Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO): If you don’t already have it, your best friend probably does. Symptoms include constant drinking, dancing, a tendency to rage at ungodly hours – along with an in inability to say the word “no”. Beware, FOMO is extremely contagious, and shortly after one girl has contracted the insatiable need to attend a certain Wednesday night rager, her friends will be quick to follow. It’s the best thing that ever happened to you, and the worst. Since there’s no getting rid of FOMO once you have it, let’s go over how to survive it.
How Much is Too Much?
While most girls live their daily lives with FOMO coursing through their veins, its important to make sure that your FOMO is kept in check. Sure, going out on a random Tuesday isn’t a big deal, and neither is the next, or the next… but pretty soon those random Tuesdays morph into the ritualistic practice known as Tequila Tuesday, which wouldn’t be a big deal if the you only drank the one margarita you’d originally planned. But when there’s an entire pitcher of margaritas, its practically a sin not to finish the whole thing.
And then there’s a concert Wednesday, and suddenly its Thirsty Thursday… and then it’s the “weekend”. But, if you never say no, it’s easy for the weekdays to start looking like weekends. And maybe that’s not a big deal. Except for the fact that you’re staying up til three in the morning, waking up with a hangover, and haven’t gotten anything done all week.
Going out is fun, but when every night is spent drunk and every morning is hazy, a lot of important things start to seem less and less of an issue. Like school work, and the gym, and friends… and instead, what becomes important is Netflix-ing the hangover away.
Keeping Yourself In Check
I’m pretty sure that nobody wants to fail out of school and gain twenty pounds because they couldn’t control their nightlife. So, this is where willpower comes in. I’m confident that anyone who parties can think of that one (or ten) nights where all they wanted to do was sleep, but went out instead on the empty promise of an awesome night. You were in a bad or tired mood to start, didn’t have the best time, and regretted it harder than middle school the next day. Some nights out are going to be sucky, and it generally has more to do with your mood than the atmosphere. You have to ask yourself, what are you really afraid of missing out on? Is it really going to be that fun? If all you want to do is cuddle up in bed, then by all means cuddle up in bed, and remind yourself that even if it feels like a big deal, you’re really not missing out on much, and there will be much better nights ahead. You’ll wake up in a dazzling mood that will burn the eyes off all of your sad, hungover friends in the morning.
Quality over quantity is the trick here. While some fun and very strange nights have certainly been birthed out of sleep deprivation and stress, it’s better to save that for after finals.
Instead of attempting to master the art of not sleeping and still functioning, try dedicating certain days to your party life. Thursday through Saturday are usually the big drinking days, and if you condense your raging to those three days, you’ll have much better nights and less stressful days during the week. Sure, weeknights can get weird sometimes, but you have to ask yourself, “Is it really worth how shitty I’m going to feel tomorrow?” If you suspect it’s going to be an awesome night to remember, then by all means, go out. But if it looks kind of so-so, and you have bigger plans in store for the weekend, skip that weeknight out and save your sleep and mental space for the rest of the week. It will be worth it!
When FOMO Is A Good Thing
Dealing with FOMO is a slippery slope and can quickly get out of hand if left unnoticed. Yet, there is a time and a place for everything, and that includes FOMO. In fact sometimes, FOMO can lead to the most fun nights of your life. Here are some of those times that you should consider giving in.
1. It’s Saturday, you woke up drunk, pre-gamed the football game too hard, and wandered back home to take a nap. Now, upon waking up to your roommates banging on your door, it’s time to start all over again. You really just want to go back to sleep. But it’s Saturday, and your school won the game… this is one time where a healthy Fear Of Missing Out will play to your advantage and rally you for the night of your life.
2. It’s Friday and you haven’t heard of anything happening except that oddly themed party that the weird frat is throwing. You don’t know many of the guys there, aren’t at all prepared for the theme, and don’t really want to go… but lucky for you, all your friends are going, and your FOMO is pushing you towards a totally new, and unexpected experience. This could end in meeting some awesome new friends, or having a night you’ll never forget or at the very least laugh about later.
FOMO can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Sometimes it pushes you just far enough to have a fabulous weekend or night out when you weren’t planning on it… and sometimes it pushes you way, way too hard – leaving you with unwarranted hangovers from nights that weren’t even that fun. Avoid the FOMO trap by knowing yourself, and listening to yourself. If you think you’re gonna have an unforgettable night, it may be worth letting your FOMO take over and urge you out. But, don’t let FOMO come between you and your better judgement… especially for boring, lack-luster nights.
