How To Avoid Peer Pressure
Peer pressure is not a thing of the past; it does not only target children and adolescents. It finds its way in the adult population just as easily; especially the peer pressure to use drugs. The effect of drugs on the human psyche is so powerful that it motivates the users to have those around them experience the same pleasure.
Not all drug-taking is a selfish act; group members often attempt to influence outsiders to join their group and take a hit. This occurs for various reasons:
- To bond
- To gain money
- To influence others
- To gain respect
- To share the drug experience and pleasure
A group is often run by a leader who takes charge and calls the shots. But in this case, the leader is often the drug. Drugs are influencing the behavior of a group; they are making the group perform the act of peer pressure in order to attract new users. Drugs have a very deadly way of spreading.
Avoiding peer pressure is not always easy. Many people complain of feeling very anxious when in a situation involving peer pressure; especially related to drug consumption. They are afraid that by saying no, the group will become upset with them or may even try to fight them.
The worst thing that you can do is to cave and try the drug. When you give in to peer pressure, you are essentially saying to the group, “you have defeated me, I am now yours.” What will most likely happen is that you will like the feeling from the drug and will rationalize in your mind that “this is not so bad.”
That is when you undergo metamorphosis into a new persona; the drugs are rewiring your brain and your perception of yourself and the environment. You are becoming the drug. And guess what? It all feels good. You feel transformed, empowered, unleashed and vibrant; you are a new person.
Until the drug takes over and you become hooked. And life is never the same ever again. So how do you avoid peer pressure in the first place? It takes a strong inner core where you feel comfortable with who you are as a person and your place in society. You have to be in a state of mind where you have learned how to minimize your weaknesses and maximize your strengths.
Rejecting peer pressure should not affect you; meaning, it should not make you feel bad that you rejected others’ offers. You know what your path is, therefore, you have no problem avoiding peer pressure. You are also a good anticipator: you can visualize the consequences of falling for peer pressure and starting drugs.
In the end, it’s not the peer pressure that captures your heart and mind; it’s the leader of the group, which in every case is the drug.
Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)
DSM (Defeating Stigma Mindfully) 