Dark
Light
Bet you're feeling pretty embarrassed right about now (Image via Oxford Dictionaries Blog)

How to Recover From Sending a Drunk Text

Did your night out drinking with your friends end up with you waking up with a raging hangover and a bunch of embarrassing drunk texts? You need this.
February 21, 2018
6 mins read

It’s no doubt that technology has benefited the way people communicate tremendously. The ability to contact someone three to 3,000 miles away at the click of a button on a smartphone or laptop has revolutionized daily interaction.

That being said, a fun night out with friends can have you want to text that special someone or even an ex. Liquid courage and easy access to an electronic device is the perfect combination to fuel a drunk text.

Fearfully checking your phone in the morning is a common theme for most after a night out. There’s something about 2 a.m. that sets the tone for a perfect drunk text. Sending a drunk text can be embarrassing and difficult to overcome when the tequila wears off and the sun starts to rise. No matter how embarrassing, however, there are some ways to cope with the regret of sending a drunk text.

Accept It

Waking up in the morning to confused or no text responses can leave you feeling extremely regretful for what you sent the night before. As difficult as it may be, there’s nothing wrong with accepting the situation for what it is. Everyone makes mistakes and has a little too much to drink sometimes, so don’t let something like a drunk text message get you down.

In some cases you can choose to apologize to the person depending on the context, but you don’t always owe someone an explanation to your slew of drunk texts. The best thing to do is accept the fact that you sent it and what’s done is done.

The more you agonize over the text message the more time it will take you to recover from sending it in the first place. The sooner you accept the situation for what it is, the sooner you will be on your way to inner peace.

Own It

Once you have accepted the fact that you sent the drunk text — or multiple texts — own up to your actions. Owning up to an embarrassing moment is therapeutic and it doesn’t hurt to laugh at yourself.

Laughter is the best medicine and although it may be difficult to face the texts you found amazing to send the night before, it’s sometimes funny to go back and look at them with friends. By doing this, you can bring peace to the situation by laughing through it. Life is simply too short to take things too seriously like an embarrassing compilation of drunken words to a crush.

Let It Go

It’s definitely easy to fall into the trap of over analyzing the situation. Sometimes looking back at the text messages may cause a wave of emotions that won’t make you feel so good.

Accept the fact that you’re human and you make mistakes. Refrain from overthinking about what you sent when you were intoxicated because you weren’t in the right mind set to begin with.

Instead of going into your inbox and re-reading and analyzing each drunk text you sent out, hit the delete button on all of the texts. Removing those text messages will help you to erase the problem from your memory.

Plan Ahead Next Time

To avoid embarrassing drunk texts in the future, plan to give your friend permission to take your phone when you feel the urge to send out a risky text. It’s hard not to have your phone on you at all times, but for the sake of drunk text messaging, it’s never a bad idea to give your phone to a friend when going out.

As horrifying as it might seem in the moment, the initial regret that sets in after sending out a drunk text will eventually fade. The best solution is to accept the fact that you maybe had a lapse in judgment when sending it, but it’s not always the end of the world.

Worst case scenario is that you might’ve said something you shouldn’t have, but you can always offer an apology or brush it off.

With time, the embarrassment of your drunk texts will subside and you’ll be able to go out and do it all over again. That is, unless you learn from your mistakes and take better precautions next time to avoid a similar situation.

All in all, recovering from sending out a regretful drunk text is a part of life in the digital age. While it may seem like your drunk text is a total life ruiner, it could always be a lot worse, and if you’re not hurting anyone, then it’s not as big of a deal than you think it is.

Emilie Romero, University of Nevada

Writer Profile

Emilie Romero

University of Nevada, Reno
Journalism

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Don't Miss