You feel some kind of pressure inside you, a pressure to say YES to fit in with the crowd or that environment. Everyone around you is laughing, dancing, and having a great time. Suddenly someone offers you a drink, even though you know you are not supposed to be drinking yet. It is that comparison voice in the back of your mind urging you to conform to the expectations and behaviors of those around you.

• Most importantly, true friendships arising from mutual care make you feel free as compared to those conditioned on some rules at the time of how to tackle peer pressure.
• If peer pressure has negatively impacted your life, a therapist can offer compassionate and confidential help.
• In addition, influencers are continually posting exotic pictures of themselves in expensive gowns and taken by professional photographers.

About This Article

We often think of peer pressure as being something that mainly affects younger people. But when it comes to drinking, peer pressure can affect us at any age. As we get older, we may just not recognise it as such, as pressure from how to deal with peer pressure other people can become more subtle. Peers play an important role in many people’s lives, especially in late childhood and adolescence when young people attempt to become more independent, gain acceptance, and build an identity.

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Before understanding how to overcome this or deal with this problem let’s have a look at the different types of peer pressure that you experience in your life. When you know these types it becomes easy for you to deal with these pressures. Do you find yourself making decisions based on what others expect of you rather than what you truly want? Peer pressure is something we all encounter at some point in our lives whether it’s in school/college, at work, or within our social circles. To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.

Encourage a Wide Social Network

Avoiding blame or judgment can help your child feel more comfortable coming to you about anything. Or maybe they start pulling all-nighters, trying to keep up with the other members of a study group they’ve joined. Maybe your middle schooler’s friend convinces them to join the theater club, even though they have an intense fear of crowds and public speaking. You agree it’s often easier to try something new when you take a friend along.

More on this topicFor Kids

• Learning to stand up for yourself and your beliefs and to look ahead to consequences of your actions are important steps in becoming a responsible adult.
• It would be good for teens to surround themselves with people their age who have the same interests and share the same behavior.
• You agree it’s often easier to try something new when you take a friend along.
• However, doing so would violate your principles and possibly corrupt your future.
• For example, if you’re active in sports, your teammates probably pressure you to be the best you can be.

There might be many cases in which you have experienced peer pressure, but you don’t want to respond to it, so you can think of a response which can help you to escape from that situation. This process will help you to handle peer pressure if you face it during that time. When your mates pressure you to do or go along with something you don’t like, it’s a form of peer pressure.

Surrounding Yourself With Better People

• You can experience peer pressure from people without them saying anything to you, and you can experience it from direct remarks made by others.
• It can be difficult to find the right way to say no to friends and classmates, especially if you are worried about possible consequences such as bullying, social isolation, or rejection.
• This type of peer pressure is direct, spoken or unspoken, and negative.