You know how you wake up after a big night out and think, “Hooooooly moley. I made a complete fool out of myself last night”? And for the rest of the day you carry around really an intense anxiety you just can’t seem to shake? Same, fam.

That really hectic feeling of guilt is by far the worst part of being hungover. Give me the headaches and nausea any day over that hot mess of worry.

But odds are, most of us are gonna be grappling with it for at least 24 hours or so. Here’s how to slowly crawl your way out of it.

#1 Consider How You’re Feeling, Then Half It

Take a step back and fully consider exactly how you feel right now. You’re very ashamed and embarrassed, right? We can guarantee you only need to feel half of those feelings. AT MOST. There’s a 90 per cent chance that everybody else at the party/bar/work Christmas party was just as sloshed as you were.

#2 You Probably Didn’t Do Anything That Bad

OK, so maybe you were a little bit embarrassing. Think about exactly what you did. Is it really that bad? Will it ruin lives? Nah.

Try and find the source of the worry and sit with it for a little while. Then turn on a TV show about actual bad people (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) to put things into perspective.

#3 Nap It Out

Take a big old nap and see how you feel when you wake up. At the very least, napping will help your headache subside but at best, it’ll reboot your perspective on everything.

#4 No One’s Mad At You

The biggest thing I always think when I have hangover guilt is that everyone is mad at me. So I frantically fire off a bunch of texts apologising for… I dunno, existing? And everyone is like, “Dude, don’t be weird.”

Because at the end of the day, unless you straight up punched someone in the face, there’s a huge likelihood that no one hates you forever. Be nicer to yourself.

#5 Laugh

The best thing you can do is laugh at yourself. That way, no one else can laugh at you and make you feel like a dingus.

Then draw a long bath, watch silly TV shows and try to relax. Everything’s fine, and your hangover will be gone by morning.

(Lead image: New Girl/FOX)