Ditch the Hangover Deja vu

Do you ever get deja vu when you wake up after a night (or day) of drinking? The familiarity of the hangover sets in and you remember that you felt the exact same way just a few days or weeks before. Ask yourself how often in the past month you have experienced any of the following situations the day after drinking?

• Waking up hungover. You woke up with a terrible headache, feeling nauseous and dehydrated.
• Regrettable decisions. Your phone showed an unexpected text or DM from someone you haven’t spoken to in a while – only to realize you hit them up first (yikes!). Or you checked social media and realize that you accidentally posted while intoxicated.
• Not remembering what happened. You had to ask a buddy to recap the night and tell you how you got home.
• Lost personal items. You couldn’t find your credit card and it isn’t the first time you’ve misplaced it while you were out drinking.
• Oversleeping and racing to work. Your late night and morning grogginess led to you snoozing your alarm in the AM and running late for your shift.
• Lack of focus. Your not-so-great sleep left you feeling sluggish and unproductive at work (remember: leadership and peers do notice!).
• Canceled plans. You missed a lifting session or maybe you canceled quality time with family because of your hangover.

It’s possible you may have gone through one (or more) of these experiences several times this month. As it adds up, consider that it may be time to make a change, ditch the hangover deja vu and check your drinking habits.

There are resources to help you before drinking becomes a problem for your health, relationships or career. If you’re concerned about your alcohol use, find your Service branch’s policy on how to self-refer or self-identify before an incident happens.