Learning how to deal with peer pressure 

Knowing how to handle peer pressure can be difficult, but there are ways to confront these challenging situations.

As you navigate life as a teen, you’ll face peer pressure from time to time.  

Peer pressure, whether big or small, affects practically everyone in their lives. It could involve small things, such as being pressured by your friends to go to the movies, or it could have a big impact on your life if you get involved with drugs and alcohol.   

While it isn’t necessarily bad to experience peer pressure, it’s important to understand the potential negative implications it can have on you.  

How peer pressure can impact you 

When people hear the term “peer pressure,” they might immediately believe it to be something negative, but this isn’t always the case. Peer pressure can impact your life in different ways, sometimes positive and sometimes negative.  

According to clinical social worker Carrie Silver-Stock, as reported by LoveToKnow, some positive effects of peer pressure include improved grades, confidence, and relationships with others. If you surround yourself with positive influences, you will see positive benefits in your life. For example, if you have friends who are eager to get in shape and want you to workout with them, you might start going to the gym  which will have positive implications on your physical health.  

However, being around negative influences can have severe implications on your life. Some of these negative impacts can complicate your relationship with your family, affect your ability to get into post-secondary education or lead to substance abuse issues, crime or even death.  

“Negative peer pressure can be detrimental to self-esteem, influence clear decision-making, and increase stress,” says Silver-Stock.   

In an interview with NIH News in Health, Dr. Emily Falk at the University of Pennsylvania discusses how teens are more responsive to peer pressure and easily influenced into risky behaviours. These risky behaviours can include smoking, drinking, using drugs and driving recklessly.  

“Research shows that even just having another peer around can change the reward response in the brain and also the risk-taking tendencies of teenagers,” she says.  

Identifying peer pressure situations

Knowing how to identify when you’re being peer pressured can be difficult because not every situation is the same.  According to KidsHealth, a helpful way to deal with peer pressure is to understand what you are comfortable with and to decipher right from wrong.  

The article mentions how the pressure to conform is powerful and hard to resist. This might make people do certain things just because others are doing them. If you can’t find a good explanation for doing something other than the fact that others are doing it as well, it likely means you are giving in to some form of peer pressure.  

People usually give into peer pressure so they don’t get made fun of or insulted, or so they don’t appear weird or uncool. Adolescents are typically more insecure about themselves and their image, making them more likely to follow what others do instead of making their own decisions. 

All of this comes down to being comfortable with yourself and your own decisions. This is difficult if you’re a teenager or still in school because your friends and peers play a big role in your decisions and how you.

However, as you begin to navigate life and have different experiences, you’ll understand yourself better and what you believe in. Having your own set of morals will guide you on the right path with what you decide to do.  

Learning how to approach challenging circumstances 

Approaching situations where you’re being peer pressured may seem daunting at first, especially if you don’t know what to do in such an instance. It’s important to understand the actions you could take to avoid scenarios that make you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, a simple “No” could quickly get you out of these instances.

However, knowing multiple ways to deal with peer pressure could help you feel more comfortable confronting these situations. You could be insistent on declining what others want you to do or ask them questions about why they’re doing what they’re doing.  

If you have other friends with you, you could consult them about the situation and back each other up if you both feel uncomfortable. Speaking with an adult is also a good idea because they can help guide you to the best decision for yourself, especially if you are unsure of what to do.  

Walking away or trying to avoid those situations could also help. Taking the time to consider all your options or the consequences of making that decision could help you come to the best conclusion for yourself.  

Also, finding a new friend group may be the best option for you. If your friends always try to get you to do things that you don’t want to do, you should question if they are truly your friends.  

Surround yourself with people who share the same morals and beliefs. You’ll likely be much happier and stress-free as a result. Being around people who are good influences will lead you towards making positive choices rather than negative ones.