It’s every girl’s worst nightmare. You’re completely fine, out having a great time with your friends and all of the sudden the room is spinning. The floor isn’t in one place and you can’t walk. They say this can happen to anyone, but you never believe it’s going to be you. You do everything right: never put your drink down, always go out with a group of people, never drink something unless you see it poured or get it yourself, and yet somehow you would up in an out of body experience not knowing what happened to you.
I know how you feel because I think this happened to me. I was out with my friends having a great time. I didn’t pre-game because I had plans in the morning, but it was the first weekend back in the spring semester so I wanted to go out and have fun with my friends. We went to a local bar that I had been to many times before and ordered a vodka cranberry, my go to drink. It tasted fine and I drank it normally. Before we left, I wanted to find one of my friends and see if she wanted to come with us. I stood up and tried to walk around the bar, quickly realizing that I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t drunk, but I also wasn’t sober, but I also wasn’t buzzed. I went back to my friends and they immediately sat me down and tried to get me water. To make it to the next bar, it took two of my girlfriends around my height helping hold me up. At the next bar, I drank four waters. I still wasn’t okay. The floor wasn’t moving as much but it was still sliding back and forth every time I attempted to take a step.
I could walk a little more evenly and my friends thought food would help the situation. We left to go to a place that sells nachos at 1:30 AM. I can’t even begin to describe how great those nachos tasted. Something was clearly wrong with me because I’m not an olive or guacamole person and I couldn’t get enough of it. Then it happened again. The checkerboard floor was shifting. I couldn’t walk in a straight line and the room was spinning like a tilt a whirl at the State Fair. My friend and her boyfriend stayed with me because I looked so bad. She sat me down and when I said I thought I was going to throw up she told me to tell her a story. I could not form a word to save my life. If Jesse McCartney had asked me my name in that moment, I don’t even think I could have stood up. Unfortunately, part of our group had moved onto another place where more cabs were waiting to pick us up. We had to make it over there.
By the time I was helped to the next place, I knew something was wrong with me. The room just kept moving in a circle. The floor would come up towards my face and then drop far down towards the center of the earth. Another one of my girlfriends saw the look on my face and said “That’s it we’re going back. We’re done.” She put me in a cab and we made it back to school. No puking, no being taken advantage of, and definitely no more drinks. My friends got me to my house, got me tucked in bed, and locked the door.
I was finally safe but how do you process something like that?
First, do not blame yourself. I’m a person who loves being in control, has never thrown up because I drank too much, and will never set my drink down at a bar. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
Second, always make sure you trust the people you are going out with. I guess this should have been first but it’s so important. Without them, who knows what could have happened and I think that’s the scariest part. I cannot thank them enough for looking out for me and all that they did that night.
Third, remember that you’re okay. It’s terrifying to go through something like this. You don’t know if you’re missing parts of the night or if you are missing your wallet. But, you made it through and you are fine. Use the counseling services at school if you need to talk to someone or call your parents. They’re some of the best people to talk through scary situations with.
Fourth, be kind to yourself for the next few days. Your body has to process the toxins as well as whatever you ate or drank that night. Eat well, rest up, and remember that the next time your friends will still be there and have fun.