When people hear the term ‘peer pressure’ most of them will automatically think you are talking about teens. That is not necessarily so. It does affect teens more than any other age group, but there are a large number of adults who are just as easily pressured by their peers. It most definitely occurs with college age kids. It also happens to several people at their jobs and during their socializing events. There is almost always a drink pusher at parties. You know the kind I’m talking about. They are drinking to excess and think everyone else should too. Some of those parties include drugs. If you’re there, they want you to participate. If you decline, your peers start pressuring you. Peer pressure is a problem that follows some people through a good part of their lives. Some teens, young adults as well as older adults would never have tried drugs that first time if they hadn’t been pressured into it by someone. Not all peer influence is bad. In fact peers have a profoundly positive influence on each other and play important roles in each others lives. Positive peer pressure includes friendship, the setting of positive examples, encouragement, new experiences, feed back and advice.
Negative peer pressure might have you considering, or worse, doing something that is illegal or immoral. The person who pressures is usually an aggressive person who doesn’t like to take no for an answer. They have 6 reasons for you to do something, to your every 1 reason not to. It actually takes a strong person to resist negative peer pressure. Teens are still going through a maturing stage so it is harder for them to resist. Adults should have already reached the point where this is not much of a problem. Adults, who still can be pressured negatively, were probably pressured as teens and just never overcame it.
There are some things you can do to bolster your courage and overcome this problem. Listen to your gut. Maybe this person is not really your friend. Plan for possible pressure situations and avoid them if you can, like parties where you are pretty sure there will be drugs. Learn to say ‘no’ comfortably. You should never have to offer a real friend any reason or apology for the way you feel. It’s not easy to resist, but it is a learned process. If you or a loved one suffers from an addiction, A Better Tomorrow is waiting to hear from you.
If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center today. We are here to help.
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Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
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Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
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http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/
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