Brave babes are still here: sping / summer / autumn / winter There is always someone around

[venusandmars]

This topic had being going for years and years and years. Maybe almost as long as some people have been struggling with drinking.

We are still here. Supporting, encouraging, helping. Never judging, never minimising our problems.

If you want to catch up, our last thread is HERE

And if you want to follow everything from the start, the very first thread from 9 years ago is RIGHT HERE

You can join in anytime. Everyone is welcome. Whether you are trying to cut down, abstain completely , or are simply acknowledging that you might have a problem... Post what you want.

Oh Mint! I can just imagine how you felt at the time, but cream anything and red wine is taking a chance!

Marlu do all you can to be kind to yourself when the low mood hits; hope it’s passed now? I do know that mood very well indeed. It’ll tell you a drink will make you feel better. Instead, a walk somewhere you like to be; being outside for ten minutes with a cup of tea; a bath with your favourite bath oils - a treat.

I'm sure I read once that the dip is also a sugar low as most alcohol has a sugary content?
Craftycorvid The hallway also had that hessian wallpaper. That was not a great design look ever!
We are still friends though.

Well, here I am. I need to cut down. Or stop.

Welcome champagne

Is it a sudden decision or a dawning realisation? Whatever, we're all here to support. What are your plans for cutting back / avoiding today?

I’ve known for a while that something had to give-I’ve been drinking wine every night and I’ve gained weight, haven’t been sleeping well and generally am sick of it now. I just now when it gets to 6 o clock I’ll be tempted .

I won’t drink tonight - I know I won’t. I just might need a pep talk as Sunday is traditionally a “drinking night”.

I've just noticed the shiny new thread so I've come to join it. It's sad to see so few of us on here. There's some new faces though so that's good.

I'm angry with myself today. I'm hungover because I drank far too much by myself last night. I feel sickly and headachey and like I've spoilt today. We're booked to go out for sunday lunch at 12 and then to a Fun-day thing this afternoon. I'm not in the mood for any of it. Luckily (or not) my car is in the garage so at least I don't have to explain why I can't drive. However if the car wasn't in the garage I would have been driving today which means I wouldn't have had anywhere near as much last night.

I wish I'd never restarted drinking. I'm so much safer dry but I don't feel like I'll ever get back to it.

Crafty I saw you made 12 months dry. That's amazing. It's such an achievement. I don't think I realised how much of an achievement when I did it myself.

Hi baking I’m new to the thread (but have been aware of them in the past).

Enjoy your lunch out - try not to beat yourself up. Today is a new day

Thank you Champagne. I'm glad we went out for lunch now. I think I needed a proper meal. It was really good. We've been to the fun-day thing as well which didn't have a huge amount there but was ok. My headaches come back now I'm home. Just debating what to do with the rest of the afternoon.

Have you got any nice drinks to have as an alternative to alcohol later on? Not that far off witching hour now. I think it feels later than it is to me because it's so grey outside.

It’s quite bright where I am-it was very grey yesterday though. I’ll probably just stick to Diet Coke tonight. Still feeling determined, which is good! How are you feeling about tonight? Will you stick to soft drinks? We can do this!

I will stick to soft drinks but I think it'll be difficult later on. I bought 18 cans in asda yesterday because it's 'better value' than buying 4 cans every Saturday which is what I have been doing. I was meant to just take out the cans for last night and keep the rest at my parents house but I thought I'd take half.

So what happened last night was instead of stopping at 4 I had 6 and now have 3 left in the cupboard (not the fridge as I'm not a complete idiot ) but really I wish I'd carried on as I was and just got 4 as now it means I know I'll drink for the next 3 weekends if they last that long I wish I could go back to being dry I just don't know how to do it again. It's like I've lost all my will power.

What's your plan? Are you aiming for dry or moderating or generally cutting down?

That’s the million pound question and I don’t know the answer. Ideally I’d give up
altogether, but realistically I think cutting down is more likely (I hope ). I rarely drink so much I’m not in control, but drinking every night, regardless of the end result, is a problem.

I’d love to think a long break might reset my mindset but I’m not convinced-I’ve struggled with alcohol on and off since I stopped smoking 9 years ago. It’s like I need a vice.

There’s a bottle and a bit of wine in my fridge but I am studiously ignoring it, and will donate it to my brother when he pops round. Looking forward to waking up feeling fresh, instead of guilty.

Welcome champagne :)

I'm feeling much brighter this morning after an early night with a cup of hot ginger tea. Thanks to everyone for your support yesterday, it really helped.

Sorry if I monologue a little too much at times, but chat helps me as a way to distract myself.

Welcome back on the bus baking. Today is a new day, just keep moving forward!

Hessian wallpaper Mint :o Maybe a bit of red wine artwork was a blessing in disguise. Glad you are still friends :)

Hi Champagne, hi Baking! .

Glad you are feeling better, Marlu - ginger tea is a great cure-all.

Just wondering if any of you have any ideas about adding chilli to drinks? I have a lime and chilli cordial which has a nice kick to it, but is better in the summer months with soda. Was thinking a nice warm chilli drink of some sort for the winter down here could work well... any suggestions welcome!

How did you get on last night Champagne? I had a long break AF and hoped it'd work as a reset which it has in a way but now I have an issue with alcohol being in the house. If it's here then usually I drink it regardless of whether or not I should. When I was a daily drinker I was good at limiting myself but I drank a lot more because it was every day without fail.

Marlu Can you get chilli as a tea? Maybe you could try adding hot water to the cordial. I used to drink hot (well warm) squash as a child. I used to drink orange juice diluted and warm as well.

Hi Crafty and all other babes. Hope you're having a good day.

Mine has been ok except that DS wet the bed in the night but instead of saying so he changed his shorts and slept in a different bit of the bed so the wee has soaked all through the protector and the extra towels I put on there. At least it's sunny today so better for drying washing. My cans are still in the cupboard. Last night I finished my book in bed rather than sitting watching telly wishing I was having a drink. Tonight should be ok because I'm working tomorrow and I don't drink on work nights.

champagne Waves to Champagne. How did it go last night?
baking Hello stranger.

I'm off to work and I'm sick. Its a lovely day here so I'm feared to ring in ill in case they think I'm wagging. They'll soon send me home when I vomit over the desk I'm sure. 🤢😷 At least they can't say its a weekend hangover though.

marlu how about a chai latte recipe here or I sometimes have hot water with fresh lemon zest, grated ginger and mint, some variation of that might work?

baking good to see you posting again. Over the years it has sometimes gone quiet on here, but you know there are always new posters around who share this challenge with us and it's good to know that we are one of the resources that might help. Plus I think that in the last 5 years there has been a proliferation in the number of books, sober blogs, and alcohol free challenges (Dry January, one-year-no-beer etc) and I think it's great that people can find the approach, or combination of approaches, that works for them.

Hi Mint! You don't see me for ages then I have problems and come back! I wouldn't want you working with me if there was a risk of spew. I hope you feel better soon. D&V bugs are the worst. At least you won't want a drink.

Venus It does get very quiet on the bus sometimes. I like that there's always long time regular posters mixing in with the new though.

I can't breath. I've just been through my Hoover bag looking for a magnetic number 2 from DS's fridge calendar. It's not there. I've already tried under the fridge and the dryer but not found it. I think we've thrown it away by accident. I've got a magnetic 22 from somewhere else but it annoys him because now the numbers don't match. It annoys me a bit too. I've even contacted the seller to see if I could buy the numbers separately but I can't. I did that before emptying Hetty.

Went well last night thank you, and woke up with a clear head! Long may it continue!

Baking DD never even wakes up when she wets the bed so I feel your washing pain!

mint I hope you feel better soon

Bump for the Brave Babes. A Mumsnet institution, to my mind. Perhaps a victim of its own success?

I’m still here-had 2 glasses of wine tonight. It tasted weird-psychologically I think I’m “off” it. Feel shitty for having them but at least I stopped at 2 I suppose.

Champagneformyrealfriends
Stopping at two is great. Just think it could have been three then a bottle. It's definitely an achievement . One I cant do, it's all or nothing with me.

Mint it usually is for me too, but somehow tonight it just didn’t taste the same. I’ve struggled for years really, and recently it’s been a bottle a night. Not good. I just don’t think I can commit to complete abstinence

champagne don't stress about what you can commit to. Take it a day at a time, a week at a time... progress is progress.

WeWantSweet thank you for your bump. A victim of our success.. not sure about that, but I do think that in the last 5 years there has been a proliferation of other support networks - sober blogs, dry months, a whole range of books. It is great that people can find the right kind of support for them.

Champagne Stopping at 2 when there's more you could have is awesome. I drank my cans last night. I stopped when they were gone! There were only 3 fortunately!

Part of my reasoning was that I'm busy all weekend and really need to be cross-stitching of an evening not drinking. I don't want any more days out spoilt because I'm being stupid. I might have a couple of glasses of fizz (or something special) over the weekend though as it's my birthday tomorrow (I'm going to see Toy Story 4 with DS. ) I don't seem to have an issue stopping drinking fizz. And any drink I have will be with my mum not by myself so again safer.

Morning to Mint and Venus Hope everyone's having a happy friday. Last day of school today for us.