Generally speaking, if a noun can be either countable or uncountable, and if you're speaking generally, use the uncountable form.
On the other hand if you're talking about specific things then use the countable form - for example you may be talking about the time you failed an exam and saying what a terrible experience that was.
In the original example, I think we're talking generally:
Other posts on GuruEAP examine other words that can be either countable or uncountable: