Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

J-vo thank you for that honest post. No we don't feel like cheerleaders every day, but we really only need to do one thing. NOT DRINK. And you said it all.
I have been trying to quit drinking for about 5 years, maybe longer. I've known I have a drinking problem for about 15 years. So I guess I fit right into that normal.
So good night ladies.

[narilly]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Wow! Some great posts
J-Vo, love my mini. Thanks . Ya, I'm not big on change either. You'll get through this. Just talk to us when you feel bad.

Hey lil B, you sure do fit right into our normal. At least we are seeing progress. We are looking for progress not perfection.

SL big hugs.

Ava, hope things are well.

Kailey and Life, one more day, right?,

Xo
Good night

[patrice]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi Girls,
Just real quick
Fantastic Ava for 200 days!! Star who Rocks!!
J Vo - I know you quit nicotine lately so that could be the blah thing..no nicotine. A friend of mine did the patch thing and when she stopped she felt blah for ages because there was no more nicotine in her system..
I need to stop smoking but I'm dreading it!
Pat
Xx

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

good MAE everyone-
Just a quick check in as I head off for work.
It's a beautiful, sunny day here and I am glad that I struggled through yesterday. Today I will follow suit.
J-vo, thank you for sharing your struggles and your plan for handling them. Working through the blahs. I guess that's the hardest part-- when not drinking becomes sort of normal so the Rambo like vigilance subsides (which it should at some point) and then daily life really kicks in and we have to find new ways to deal with/enjoy it. Dealing with the family can be so stressful-- I read your posts when your family was visiting and could empathize. Now you've got your husband's coming up. Do you get a break after that?

Ava, I see you have 200 days today! What a great accomplishment. :sun: Was great reading about the new love in your life-- I'm so happy for you, girl!!

ok. must run off to work. xo

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

so I took a little extra time this morning to listen to the Bubble Hour, which so many have recommended. I started with Dr. Kelly..Special Guest, Dr. John Kelly: Changing the Stigma of Addiction Through Science 04/06 by The Bubble Hour | Lifestyle Podcasts --Jane, this is the one you mentioned-- EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I look forward to finishing it this afternoon and then carrying on with more episodes. My first experience with podcasts-- pretty amazing.

[roxane]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site




WOOT WOOT AVA!

[roxane]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

LC you have more time than me if I remember.

I have treated cravings, triggers, whispers objectively. it isn't me, its the al. it became one and the same for a long time but I had to try to separate it from me and so far I have.

'god I want a drink'
'no I don't, al does, I DONT want one, so shut up'

'I feel so low, whats the point, may as well drink to feel better'
'it may make you feel better, it would make me feel bad, not worth it. nice try'

that's one of the things I do.

think about what got you to start again, silly thing to say, im sure you already have. think from different directions if one way doesn't give you any answers. look at it from all angles.

[available]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi loamers
well my laptop has been having a dummy spit and i am finally able to log on. God i have so much to read but have been having looks on my iphone and i hate posting on that. god i am blind enough on the laptop.

LC i am so glad to see you again girl. As i told Roxy that you were my inspiration to not drink again and i still stand by that. I think on this af journey we need someone that we feel connected with and want to make proud and you were it for me girl and i know you can do this again. You had some great days up and you will get there, like i have done. It seems like such a long time ago that you went on that long holiday and i wanted you to be proud of me when you returned and i was at 30 something days. Time flies when you are having fun. Oh the man, its scary shit let me tell you, i still dont know if i am ready but i am not rushing in, just taking it day by day but im happy.

Thanks everyone for the congrats, i am gobsmacked, stunned and amazed. when i woke this morning and thought "fark its 200 days" i was like WOW. I was talking to my daughter and i said that 200 days ago i stopped drinking and i have not drank around about 400 bottles of wine, give or take. When i said that i thought "omg 400 fucking bottles of wine", thats a wine cellar for a collector but for me that was my life. No collection for me, no wine rack in my house, no full bottles in my fridge, just shame and despair. So today i am happy and proud and today i know that this is my life. I am closer to a year than to day 1 so there is no going back and it is easier now that i think about this journey.

So hang in there guys, its rough and its a challenge and its bad and its good and its good and its bad but its sooooo fucking worth it to be sober.

Oh sorry lots of "fucks" in this post but its a "fuck me" sort of day in a great way.

Love my loamers and we are a strong bunch of women that are so beating al addiction and i could not be prouder than to be on this journey with you all.

xxxxxx

[roxane]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

i'll add to it ava, fucking well done!

I added up my days this year af and figured at ?11 per day conservatively equals ?1045 not spent on alcohol. new laptop but don't know where the rest has gone. sweets and ice cream probably.

[daisy45]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Ava, just so fecking happy for you! It really hits home when you compare the days to wine bottles(unconsumed!).........hope you are gonna treat yourself to someting nice! Think of all the money you have saved.......it would be 2000 pounds here.....geeez.....

[giraffe1234]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Great stuff Ava! 200 days - whoop whoop!
"omg 400 fucking bottles of wine" ... Never thought of it that way!

It certainly is a bloodcurdling perspective! And a sobering one.

Have a great day and well done well done well done!!!
xox

[available]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Yes Giraffe when i thought of it that way, i was stunned to say the least and i said to my daughter that that was a very sobering thought, to think i could actually drink that much in past days. I even said i was sorry to her for those past days and years and she said "thats okay mum as we have you all now". They had their doubts that i could stop drinking and now they totally believe that i will be sober forever and i totally believe it now.

Roxy i used to buy $2.50 bottles of wine and told all and sundry that there was no difference in taste to the $10 bottle. oh yep who was i kidding, myself obviously.

Daisy my son counted the cost and yep it was around that figure. I, like Rox have no bloody idea where the money has gone but i am betting chocolate and af drinks and paying bills that never got paid as al was way more important.

[Kailey]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Congratulations, Ava! 200 days is amazing. Every time I log in here there seems to be something that sticks for me, and today it's the picture of 200 bottles of wine. When I drink ( drank!) I would have two bottles of wine a night. It's just really disgusting thinking if them all lined up ready to be guzzled.

[frances]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi all - I've stopped in here a couple of times before and everyone was so welcoming and then I didn't post anymore. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed with keeping up and responding to everything like so many of you do. But I still read a lot and learn from you ladies!

I wanted to post here today after reading jVo's post about feeling 'blah' and 'not feeling it right now' because I am feeling pretty much exactly the same way. I posted it on the NN and NoSugar helped me with her response and I hope it helps you too. You may already know this but it sure helps to be reminded! Also Jane helped me by suggesting I plan a 'getaway' - without the kids if possible, or with them if that is not possible - either way - just get out and do something different - now there's a great idea! So I told my husband last night I want to plan something and to think about if there's anything he'd like to do. He started telling me he can't take off work, etc.etc. and I said we can just do something on a weekend, that's fine - but we need to do something because I really need it. And then I sat around and thought jeez I feel so blah and I was mad that I couldn't drink. But I know I can NOT drink. Here's what NS posted that helped me:

NoSugar;1672566 wrote: Hi, Frances. I tend to go on and on about this topic so I'll try to be brief . When we're actively drinking, we totally screw up the receptors in our brain that register "pleasure". Alcohol is such a strong signal that to deal with all that noise that is just too much, our receptors get down-regulated (an analogy I heard was sticking your fingers in your ears when sirens are going off). The analogy kind of falls apart, though, because when the siren (alcohol) is removed, we can't just take our fingers out of our ears! It takes time to upregulate the "pleasure chemical" receptors and until all that healing occurs, many of us feel flat (or worse). There aren't enough functioning receptors and the loud "noise" that can stimulate what receptors we have is gone (thank goodness). I felt that way around 4-6 months and I think that was the time frame during which Pav had that experience, also. So, hang in there - your brain will heal and you'll start feeling a broader range of emotions from "normal" life events .

Ava - I posted on your story thread - I'm so happy for you!!!

[patrice]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi all,
Wow some really great, thoughtful posts and I can empathize with them all!!
It is fantastic that everyone shares honestly what they feel, and can be up and down.. I really like that about this thread..
" the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" ( I remember that theory from some course in Uni )
I think for me it sums up the sentiment of this lovely diverse group of women.

Have an uplifting day girls.. Mine is done. 3weeks today..
Fucking Awesome Ava!!, you are forging ahead mate

Xx
Patrice