Teenage Peer Pressure

Teenage peer pressure can be damaging to your self-esteem and cause you to do things you don't want to do. Dealing with peer pressure is difficult, but not impossible. Find out how you can free yourself from the pressure your "friends" put on you.

Resisting peer pressure is difficult but possible!

If some of your "friends" are pressuring you, you may wonder why they won't take "no" for an answer or why you feel so guilty and afraid to refuse what they want you to do. You want them to be your friends, but you don't want to do something that is against what you feel and believe in. What happens is that you feel conflicted. You don't want to lose them as friends or hear them make fun of you but you also don't want to what they want -- so the pressure is on.

Why do your friends want you to do things you don't want to do? It's all about control. They want to see how much power they have over you. The more you do, the more power you give them to continue to pressure you. They will want to see how far you will go.

You may think giving into your friends' requests will make them like you more, but in actuality, many times, it will ultimately ruin your friendship with them. As they find that you are so easy to mold, they will lose interest and move on. Instead of you joining the pack, they will leave you behind, scarred and feeling horrible about yourself.

Resisting teenage peer pressure means standing up for what you believe is right and wrong. You can be strong if you are able to show your friends that you won't back down. Your friends may shun you for not following the pack, but if they are really your friends they will respect you and accept what you will or will not do.

The following are some types of peer pressure and information on how you can stand strong and resist them.

If a friend comes up to you offering you a cigarette, drugs or alcohol, you can simply tell him/her that you don't do smoke or drink. If your friend calls you a name and laughs, walk away. It will be hard and it won't feel good to hear your friend belittle you, but know that you've made the right choice.

The same goes for a group, if they are all trying to get you to try something, politely decline, if they don't stop, turn around and walk away.

If you aren't ready for sex, just tell your boyfriend/girlfriend that you aren't ready and that you will let him/her know when you are. If you are still feeling pressured, you must make a difficult decision about whether or not you should break up with him/her. You may not want to because you love your boyfriend/girlfriend and he/she loves you too, but remember; someone who loves you will respect and accept you and your decisions. Have confidence in yourself to decide when you are ready to have sex without having someone else impose his/her feelings and beliefs onto you.

If your friends are talking about their sexual activities and asking you when you are going to start having it, tell them that you don't like talking about it. You don't have to answer whether you have done it or not. You'd be surprised at how many teens actually haven't had sex but talk like they have to fit in.

If you're hanging out with your friends and they want you to do something that you know isn't right, you should tell them that you don't agree with it and won't do it. You don't have to go into the reasons why you won't do it because they will just think you are lecturing them and it will fuel their attack on you. Simply say you won't do it and end the discussion. If they won't stop pressuring you or make fun of you for not doing it, walk away.

You've probably noticed a common theme in the ways to resist peer pressure from above, state your decision and walk away if your friends don't stop pressuring. You can do this for any type of situation. If you can't walk away for some reason, stand your ground until they get bored of attacking you. It may feel like forever before they stop, but they will. It's important not to lose control of yourself and start arguing with them, it will only give them more reasons to continue to put the pressure on. It will hurt, you will feel horrible, but when they stop, you will be so glad that you didn't give in. The long-term benefits of not giving in are worth the short-term benefits of being accepted temporarily.

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