Social pressure forces people to take wrong decisions about relationships and careers. This type of stress is unobvious, making a person insecure and causing long-term impacts on mental health.
Recently, a television show called Inside the Factory was showing how a classic Windsor chair is made in a factory. The most interesting part was when the carpenter/engineer took the straight log of mildly steamed wood, put it into a horseshoe curved metal frame, put pressure on it from below and above, and two heavy metal boulders from the right and left sides. When the engineer pressed a pedal fixed into the machine, all pressure points brought the wood slowly into a curved shape.
Our personalities are also shaped slowly by the pressure on us by society. Things like society’s preconceived notions of security, time and age, expectations and comparisons are some factors that constantly change us and our opinions. You can also add your versions of whatever direct or indirect pressure you have ever felt that might have forced you into making tough decisions.
Though all genders face different types of social pressure, people who are suffering from long-term genetic illnesses and victims of sexual abuse, are often treated unreasonably. Silence then becomes this dark place of refuge that holds hope like the last end of a burning candle.
In this post, we will examine how the stress of social pressure shapes our perspectives and if we have the power to choose the path that is least harmful to our mental health.
Disclaimer: All contents in this post are for general health information only. Please consult a specialist physician or a coach before trying any new exercise, diet or health advice. There are no affiliate links attached to this post.
POST CONTENTS
• Social pressure and age factor
• Gender politics and mental health
• Two sides of the same coin
SOCIAL PRESSURE AND AGE FACTOR
The different types of social pressures that everyone faces are family expectations, peer pressure, and socioeconomic goals. Starting by dealing with school life and then peer pressure as a teenager. As adults, we face the pressure of getting a good job, getting married and having kids before the doomsday age of 40. And the list is unending. You may not regret the decisions made due to social pressure because it challenged you to go for it, take the risk, and therefore get mature and take on additional responsibilities.
Our thoughts and perspectives are shaped by the surroundings we grew up in. Social pressure feels like a burden because of expectations and comparisons. Spending time on social media and looking at other people’s “happy” life, can create an illusion about your “uneventful” life. Making a conscious decision or fixing a day of ‘social media break’ by spending time in nature or playing outdoor sports with friends and family can improve your mental and physical health.
The escape is not easy because there are other things that society thinks fit should be done according to your age. Fighting with people’s set beliefs is a struggle. For example, a young entrepreneur’s idea is doubted because he hasn’t got experience and may impact his financial loan capability, resulting in him giving up his goals. Or if an elderly woman decides to go on a solo trip leaving behind the usual things that she is expected to do like spending time with grandchildren, is often seen as being careless or selfish.
These are some unspoken stressful situations, but we need to keep dreaming and trying new things.
GENDER POLITICS AND MENTAL HEALTH
Gender politics is a complex term referring to the misuse of power because of gender bias. However, I am using this term in a slightly different way here regarding some recent shocking incidents in India.
A powerful politician and the chief of the Wrestling Foundation of India is a serial sexual abuser of female wrestlers. It’s been five months since the Olympic wrestling champions of India have been protesting in front of the parliament to seek justice against him. Many disturbing ordeals of sexual harassment, demanding bribes, inappropriate sexual advances, and threats have been reported by the victims. Only an FIR has been registered against this politician, and that too after the intervention of the Supreme Court of India. He is still free to talk to the media claiming his innocence and questioning the silence of athletes when they were being honoured with awards nationally.
It’s not surprising that victims of sexual abuse, whether women or men are scared to report it because of social pressure. Many victims could only find the courage after many years to speak up. And they are dismissed by society as faking it or ruining the reputation of a powerful person at a convenient time.
Another way social pressure impacts our minds is when searching for a life partner. Relationships are complicated, and if you are unhappy together, then moving on is a practical solution. Most of the time, lack of proper communication creates unknowing issues that could have been resolved if addressed soon. We can blame our busy lives but taking important issues for granted soon results in personal life affecting work and our loved ones. Whenever you feel like there’s no one to listen to you or that your needs are ignored, breaking the silence and talking to your partner helps in examining issues and trying to resolve things together.
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Social pressure can also make or break your career goals. Meaning of success is equivalent to money and materialistic things. I have read many stories of successful businessmen and women facing burnout at the peak of their careers. Finally, they found peace in learning and teaching yoga.
It isn’t just about what defines success to you. But it is also about reflecting on your goals that may change at any age. Choosing a career path because of peer pressure may or may not be successful, but it is stressful. You may be earning more, living comfortably, and fulfilling everyone’s wishes, but that stress later creeps into having unjust expectations from your children.
Everyone wants financial security, but life is not about how long we live but how well we live. There’s a lot to learn from people suffering from life-threatening diseases. They teach us that time is more precious than money.
Final Thoughts
Whether you think social pressure is good or bad, it follows us silently throughout our lives like a shadow. I like to stay fit mentally and physically to silently fight the social pressure that sometimes feels like a burden. Social pressure keeps us on our toes. Challenging and stressful though it is to maintain balance while juggling different roles and multitasking, silence may be our only option to stay sane. At the same time we should try to raise our voices for oursevles and other less fortunate to fight the storms of life.
You can connect with me on Twitter and Goodreads.
References
Social Anxiety, Social Media and your Mental Health, 19 January 2022, by Jessica Brown.
https://www.wpa.org.uk/health-wellbeing/articles/social-anxiety
How Peer Pressure Affects All Ages, By Michelle Pugle Published on September 13, 2022, Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/peer-pressure-in-teen-and-adult-life-5323858
strongfitnessmoves 
All the time we are under pressure! Good post 👍very valuable
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Thank you so much, Priti. 😊
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There has been so much social pressure and it seems to be getting worse. Thank you for bringing this informative and educational to light. It’s sad that people have a need to pressure other people into believing and living as they do.
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People need to accept and respect each other’s perspective even if it is different from theirs. Everyone has their own journey and pressuring someone makes it difficult to make correct decisions.
Thank you so much for reading and liking this post.
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Yes they do. When I was a child and through my forties, people did respect other people and their point of view. It’s sad the world has come to this. You’re welcome!
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Social pressure has ruined my life from a very early age, because racism was front an centre when I was a child. I was raised on how society fears Black men, and as a Black man that has always stuck with me. I’m always concerned about my presence in White spaces as a result
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Nobody should be made to feel less than or different because of their skin colour. I am so sorry that you had to face bias as a child. It’s heartbreaking. Though people don’t talk openly but racism is quite common in India too. I know it because being a brown girl, people always assumed that I belong to a certain class and therefore they treated me differently. There are many Indian tv productions who don’t want to take brown girls for performances as an actor or as a dancer. But I was accepted as a teacher. Indirectly, I was forced to choose a position where I was backstage.
This is the first time I have openly talked about racism in India because of the stress of social pressure.
Thanks for sharing your personal struggles with me. Take care. 🙏
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Thank you for sharing such an important post that we can all relate to, which is social pressures. It’s very real and having these conversations helps us find a balance in knowing that we’re not alone.
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I started blogging because I felt the need to express some thoughts that were disturbing me. Connecting with like-minded bloggers helped me find a balance that I was seeking. My stress was probably because of some kind of social pressure so thank you for reading and liking this post, Winnie.
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Thank you so much for this post! Sending love and light!
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Thank you so much Natasha for reading and liking this post. I checked out your blog and it’s beautiful. I look forward to reading interesting articles on your blog.
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This topic is strong!!
Yes, pressure can make or break a person. But, yes it impacts the personality. Many a times we stop ourself from doing certain things in the fear of this pressure.
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Thank you for reading and liking this post, Devang. We dream, we journal, we plan, we decide, and just then a negative comment by someone pushes us back to rethink our decisions. Life becomes complex when we have to choose between what we believe in and what the society expects from us.
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Well society influence our choices a lot
But when the time comes, this society never help.
This post was thoughtful
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The stresses brought by social pressures are very real and actually killing people. Whether we work with them or against them, they are always a big part of our life. Really great post on an important topic.
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Thank you so much Pooja for your comment. After posting it, I realised that I have written on a very dense topic. But when I constantly heard from my friends and on media about the impact of social pressure, then I couldn’t stop myself from writing about it. The stress is so mild but yes it’s real and most of the time we don’t realise that it’s affecting other areas of our lives.
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Sometimes it’s great to write on more heavier topics too.
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