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Sophie_M Welcome to the BB Social Zone - guidelines for posting in this section
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, This section of the forum is a little different to the others, as you may have noticed in looking around the threads. Elsewhere on the forums, we discuss some pretty heavy topics: mental health issues, thoughts of suicide, trauma, abuse,... View more

Hi everyone, This section of the forum is a little different to the others, as you may have noticed in looking around the threads. Elsewhere on the forums, we discuss some pretty heavy topics: mental health issues, thoughts of suicide, trauma, abuse, relationship breakdowns. Here is the place to come to get away from that and have a bit of fun. Distraction can be an important tool to draw on if you're finding yourself overwhelmed by distressing thoughts and feelings. As this is a section for respite from difficult topics, we will remove posts made in this section that attempt to discuss personal issues. Please use a support thread in the appropriate section for these discussions. Happy posting!

Kazzl The BB cafe
  • replies: 20606

The BB cafe is open for business! Welcome all to a new chill and chat place for everyone on the forum. The BB cafe is whatever you want it to be. There are comfy sofas, tables and chairs, coffee machines, a kitchen stocked with everything. There's a ... View more

The BB cafe is open for business! Welcome all to a new chill and chat place for everyone on the forum. The BB cafe is whatever you want it to be. There are comfy sofas, tables and chairs, coffee machines, a kitchen stocked with everything. There's a pool outside, a bbq area, an annexe with comfy beds for a quiet sleep, tv, dvd, books and whatever else you would like to have here. Most of all, it's a place to meet friends and fellow travellers for a bit of company. Talk over problems, tell jokes, share your day, escape into a world of your making. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair ... So, with a nod to the wonderful Carole King (Hard Rock Cafe) ... Now if you're feeling just a little bit lonely Don't sit at home just mopin' Come on down to where the friendship flows freely You know the door is always open At the BB cafe Come to the BB cafe They will help keep your blues at bay At the BB cafe Important Message from ModSupport: The main intention of the BB Cafe is to encourage light conversation. Please look after your fellow community members by nuturing the BB Cafe as a place to escape some of the more pressing issues in life and save those conversations for personal threads.

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Neil_1 Alcohol battles & DOG days (and a small Neil update)
  • replies: 11

Hi there For those of you who are unfamiliar with the use of the term "DOG", I've now coined a new phrase "Days Off Grog". It used to be for me for so long, AFD's - Alcohol Free Day's, but during April, I dug deep into my brain (and yes, it did hurt!... View more

Hi there For those of you who are unfamiliar with the use of the term "DOG", I've now coined a new phrase "Days Off Grog". It used to be for me for so long, AFD's - Alcohol Free Day's, but during April, I dug deep into my brain (and yes, it did hurt!) and have come up with a new and I think improved version - DOG days. For me, I count them each year and have done so for a while now - it's because I'm canal - people bear with me here - had to use the word canal, as each time I've used the 'real word' in the past, it hasn't made it past the mods. So my friends, just remove the c from the front of that word and you'll exactly what I am. I don't think it's a bad thing, I think it borders on OCD to some extent. ANYWAY, my real point of this thread is that even though May has started - I'm just wondering if anyone out there would like to try for a few DOG days for this month? I ask this because I get a real sense that yes, alcohol IS an issue for so many of us and yes, while we know that it does help us deaden our demons for a while, I guess if you look at it from a human body perspective and professional health viewpoint, drinking heaps every day isn't a good thing. I'm talking about me here - and even though I do exercise each day as well - my thinking that negates it to some extent - perhaps, or it just helps my mind to think so. I still haven't been able to gym it of late due to about 3 niggling issues - and I've finally bit the bullet and will be seeing my physio on Monday arve - possibly to determine which of the injuries is the most significant, etc etc. But I won't bore you with those details. My mind continues to plague and torture me - and has anyone ever felt when say you're walking in a shopping centre or the like and you're passing someone and they look at you and yet, they continue to look at you. I can understand someone looking and then they look away (nothing to see here, move along kind of thing) but when someone continues to look at you till they pass. I've had that recently and wowee, it gets to me. I used to look away in a kind of embarassment or fear - but of late, I just stare right back at them. It gets me angry for some reason - and I find that I'm doing that with strangers a bit now. I don't know why it is. Lastly, what is comforting is when my psyche tells me that my time on here is invaluable - and that it's such a great thing to be able to reach out to others and help as much as I can. She thinks it's a really positive sign that I've found something that I actually enjoy doing - and also actually feel like I'm contributing - contributing into helping others - whereas for the job that I'm paid for during 5 days a week, I just don't get that feel. And folks, that's the devil isn't it - that's the hard part. To find a job that you're happy with and that it also brings in the dollars to help you survive in this world. D'oh - I've rambled again, when I was really trying to extend this to anyone who is currently drinking and was just thinking, that maybe I could see if I could have a day here or there off. I'm in a bad mode at the moment and I'm now only drinking on days with R in them. Today of course is SundRay. Cheers Neil

SBBM Unsustainable Growth in local and global populations coupled with unsustainable per capita consumption of the Earth's finite, vital, resources.
  • replies: 4

G'day, I'm an ol' fart and have been depressed for many, many years. I consider suicide every day. My depression is caused by two elements. The first is contained in the Title of this post and my depression, without a solution IMO, is because I despa... View more

G'day, I'm an ol' fart and have been depressed for many, many years. I consider suicide every day. My depression is caused by two elements. The first is contained in the Title of this post and my depression, without a solution IMO, is because I despair for my children and their children. I, along with others of my ilk, have an unquestionable, irrefutable understanding that there are no solutions to the population growth and the per-capita consumption of the Earth's finite and vital (to humans and other species) resource issues other than a culling of human populations, almost certainly brought about by wars, starvation and disease in the not too distant future. The culling has already begun in many places throughout the world. The greatest cause of my depression is the knowledge that my offspring, will have to attempt to deal with the aforementioned issue of unsustainable growth or as some reliable, realist commentators now refer to it -"The Collapse" of human civilization as we've known it - as will I, should I live long enough. My second depressive element is less important and can be resolved with adequate work on my behalf. It is that i'm not enjoying/handling the deterioration in my physical and mental health as a result of my aging. Something we'll all have to deal with should we live long enough. So.... there you have it. I see no solution to my first, depressive, issue. As the late Professor Albert A Bartlett stated. " The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." Any suggestions, anyone? Oo roo, The Selfish Big Brained Mammal (SBBM)

Neil_1 Easter wishes
  • replies: 3

HAPPY EASTER to all ... and I hope that if you're able to, that you can find a little "sunshine" in the upcoming days especially for those of us who might be feeling really low at this time. If anyone is doing any travelling, please be safe. If you'r... View more

HAPPY EASTER to all ... and I hope that if you're able to, that you can find a little "sunshine" in the upcoming days especially for those of us who might be feeling really low at this time. If anyone is doing any travelling, please be safe. If you're staying put, then be safe as well, but most of all, have a great/good/ok a time over the next few days. Please also be very careful too. Of the dreaded (and sometimes much loved) chocolate monster that will be lurking over the weekend … he can be very tempting and alluring; be wary! My fam have the tradition of doing the easter egg hunt first thing on a Sunday morning - so it's Saturday night where me and my partner hide the eggs throughout the house - and you know, now that I'm getting just that little bit older each year, it's really a great thing - cause the following morning I'm deadly serious when I'm searching for them too, cause I've got no idea where I put them just 8 or so hours before! Take care my friends Neil

Closed_Down New Name.
  • replies: 5

Hi to all who have seen my posts under the name CLOSED DOWN. Well, I'm now MARK1. Not Closed Down with my life anymore! Cheers,

Hi to all who have seen my posts under the name CLOSED DOWN. Well, I'm now MARK1. Not Closed Down with my life anymore! Cheers,

Neil_1 Tonight's the night
  • replies: 0

Sorry to disappoint you all as no there is not filth or other things pertaining to the abovementioned subject heading. It is however to announce: YAY, tonight we wind our clocks back by ONE hour and so we get an extra hour of sleep (for those of us w... View more

Sorry to disappoint you all as no there is not filth or other things pertaining to the abovementioned subject heading. It is however to announce: YAY, tonight we wind our clocks back by ONE hour and so we get an extra hour of sleep (for those of us who are blessed to be able to do that - even if it is via non-natural methods!). So daylight saving ends and for the early risers - the sun will be up and about one hour earlier. Disclaimer to be read in a very fast and mono-toned voice: The above announcement may not be applicable to all parts of Australia.

Shell Its a boy!
  • replies: 6

Here is my new grandson everybody....something good has finally come into my life.

Here is my new grandson everybody....something good has finally come into my life.

beingbyrne Just For Laughs
  • replies: 7

Some one said that to me once " If you can have a good laugh at yourself, then you are sure on the right way to recovery. I think we should look in the mirror some times and try to have a good laugh at ourselves. Because laughter not only releases en... View more

Some one said that to me once " If you can have a good laugh at yourself, then you are sure on the right way to recovery. I think we should look in the mirror some times and try to have a good laugh at ourselves. Because laughter not only releases endorphins in the brain, but looking at life from a humorous perspective makes it a lot easier to deal with challenges in every day life. Do you have a joke about mental illness? I'm going to start with a couple. Joke #1: Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline. If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2. If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6. If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press. If you are depressed, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer. If you are delusional and occasionally hallucinate, please be aware that the thing you are holding on the side of your head is alive and about to bite off your ear. Joke #2: A psychologist was walking along a Hawaiian beach when he kicked a bottle poking up through the sand. Opening it, he was astonished to see a cloud of smoke and a genie smiling at him. "For your kindness," the genie said, "I will grant you one wish!" The psychologist paused, laughed, and replied, "I have always wanted a road from Hawaii to California." The genie grimaced, thought for a few minutes and said, "Listen, I'm sorry, but I can't do that! Think of all the pilings needed to hold up the highway and how long they'd have to be to reach the bottom of the ocean. Think of all the pavement. That's too much to ask." "OK," the psychologist said, not wanting to be unreasonable. "I'm a psychologist. Make me understand my patients. What makes them laugh and cry, why are they temperamental, why are they so difficult to get along with, what do they really want? Basically, teach me to understand what makes them tick!" The genie paused, and then sighed, "Did you want two lanes or four?" I really hope you guys find these funny, because I couldn't stop laughing when i first read them.

Neil_1 Which is your least favourite day of the week?
  • replies: 13

Hi all Just heard the ever-popular comment in the tea room at work - "Wow, thank goodness it's Friday, yeee haaa" (and no it didn't come from my lips). The person they were speaking to confirmed their happiness, but then went to a depressive spin on ... View more

Hi all Just heard the ever-popular comment in the tea room at work - "Wow, thank goodness it's Friday, yeee haaa" (and no it didn't come from my lips). The person they were speaking to confirmed their happiness, but then went to a depressive spin on it by saying, "Yep, we love our Fridays, but we hate Monday's". Simple human speak that would be spoken many thousands of times during today in workplaces and beyond all over the world. However, I just wonder if we on this site feel the same emotions as what a lot of other people do. I know that I "used" to, but I really don't any longer (and yes it's a shame in a way). But Monday is Monday, Tuesday is Tuesday, Wednesday is ... well, you should be sensing the trend there so I'll stop. What I think I'm trying to say is that there is no one day that is better (or worse) than the others we we who suffer every day. I was just thinking about the comments made and thought I'd raise it to see if others think like the people in the kitchen or whether they think like me (you poor souls whoever raises their hand to that) or perhaps a combo of the two. Thoughts dear people? Neil

Suzbj I am so so sorry!
  • replies: 5

I am so so sorry to everyone for posting so blatantly on the forum Tuesday night when I crashed big time. It was thoughtless and I apologise. I haven't read any forums or responses as can't be on here right now. I just want to work on myself for a bi... View more

I am so so sorry to everyone for posting so blatantly on the forum Tuesday night when I crashed big time. It was thoughtless and I apologise. I haven't read any forums or responses as can't be on here right now. I just want to work on myself for a bit but really wanted to say sorry to you all and to BB. Kind regards Suz xx

joey Happy Brithday Neil
  • replies: 9

I noticed it's Neil's 1000 post birthday coming up! 

I noticed it's Neil's 1000 post birthday coming up!