I am drinking a bottle a night my bpm is around 74/76 whereas on my af weeks it is down to 64 on average. This is a real visible physical change in me and I wondered if anyone else had noticed.

Have a good day babes, good to see you Joey

Hello everyone.... im new (ish).
I've been on the bus before , quite a few years ago now, and also been on the dry January, dry-whatever month thread a before. I read all the wonderful original threads from back in the day....
I really think I need some support at the moment. I'm trying to stop drinking ..... I KEEP trying to stop drinking...and...I'm still drinking. More regularly then I would like, more than I would like and I'm ashamed to admit to everyone in real life that I can't just seem to stop.

Moderation for me isn't really an option, I have to give up. I need to stop.
For me and my children. For my health too I would imagine but also more importantly my mental health.

I have drifted into this pattern of drinking and have been on and off it at various points since having my first child. Always abstinence in pregnancies, have done 6 months plus alcohol free and always felt better. But just can't seem to get past 3 days without cracking open a wine bottle. I feel such a failure and so frustrated but I WANT to beat this.
This is the only "support" I have tried to access. I feel so ashamed. I don't know if I might be an alcoholic and I would never admit that I'm finding it hard to stop drinking in real life.

Just looking for support and any help or wise words would be so gratefully received.
Love xx

Thanks Beaches!
Foreverblessed, I know what you mean about not wanting to admit it’s hard to stop drinking, I’ve only done that with 2 people in real life. But the thing is, alcohol is an addictive substance. It’s so weird how we carry this shame about not being able to stop, like d’uh, I’ve been drinking this addictive drink for years along with my whole social circle and I can’t believe I’m now a problem drinker! Blogs I have been reading talk about anonymity in an interesting way, there’s a case for protecting yourself from the world knowing your struggle especially in the early days where relapse is a real risk, but those who have chosen to be open have found the vast majority of people are not judgemental, they usually express admiration and understanding that it’s an illness not some kind of inherent weakness. I’m not quite so brave to open up to everyone around me, but I might reconsider once I have a good chunk of sobriety under my belt.
My advice, for what it’s worth, is to “play the film to the end”. Yesterday for instance I managed to avoid the wine at the supermarket while doing my weekly shop but had to get fuel on my way home. Had a wobble and picked up a bottle at the petrol station. Managed to put it down by playing the film to the end: if I had have bought that bottle I would have opened it before 3pm, finished the lot before 5 and trotted (wobbled) off to get another. Cue waking up at 2am full of hangover, anxiety and regret at ruining my best AF stretch ages. Then I would have had to struggle through work today hungover, sleep deprived and alcoholic neural pathways lit up like a bloody Christmas tree. By the time I finished work my fuck it switch would be firmly switched on, and another bottle or more would be tipped down my neck this evening.
Try to resist taking your first drink, the first always leads to another, and so on. Give yourself an hour, tell yourself you can go to get booze in an hour if you still want it. Usually the craving passes by then.

joey!!!! I knew my triangle would prove irresistible.
I am in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Cold, dark, wet and windy.

Welcome Night and Bee you're in the right place

Bee I can so relate to not being able to get passed Day 3. I would always be like well I've not had a drink for 2 Days I now need my reward for being so good It's really hard to break habits that sometimes (in my case) have been a lifetime. Can you change your routine in the evening, cook dinner a little earlier, go out for a run? get your PJs on as soon as you get in, have no temptation in the house and once you're in PJs it makes you think about what you're about to do (getting more wine) Have a cold glass of water and wait for half an hour, I (and many of us) have found that we're just thirsty. Keep posting babe, you've been brave to post and we're here to help

Night huge congratulations on 29 Days that is awesome! 'Watching the film to the end' is a continuous mantra of mine and it really does work, that's what's got me through so many temptations. Don't worry too much about telling people, I just said that I've set myself a goal and just want to see if I can do it. And then kept extending the goal. Once you've clocked up some time (even now) people will get used to it and stop asking. Keep going, you must be starting to feel the benefits I hope you don't mind me calling you Night we have a babe called Made who's been awol for a bit x

Beaches my little sunflower, how you bearing up? - move away from that bottle of red and think about what you said this morning - you'll wake up with a clear head and be really proud x

Joey great to see you!

Hope everyone is ok