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Real talk: I had a negative drinking experience, and this is what I learned

I can usually have a few drinks and a good time with nothing too crazy happening. I mean, as someone who volunteers for a responsible drinking campaign, I should hope so, right?

 

However…I recently had a night out which did not go to plan and ended with a lot of drunken tears and a lot of regret the next day.

 

So how do you pick yourself up and dust yourself off after a negative drinking experience? And what can we learn from these experiences, if anything?

 

Here are my thoughts…

 

  1. Be honest with yourself and others:

 

I was already SO tired before the night even started. I remember thinking, do I really want to go out? But the FOMO got to me – don’t let it! Don’t allow people (even good friends) to talk you into anything – ever. If you’re tired, get a takeaway, chill out and just go to bed!

 

  1. Try to keep track of how much you’re drinking:

 

I completely lost count…I was mixing drinks…it was bad. So when you get a second -just stop – and make a rough count of how much you think you’ve had…then add at least one more to whatever you’ve estimated

 

  1. Take a break EVEN if you feel fine:

 

If you stop once you can feel it hit – it’s already too late. After a few drinks, just have one soft drink regardless of how you feel. Trust – you’ll be glad you did

 

  1. Set boundaries (and stick to them):

 

Linking back to point 1, don’t stay out later than you really want to. It’s easy to just keep drinking because you’re tired, bored and just trying to block it all out – but it’s ok to say “you know what, I’m really tired, I’m just gonna call an Uber”

 

  1. Don’t beat yourself up but DO learn from bad experiences:

 

Bad experiences teach us so much more than good ones (annoying, I know!). Reflect on what happened and what you can do differently next time. It doesn’t have to be about drinking or not drinking- there is a middle ground – you really can have a great night AND a great next day!

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