Bartender Lists The Warning Signs You've Been Drugged After Having Her Drink Spiked At A Bar

*The following article contains discussion of sexual assault.

Going out for drinks can be a fun night out, but it can also be dangerous. As a part-time bartender on Twitter pointed out, it’s really easy for someone to mess with your drink.

Katherine Abughazaleh—a Media Matters correspondent—shared what she experienced when someone spiked her drink. She’s doing okay now, but is concerned with how easily it happened.

She shared her experience in the hope it can help others.

While she’s fine now, Abughazaleh didn’t share her story right away.

Part of it was out of a fear it would look like she was trying to get sympathy. Part of it was she needed time to piece together what exactly happened.

From there, she went into symptoms she experienced.

There’s a lot you can do to try and protect your drink, but it’s almost impossible to be completely safe.

Drinking in public settings has its own set of risks, but keeping your wits about you after the fact is important too.

Even though Abughazaleh is a bartender herself, she still fell victim to this. All she had was a single drink after shift.

But luckily someone was able to walk her home.

The information provided was discussed widely on Twitter.

People trying to drug someone’s drink is not uncommon.

But if you’re lucky, someone else will recognize what’s going on and step in to help.

Abughazaleh had that, which she says is the reason she’s okay today. But a lot of people need to be aware of the signs and know what to do after it happens.

Which some commenters were quick to provide.

According to “Just Think Twice,” a government run website with information about drugs and alcohol, there are some steps you can take after being drugged.

Get a friend to stay with you and file a police report with everything you remember.

Go to the hospital and ask for an exam and evidence collection so they can test for specific drugs and signs of assault.

And know there’s always help out there.

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If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault, help is out there. You can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 1-800-656-4673, use their Live Chat tool: https://www.rainn.org/get-help, or visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

In Canada, help is available through the Ending Violence Association of Canada website.