How to Deal with Peer Pressure
Regardless of your familiarity with addiction, everyone experiences peer pressure in some form or another. Unfortunately, addiction and peer pressure can go hand in hand. Peer pressure can be the beginning of some people’s addictions, and peer pressure can be the reason that so many stay addicted.
Learning to deal with peer pressure in your communities can help you overcome your addiction and help you overcome your triggers, and help keep you on the path to sobriety.
Below we will discuss the different kinds of peer pressure and how you can learn to manage them responsibly. Peer pressure is a part of life that every adult must learn to deal with and cannot in any reasonable way avoid outright.
What Is Peer Pressure?
Peer pressure is any sort of behavior that involves one party trying to convince another person or group of people to do an action. This action can be something that they don’t necessarily want to do, or it can be something that they already want to do but just need some “encouragement” or peer pressure.
Peer pressure is often thought of as something that is only experienced in childhood. Maybe your parents advised you not to take any cigarettes from anybody no matter how cool they looked, and everyone has heard the classic “if all of your friends were jumping off of a bridge would you jump off as well?”
While the phrase might seem silly, it gets the point across. Humans are prone to stupid behavior, and that behavior becomes more acceptable in a group.
All of this said peer pressure is experienced in every stage of life. Nobody is immune to peer pressure, and thinking that you are is a good way to fall prey to negative peer pressure.
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Positive Peer Pressure
This might seem like an oxymoron at first, but it is actually a very common form of peer pressure and is often found in groups of friends that actively want to lift each other up.
Maybe your friend group has started training for a race or some sort of sporting event, and they might start working out or eating more healthy food. This might encourage you to eat healthier, and as a result, your life might improve. This is a type of positive indirect peer pressure.
These types of peer pressure should still be recognized as peer pressure – but a type that should be leaned into. If one has a community that they trust, they might get more of a chance to experience positive peer pressure.
Negative Peer Pressure
This is the kind of peer pressure that everyone is familiar with. This is the kind of peer pressure that is seen in the anti-smoking ads; it’s the type that your parents told you to be cautious of.
These types of behaviors are things that you want to avoid. You must make up your mind on what you are convinced of first, and then you can be ready to be influenced by negative or positive peer pressure.
Direct Peer Pressure
Direct peer pressure is when someone is actively pressuring someone into doing an action. This is usually negative peer pressure, but in some cases, it can be positive.
Direct peer pressure can be a real challenge to manage, especially if you are the type of person that doesn’t do well in public confrontation situations.
Indirect Peer Pressure
Indirect peer pressure is a little trickier than other types of peer pressure. This kind of peer pressure comes from a close person influencing the way one acts according to their own actions.
Someone once said that each person is the sum of the three people that they spend the most time with. If this is true, then indirect peer pressure is completely unavoidable. This makes choosing your group of friends even more important.
Indirect peer pressure can occur outside of your friend group, however. Maybe you associate a relaxed attitude with that stoner guy who hangs out around town – if you feel like you need to relax, you might think of that guy and subsequently want to use marijuana yourself. This is known as indirect peer pressure.
This can be a difficult journey, but you don’t have to go it alone. Let us be your guide and provide you the environment needed to regain control of your life and begin the path to recovery.
Peer Pressure and Addiction
Peer pressure and addiction go hand and hand. While not all types of peer pressure result in addiction, much of addiction can come from peer pressure. The people that you spend time with, the person that you want to become, will all be influenced by those around you.
Behavioral addictions can be learned, and they would be learned in situations where peer pressure is existent.
If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction, reach out to us at ecosoberhouse.com. We have the tools available to help those in need and are ready and willing to get you help.
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