Tips and Tricks

• You can change your mind many times during your night out, but from the point of view of risk reduction, before you go out you should decide a few things: Are we only going to one place? Are we going on a pub or club crawl? Or shall we just see how we feel?
• Something else we have to consider is who we're going with: Are we going alone? With our significant other? With people from work? With laid-back friends, or real partygoer friends?
• Think how you're getting there!: On public transport or by car? If you opt for the car, find out who else is going and who's going to drive.
• And there are more questions to answer: What are we going to do? Go dancing? Sit and talk? Pick someone up? Have a few drinks? Do some drugs?

The point of considering these matters, from the point of view of risk reduction, is that it helps us avoid the unexpected and unwanted, getting carried away and ending up in places, situations or company you'd rather not be in. Once you've thought about it, you can decide things before you leave the house...

• To start with, it's a good idea to check your diary and see what you have lined up for the day after the party, that'll help you decide what time you need to be home. If you've got a family lunch or you've got to go to work the next day, or you've got exams all week, your best bet is not to drink much and come home early.
• Then it's time for some information, on the Internet or by other means. It is important to find out:
  • Exactly where you're going and how to get there. You can look up Q de festa! venues in your city or on other nightlife entertainment websites, such as www.tillate.com, www.revivelanoche.es or www.nadafool.com
  • Viable public transport alternatives.
  • How to find promos and discounts on entrance fees. Go to www.Qdefesta.cat/promocions, or Facebook or Twitter
  • Doubts and questions about sexuality.
  • The effects and risks of drug use.
• Don't forget to have dinner before you hit the town. You don't have to stuff yourself, but do have a proper meal. That way you can avoid stomachaches and the alcohol (or any other substance) will go to your head more slowly, helping to reduce a hangover the following morning.
• If we go out with other people, we must decide how we're getting about before we start drinking. The best option is always public transport, but some venues are in out-of-the-way places and are difficult to get to. If you have to go by car, the best thing to do is have a designated driver who doesn't touch a drop. Some venues offer a transport service into town.
• What should I take with me?
  • The more money you have on you, the more likely you are to spend it.If you're the type who gets carried away easily and what you really want is to get home early, then don't take much money with you and leave your bank cards at home.
  • Don't leave anything important behind. Girls should take tampons or sanitary towels, for instance, (for yourself or a friend if she forgets). If you take drugs, take your gear with you so you consume safely, hygienically and with fewer risks (tooter, mouthpiece, saline...). Sometimes it's a good idea to take a toothbrush and toothpaste! Who knows where you could end up?
  • To prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies, always carry a condom or other barrier method... for him and her! Condoms are for two! To make sure it doesn't spoil your fun, keep the condom handy and make it part of the game. It is easier to put it on during oral sex than just before penetration. If you're one of those people who think they reduce sensitivity, check out different types to find the one that suits you. Remember the female condom too, which instead of fitting over the penis, fits inside the vagina (or rectum). If you didn't think to bring condoms with you, and it looks like you'll be needing one, you can find them on sale in Q de festa! venues.
  • Drug users, whether your thing is alcohol or any other type, should know their own limits and respect other people's decisions about how much they want. Some people go for psychoactive substances when they're out partying. Aside from all the effects and risks of these drugs, the when and how you take them can create additional risks. Drugs you pick up in the club tend to be low quality, adulterated (cut), more expensive, and far riskier to buy, as you might get thrown out or get into trouble with the law. Be careful what you buy and who from! Don't forget you can have drugs analysed (Energy Control) and that it's best to know all the effects and risks before you take them.

• Having fun while being safe is easier if we control three factors:
  • How I feel: listen to your body and take care of it.
    • Wearing the right amount of clothing helps reduce sweating and body temperature, and helps make us comfortable. Some Q de festa! venues have cloakrooms where you can leave coats and so on while you're dancing and pick them up on the way out
    • If you feel ill, can't breathe, your heart is racing, you feel anxious, paranoid or are having a ‘bad trip', take note, whether you've taken drugs or not, as these are clear warning signs. Rest for a while, get away from the music, lights and crowd, and get some air. Some Q de festa! venues have chill-out areas where you can relax, and if you don't start to feel better, tell your friends or a member of staff.
    • If you're a real partygoer and you go clubbing often, in addition to the general risks is the risk of hearing problems. The latest trend amongst ‘techno-sybarites' of Europe is to use earplugs, which reduce the impact of noise and filter out the most harmful sounds without affecting our perception of sound power, which is guaranteed thanks to the subwoofer bass. What's more, these earplugs do not interfere with communication, and are useful for partygoers and venue staff (bar staff and so on).
  • What I take: be very clear on how, when and what you take..
    • We all know we should only have what we feel like and when we feel like. Sometimes, though, someone invites us, incites us or challenges us and we end up taking something we shouldn't, something we don't really want, just because we can't say no. Knowing how much you've had and when (alcohol and other drugs) helps reduce the risks and the next morning's hangover.
    • The human body contains about 80% water. Exercise, high temperatures and alcohol are factors that lead to dehydration. It is very important to drink water (or another non-alcoholic drinks) frequently to stay hydrated.
    • We get the energy we need for our bodies to work properly mostly from the food we eat. When we work, study, do sports (or any other activity) we eat every 6-8 hours. At night, however, when we're resting, we can easily go 12 hours without eating. If we're out partying, even though it's nighttime, it's as though we are at work! You should eat before you go out, and have a snack during the night to keep your strength up. Once you get home, eat something, don't go to sleep on an empty stomach.
  • What I do: anything can happen on a night out and sometimes we have trouble controlling our reactions.
    • Conflict, discrimination and violence. Drugs like alcohol and cocaine can lead to bizarre and violent behaviour. Drugs make you lose your inhibitions; consequently, if the user has a natural tendency towards aggressiveness or is in a tense or stressful situation, he or she can easily become violent. Stay away from violent people, and above all, don't you become violent. It is important to know yourself and not get into situations that can bring out the worst in you. We go out to have a good time, not to spoil our or anyone else's evening. A fight ruins the night-for the people fighting, the people with them and anyone else who happens to be close by.
    • The annoying creep. Some drugs (particularly alcohol) make us lose our inhibitions to the point where we can no longer control our behaviour, our emotions, or what we say and do. They make us say things we don't mean, to people we shouldn't say them to and sometimes we repeat them becoming the typical drunken pain in the neck everyone hates. If that happens with friends, usually nothing serious happens (or they might go out without you next time), but if you're a nuisance to a member of the opposite sex and/or a total stranger, then it gets complicated. The implications go from missing the chance to have a relationship with someone to making them feel uncomfortable and harassed, and that is unacceptable.
    • Anti-social behaviour. All too often, we have no trouble doing at night what we wouldn't dream of doing during the day. Under cover of darkness, with hardly anyone about, we think nothing of peeing in a doorway, knocking down fencing around road works, breaking litterbins or climbing up lampposts, things we wouldn't do in the daylight with people looking on. Although we might think this stuff is funny, it's actually not worth the risk. The cost of vandalism, annoying residents and the chances of getting caught and fined (fine + cost of repair) would usually make us think twice.
    • Knowing when to stop: at some point you have to go home. Sometimes it's hard to stop, and if we've been partying hard, even more so! The best thing is to head home as soon as you feel like it, don't stay because your friends ask you to. It's often difficult to leave a party, but you should respect your body and learn to know when you've had enough.
• Take care of your friends and make sure they have a good time.
  • Keep an eye on your friends. Knowing where they are, what they've had and how they feel will help the night go smoothly for everyone: we can avoid upsets and problems. Asking the now and again "How are you doing?" or "Is everything OK?" is easy and simple and makes everyone feel at ease.
  • If there are problems, and a friend needs help, tell whoever attends to them exactly what they've taken and how much. Lying in these situations only makes things worse. Remember the Emergency Services phone number is 112, and that Q de festa! venue staff are trained to provide assistance in these cases.

• Once the party's over and we've decided to leave, it's time to take a deep breath and try to think clearly. Work out what state you're in, and your friends. Q de festa! venues have means to calculate your blood alcohol level so you can decide whether you're in a fit state to drive or not.
• The best thing is to have a designated driver who doesn't drink and drives everyone home. If you don't have one, it's better not to drive and go home on public transport. Q de festa! venues have all the info you need on public transport in the area.
• Your body needs regenerating, to do that you need to eat healthily, drink plenty of water and sleep the right number of hours. Sometimes, the morning after a good night (or hours later) we're not hungry, we can't eat, we're not thirsty, and we can't sleep. If this happens, use your willpower and take care of yourself. Eat even if you're not hungry, have a drink of water and lie down, even if you don't sleep: just lying down means you get some rest.
• Don't miss anything you've arranged for the day after a party: work, uni, appointments or family lunches-not turning up causes trouble, family problems, academic failure, relationship problems and can get you the sack at work. Ruining such important things for one wild night just isn't worth it.
• The next day, a part from swapping stories with your mates, it's not a bad idea to reflect on your behaviour, whether you spent more money than you anticipated, whether you took or drank anything you shouldn't, did you go too far? ... in short, did you live up to your own expectations and is there something you can do to make next time even better!