Overcoming peer pressure
It is probable that you will find yourself continually surrounded by peer pressure throughout your life. And although some peer pressure scenarios may entail things like going to a friend’s home when your parents don’t want you to or staying out beyond your curfew, other situations may arise that will force you to make some very important personal choices. It is probable that you will be given the option to take drugs at some point in your life, no matter how hard you try to prevent it. Furthermore, if the individual who makes the offer is someone close to you, it may be tough to say no. Here are some suggestions for dealing with the pressure that comes with using drugs, so that you don’t end up doing something you don’t want to.
Determine the existence of a Peer Pressure Situation.
Recognizing where or from whom the pressure is from, as well as how it makes you feel, is essential.”
In many circumstances, you may be subjected to peer pressure without even realizing that you are doing so. For example, if you have known someone for a long time, you may just assume that what they are doing is typical. However, if you are feeling uneasy, you may not be aware that you are being subjected to peer pressure. It is critical that you recognize the problem and the specifics of what is being imposed on you in order to begin working on it. Once you have worked out all of the components of the equation, it will be lot simpler to figure out how to deal with the peer pressure issue that is linked with drug use.
Glaring oversights Should Be Considered
It is possible to convince yourself that a peer-pressured scenario is not as horrible as you may believe when you are initially faced with one. Furthermore, you may believe that abusing drugs once would have no ill effects in the long run.
Instead than dwelling on these negative ideas, consider how you will feel once the scenario has occurred. Following your drug use, do you expect to feel good about yourself or be pleased of your accomplishments? What are the long-term consequences of drug use, such as addiction and dependence? If others outside your peer pressure group find out you are doing drugs, how will they see you? It is frequently enough to think about the consequences of your conduct to steer you away from participating in drug usage as a result of social pressure and dissuade you from doing so.
Exercising the Art of Declining
Sitting in front of the mirror and telling yourself no over and over again may seem foolish at first, but it may really be very useful. As a matter of fact, by consistently practicing behaviors and teachings that you must use on a daily basis, many of them will get better as a result. You will be less intimidated when faced with a circumstance where you must say no to peer pressure if you have practiced saying no to it.
Overcoming Peer Pressure Requires a Lot of Help
Locating support might be one of the most effective methods of combating the peer pressure linked with drugs. For some individuals, this may involve having a supportive family who is always there for them when they need it the most emotionally. When you are under pressure from people that you may know from your personal life, having a solid family is very crucial. If, on the other hand, you are uncomfortable discussing drugs with your family, there are alternative support systems that may assist you. In particular, addicts who are attempting to avoid relapse as a result of peer pressure may find themselves in this situation.
Getting involved in inpatient treatment is a terrific opportunity to meet new individuals who have similar backgrounds to yours and who want to stay committed to their recovery objectives. It may be quite beneficial to have a support system that understands your desire to maintain your sobriety in the face of adverse social pressure.
Other People Shouldn’t Be Held Responsible
Maintain your composure and remember that no matter how much others urge you to use drugs, no one is going to force you to do so, and no one is going to restrain you or coerce you. So you should accept responsibility for your conduct and refrain from attempting to place blame on others. Trying to find someone else to blame is an excuse that will enable you to forgive yourself for your behavior, which is counterintuitive to your purpose of avoiding pressure.
In certain cases, it might be quite difficult to escape peer pressure. Anyone, regardless of their age, might find it difficult to cope with the behavior of others, particularly those who are close to them. You may, however, learn to fight the peer pressure that comes with drug usage if you keep the advice in this article in mind.
Peer pressure is a phenomenon that we all experience. Because of this, we should not anticipate our lives to resemble the lives of other people (unbelievers) in this world, according to the Bible. The Bible says that we, as Christians, are foreigners and strangers on this planet (1 Peter 2:11), and that this world is not our permanent residence. It is likely that we may encounter the same sorts of individuals who despised Christ for his religion, just as Christ was rejected—and continues to be rejected—by so many who wish to live their lives in their own, sinful manner.
We learn how to recognize whether or not we are Christians in the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians. Another thing Paul stresses (see 1 Thessalonians 1:6) is that we should be able to rejoice despite our circumstances. As Christians, we should anticipate to face hardships and persecution; yet, we should take comfort in the knowledge that God is in charge and will right whatever wrongs that have been done to us or our families. This church was still experiencing difficulties, as Paul explains in 2 Thessalonians 3. He assured them that when Christ comes and God judges the world, God “will repay difficulty to those who bother you and provide relief to you who are disturbed, as well as to us” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).
Many Christians will never experience pain as great as that endured by the Christians in Thessalonica, or even as those living in modern-day Sudan who are slain for their religion, but we will still suffer in minor ways, such as the psychological anguish of peer pressure.
Which passages of Scripture provide guidance on coping with social pressure? We will experience many hardships in our life, particularly those involving unbelievers, and the Bible does not use the term “peer pressure,” but it does provide guidance on how to cope with them. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be changed by the renewing of your mind,” says the Bible’s Romans chapter 12 verse 2. Afterward, you will have the ability to examine, evaluate, and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasant, and perfect will.
‘Bless those who persecute you; bless them rather than cursing them,’ reads Romans 12:14-16. You should celebrate with the happy and weep alongside the sad. Maintain a sense of community among one another. Maintain your modesty while being eager to mingle with those in lower social strata. Keep your ego in check.”
“Therefore, make up your minds for action; exercise self-control; and fix your hopes entirely on the grace that will be shown to you when Jesus Christ is revealed,” reads First Peter 1:13-21. Children of obedience, do not give in to the wicked impulses that you harbored while living in ignorance. For since he who called you is holy, so should you strive to live a holy life as well. It is written: ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’
Due to the fact that you invoke a Father who assesses each man’s labor impartially, you should spend your lives as strangers in this place, filled with reverent terror. Remember, it was not with perishable goods such as money or gold that you were rescued from the meaningless way of life that had been passed down to you from your predecessors, but rather with the valuable blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or flaw. However, he was selected long ago and exposed just in these latter days for your sake and the sake of the world. Your faith and hope are in God because of him, for God resurrected him from the grave and exalted him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
It also informs us that we may put our confidence in God, who will work all things together for the welfare of His children (Romans 8:28).
Although we are promised an easy life in the Bible, we are also promised a life that will bring glory to God as we learn tough lessons and face Satanic assaults that would be impossible to conquer without the help of God. As God transforms us throughout our lives, we are being “conformed to the image of [Christ]” (Romans 8:29-30). Remember that Christ himself was tempted in every manner that we have been; He knows how difficult it is to go through life. In spite of this, the Bible assures us that God will give a way out of whatever difficulty we may be facing (1 Corinthians 10:13). Place your whole and total confidence and faith in the Almighty and in God’s plan. Allow Him to be your only source of strength and guidance (Philippians 4:13). (Psalm 23).
For the rest of our lives, peer pressure will be a transient memory. It is primarily motivated by insecurity and a desire for approval on the part of all those who are subjected to peer pressure. In the long run, most individuals recognize that threatening others in order to make them feel important is manipulative and immature behavior.
The majority of people who have been followers eventually discover that it is more essential to make their own judgments and be themselves than to be dominated by another. What may the scenario, we must resist the temptation to give in to peer pressure. God will be pleased if we stand up for what we believe in and what the Bible says. It has been the brave who have stood up for unpopular ideals who have changed the world and brought about positive change throughout history.
A great deal has to be changed in our world, and there are a great number of individuals who need to hear the gospel message. We are doing precisely what Satan wants us to do by allowing other people to dictate our actions and behavior. If, as a result of social pressure, we never speak up for what is right, we are really standing up for what we believe is evil.
