The Struggle of Peer Pressure

Did you know that there is both negative and positive peer pressure?  Most of us think of peer pressure as always being negative, like being pushed to do drugs and drink alcohol. However, peer pressure can be quite healthy when used in the proper scenario.  There are many other ways people can be pressured into doing something they really want to do or perhaps something that might be good for us.

For example, you have a huge test coming up and you know you need to go home after school to study, but your friend wants you to come over to play video games. You are faced with a choice, you can either go home and do what you know is right, or you can go enjoy video games with your friend and stress about studying later. This is just one example of peer pressure, but you can be pressured into doing anything if you are not careful! 

An example of positive peer pressure might look like this; you are very nervous to try out for the school basketball team, and just when you are about to quit and give up, your friend comes alongside of you and encourages you to go for it!  In this scenario, peer pressure is useful and encouraging. 

But, when it is used in negative, unhealthy ways, what do we do? More2Life encourages everyone, at any age, to have refusal skills. Refusal skills are what we use to get ourselves out of the situation. 

When someone is peer pressuring you to do something that you do not want to do, here are some refusal skills you can use:

·      Ignore them, pretend that you didn’t hear them

·      Make an excuse, “I’m not feeling well”

·      Leave the situation, physically get out of there

·      Make a joke about it

·      Change the subject

·      Suggest you do something else

·      Say no, and keep saying no, repeatedly

When you use refusal skills, you direct the pressure off of yourself.  The best thing to do when you are unsure, is to leave the situation and remove yourself entirely. This way you have no chance of giving in to what someone is trying to pressure you into doing. 

Peer pressure is challenging for all of us. But when you are equipped with the right skills and resources to say no to negative peer pressure, you set yourself up for success and you begin to eliminate the distractions that keep you from your goals.