Reasons why you shouldn't give into social pressures

There is something about pressure from loved
ones, peers and people in our social circle that
places such a heavy weight on us. It makes it
difficult to do anything but give in and dance
to their rhythm. Sometimes, it works out well
for us, but most times it doesn’t.
Jumia Travel, the online travel agency, shares
4 reasons to strengthen your resolve and put
off the weight of societal pressure. Remember,
you are not in this world to live up to the
expectations of others; you therefore have to
be strong, assertive and learn to pave your
own path. This way your decisions are your
decisions and your mistakes are your mistakes.
You’ll learn and live better this way.
Anger and Resentment
When you give in to societal pressure, you are
doing something against your beliefs, principles
and most importantly against your will. There
is little chance that such will not give you a
load of anger issues to deal with. You’ll find
yourself angry at those who pressured you,
yourself for giving in and everything that
becomes a consequence of your actions. You
weren’t given a choice, now you are stuck with
what you didn’t want or choose, that’s enough
to make anyone angry and resentful, and that’s
not a life to live.
Depression
Especially if you give into societal pressure and
things don’t work out well, you become sad
and disappointed in yourself for not being
assertive enough to stand your ground and
giving in. Such feelings of sadness and
disappointment if experienced for a prolonged
period, without being checked or treated, can
degenerate into depression. The individual thus
falls into bouts of depression, and in extreme
cases, self-hatred and suicidal thoughts and
feelings.
Loss of Individuality
Each time you give into societal pressure, you
are more or less compelled into going by
everything your peers, loved ones and those in
your social circle think is right. You tend to
blindly imitate them, adopt their tastes and
force yourself to begin to see things the way
they do. Ultimately, their likes become yours,
their ideals become yours, their beliefs become
yours, and their pressures become yours. You
thus lose your original way of looking at life,
which eventually devastates your confidence.
Eating Disorders
Particularly for those under societal pressure
for their bodies to look a certain way or be a
certain size, disordered eating like binging and
purging result from the struggle to regulate the
negative effects of this pressure. The person
therefore binges to feel better after a period of
restrained eating, and then purges (self-
induced vomiting, intake of diuretics,
performing enemas and laxative abuse) to
relieve the emotions of depression, anxiety and
guilt caused by binging. Also, over-eating or
binge-eating to gain more weight because of
perceived ‘over-thinness’ is another example of
this kind of disordered eating.