Peer Pressure

Now a days there is an insane amount of pressure on kids, and not just from one or two people. Almost everyone in your life is pressuring you in one way or another. There’s peer pressure from your classmates and friends. Peer pressure is probably the most versatile type of pressure. It’s not just one or two specific things, peer pressure has a huge range, and is worst than any other type of pressure. Stay strong it gets better, and if you resist you’ll feel better too. You might not believe this, but your peers will respect you more for standing your ground. The same thing happened to me, and when I refused to back down they treated me with more respect, and less pressure, because they knew I wasn’t going to cave. Here are some things I’ve found helpful when facing peer pressure. 1. If it’s someone you know, in your mind pretend like they’re a stranger. It’s easier to resist someone you don’t know than someone you do know. I know it may sound silly, but if your friend wants you to do something wrong than at that moment they aren’t your friend. 2. Practice saying NO! If you know a peer is going to try and pressure you into doing something practice either in your head or out loud how to respond. Then respond the same way when they ask you, make yourself say it. 3. Stand up for yourself If someone is trying to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do that person is bullying you. There are three choices on how to deal with bully’s Don’t do anything and suffer through it (in some cases that could be years) Deal with it yourself (That can either be easier or harder depends on the case) Tell someone and get help dealing with them ( Easiest and most productive route) I’ve found the last two to be more effective than the first one, because depending on the case it could be a constant thing for years. Putting up with that is bad on not only your emotional well being, but your physical well being also, because it could become so bad that you continually get sick or stop eating. I strongly recommend choice number three. Tell someone older than you a parent, teacher, or even older friend. Ask them what they think you should do, because there is a very strong possibility that person has gone through the same things your going through. There is a light at the end of the tunnel (Just don’t go towards it!!!) It may be hard to talk about or even embarrassing, but it can be worth it in the end. Try it and see what I mean.