When we talk about peer pressure, we often think of teenagers pressuring each other to make bad choices.
But adults can also deal with peer pressure, especially when it comes to drinking.
Summer is a prime time for gatherings that feature alcoholic beverages, and researchers took a closer look at the problem and the way to deal with it.
One study finds that 30% of adults feel pressured to drink while socializing, most often by friends or their partners.
And 43% have canceled plans to avoid the pressure. However, there is growing support for individuals interested in maintaining their sobriety.
From fruity drinks on the patio to beers at the barbecue and wedding season, too.
Summer can sometimes feel like “Happy hour” on repeat.
“It tends to be a fairly expected part of many group gatherings, many celebrations,” said Cleveland Clinic Addiction Psychiatrist Dr. Hannah Snyder. “If your sports team has won if your sports team has lost, all sorts of different get-togethers. And it can make up a majority of what that get-together often includes for people.”
Snyder says a little preparation can help you navigate peer pressure to drink. First, consider bringing your non-alcoholic beverage to the party.
Whether it’s a mocktail or water, having a drink in hand is a way to feel included and stop anyone from offering to grab you a drink.
Another option is to invite a friend who also isn’t drinking.
Depending on your comfort level, Snyder says you can also tell people you don’t want any alcohol beforehand.
And don’t feel pressured to explain why unless you want to.
“There’s so many reasons that people choose not to drink, and that list continues to lengthen,” Snyder said. “People are more accepting in general now than they have been in the past. It has been more of a social movement for people to go alcohol-free.”
That social movement has led to the growing popularity of Mocktails and non-alcoholic beers.
There has been an explosion of options and a dramatic improvement in taste, giving non-drinkers many options to sip something special and alcohol-free.
Experts say if there are no people in your circle of friends who don’t drink, it can also be helpful to follow sober influencers on social media or accounts that share ideas for mocktails to gain some of that support virtually.
Mocktails have been a trend for a while, but there was definitely a post-pandemic bump.
A lot of people found themselves drinking too much during that period and, afterward, looking for ways to cut back.
Dry January and Sober October have also become popular challenges. Introducing people to the idea of temporarily or permanently eliminating alcohol.
