It’s no secret that I love to go out and have a good time. I have a feeling that it’s also no secret that I overdo it every once and a while. Last night was another one of those nights.

In college I could party with the best of them. Everyone has that one friend that challenges the boys to a drinking contest or goes shot-for-shot just for the hell of it. I’m that friend- or at least I used to be. Lately though something has gotten in the way of my ability to let loose and have a good time. I like to call it The Aftermath.

Sometime within the last year I stopped going out as much. I’m not sure if The Aftermath is just a result of my body not being used to alcohol on a normal basis, or if it’s just part of getting older. I’ve always gotten hangovers in varying degrees. They range from a little head throbbing for a few hours to the ones that make me want to jump off my roof. The Aftermath is much, much worse.

Instead of having only physical symptoms like a hangover, The Aftermath is mostly mental. It’s like a combination of guilt, depression, and overall pessimism balled together as one. It feels like someone hit me in the stomach and the pain just won’t go away. It mostly happens after a night of overdoing it a little a lot and blacking out.

These days it doesn’t take much for me to black out. Last night it was 4 shots of Jager and 3 (very strong) drinks.

So now I’ve had to spend the day trying to remind myself that everything will seem a lot better tomorrow. That the world is not coming to an end.

It’s just so strange that a year ago I could drink like I did last night and worst case scenario I’d have a headache or some nausea.

Does anyone else go through their own version of The Aftermath?

Getting old sucks.