Alcohol & Peer Pressure
Peer pressure can have a big influence on the consumption of alcohol and it's habit. Drinking alcohol is such a big part of socialising these days, saying no can make you feel left out, or like youre not having as much fun.
First, lets understand whats peer pressure actually is.
Peer pressure is the influence you feel from others to do something you otherwise would not. A peer could be a friend, co-worker, classmate, or acquaintance. Peer pressure may occur directly or indirectly. Direct pressure involves peers explicitly asking you to do something. Indirect pressure happens when you witness others engaging in an activity and are motivated to do the same If our peers all seem to be doing something or have a certain opinion, we can feel under pressure to do or think the same so we dont get left out.
How can peer pressure affect your alcohol consumption?
Peer pressure can sometimes be a positive influence and keep you from over-doing it. If your friends tell you youve had enough to drink, you might feel pressured to stop.
But, peer pressure can also make you do stuff that doesnt match up with your sense of whats right and wrong.You could feel like youve had enough to drink on a night out, but your friends might make you drink more because everyone else is still drinking.They might not even realise theyre pressuring you, but it still puts you in a difficult position nonetheless. Individuals are more likely to give into peer pressure in social settings and are more likely to drink if those around them are. When attending social settings alone, a persons odds of drinking increase.
How can I avoid peer pressure?
Part of being yourself involves making decisions based on whats best for you. It can mean you take ownership and responsibility for what you do and how you think. It does not mean you cant be part of the group. You may even find that your friends or the people you work with appreciate you having your own perspective on things.
Some suggestions to help you manage peer pressure to drink:
Like-minds – Hanging out with people who like doing similar stuff may help you not to feel pressured into stuff you dont want to do. Being seen hanging out in the cool crowd may not be as much fun as it looks.
Saying no – Having the strength to say ‘no may be hard. However, it may also feel good to stick with what you believe in. Explaining to people in a calm way why you dont want to be part of something may earn you respect from others.
Some ways to do that could be :
Simply say no thank you.
Change the topic.
Suggest a different activity.
Enlist friends for support.
Leave the situation.
Take action – sometimes youre able to tackle peer pressure because you feel more confident in your environment. Standing up for someone else can also put a stop to peer pressure while still being positive and keeping the atmosphere light.
Pretend – instead of getting another drink, grab a soft drink and pretend its alcoholic. Sometimes people can be insistent, even when you say no (especially if theyre drunk). As a last resort, sometimes it can be easier just to pretend youre having a vodka and Coke when its really just a Coke. A white lie in times of need!
Get creative – think of stuff to do with your mates that doesnt revolve around drinking. Bit of a challenge here, but get creative and have a laugh with it!
Questions:
How do you think peer support can influence our alcohol habits?
Can you think of some more ways to avoid peer pressure?
Is there any incident/ events when you were influenced by the friend to drink? How did it go? (share with us if you are comfortable!)
Resources:
https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/alcohol/peer-pressure/
@suchanorigianlusername Hi such, welcome to 7Cups! I hope you are enjoying the community so far. Thank you so much for this well written, well organized post. Peer pressure and addiction definitely have a tendency to go hand in hand. I especially love how you define peer pressure. How do you think peer support can influence our alcohol habits?
As you mentioned, it can have both negative and positive impacts. It depends on your friends. Sometimes, they can help you from completely getting wasted. Other times, they may unfortunately pressure you to drink even if it is unwise. I think it also comes down to the indivdual. Some people are more vulnerable to peer pressure than others.
Can you think of some more ways to avoid peer pressure?
I think it helps to stay calm and not get too upset/agitated (or at least not show you are feeling that way). Being confident about yourself can make a difference and shows that you are not easily swayed. It can help in deterring future incidents.
Is there any incident/ events when you were influenced by the friend to drink? How did it go? (share with us if you are comfortable!)
I was at a birthday party for a friend back in college. One of my friends was trying to coax me to drink. Luckily, another person interjected, probably noticing how uncomfortable I was. He said that there is no pressure to drink.
@lovelyWhisper66 You got this!
Can you think of some more ways to avoid peer pressure?
Ditch the peers, ditch the pressure. Seriously, that's what I'm doing, and it's not without difficulty but I think it's the antidote to this era's biggest issues. I think there's a much bigger problem than alcohol - people are pushing this narrative that we're social creatures, which is a major oversimplification of human survival strategies. We don't need friends, we'd just rather not be fighting the entire species every time we get hungry. Without the constant need for obsessive socialisation, I can think of no good reason to guzzle down a pint of poison.
That same concept creates other problems too; things like anxiety, mob behaviour, worrying about whether your body's "good enough" (for what, UFC?), propaganda/marketing exploiting your social needs, and the obvious vulnerabilities that come from allowing strangers to influence you. Socialisation is a high cost, low profit technique that most seem to prefer for the security of it, but it's really not worth it if they're just going to make you drink yeast and dance to sex-offender music, there's no security in that.
@spacemanJ
I agree - tell people you're allergic. It's really no one's business is you drink or don't.
@suchanorigianlusername
I have faced many situation where I was offered a drink. I use to drink tons but I don't even dare to taste anymore. I think its because my group of friends are use to seeing me drink so much, it's only natural for them to offer even after I announced I don't drink anymore. I have never been in a situation where I felt uncomfortable saying no thank you. Luckily some friends in the same circle don't drink for other various reasonso I can only imagine how I would feel to be pressured but frankly, ones who don't care for your choice, shouldn't be someone you want to be around with all together. I've been around many people who constantly relapse because of their choice of places they like to hang out. It's not always just your will, it's also the effort to be in the right time and right places of your choice.
How do you think peer support can influence our alcohol habits?
In my opnion, Peer support is a big factor when it comes to addictive tenencies. When the question states; Peer Support it is not general in terms of all the factors that come with someones choices of influence. There is support out there thou not everyone has a friend or family to go seek it, or if they simply do not have the resources to contend. Having a support system when the person decides to change, and as mentioned if the person goes back into their environments, most of the time the chances of them relaspsing is quite high. A-lot of times in my experience; the support network is one that is not understood, they do not understand the severity of the prefer substance, like alcohol. The very same people who the person is trying so hard to get away from, or change. Is the way, who are the support they are use to, thou unfrotunately, its not one that understands. When people say; they need to make new friends or find people who have similar interest. I believe many do, but there is a big portion of people who do not. They stay and try to change within the social circles they are familar with. I also wanted to say that Peer Support, is great if its effective, and much needed, better than none thou at the same time; ADDICTION is a symtom.
Can you think of some more ways to avoid peer pressure?
There are many ways for a person to avoid peer pressure, and its very simple. Learn how not to be so social, I understand it is a innate human need for everyone to communicate or socialise. But lets think of all the consquences that can happened of the person is willing to go into the very circles of what they are trying to change from. I believe it is about life style, and its the choices the person wants or needs to make. There needs to be a greater purpose; you can say for the person in order to take action towards change. At the end of the day, It's about the process and the person, and if the person has to avoid by simply saying NO than it will have to be that way. When people change, from what they were similar, people who were in that very group, say they understand' But do they really....
Is there any incident/ events when you were influenced by the friend to drink? How did it go? (share with us if you are comfortable!)
When i told my friends; i quit drinking; and because i was different working towards a better version of myself, what people see similar has now been changed. I realised that when you make this decision, you can not go to these social events because people clearly don't care.
How do you think peer support can influence our alcohol habits?
I think its easier to crave an alcoholic drink when in a social event where others are drinking. It doesn't matter if someone is explicably pressuring you to join in or not.
Can you think of some more ways to avoid peer pressure?
I tell people the truth and I haven't had anyone press on further. I tell people that I choose not to drink and everyone understands.
Another great excuse is "I have to drive home after this" or "I'm the designated driver". No one will argue with that.
Is there any incident/ events when you were influenced by the friend to drink? How did it go? (share with us if you are comfortable!)
I've been lucky to have most people be understandable of my choice to not drink. Once I tell people that I don't partake, they try to pressure me.