After exploring drugs, addiction, and the associated physical and psychological effects, this week we moved on to understanding peer pressure and alternative methods of relieving stress. To begin with, we did a demonstration activity in which one or two students were asked to leave the classroom; we asked the rest of the class to stop all other activities and put their heads down. When the students outside returned, they copied everyone else without being asked to do so. We used this to demonstrate and discuss what spoken and unspoken peer pressure are. When it came to giving examples, each grade actively spoke about when one can experience peer pressure both inside and outside of school.
The next day, we brought the students to the computer lab and asked them to sit on the floor for a meditation session. After meditating for seven minutes, we asked them how they felt. We were happy to see that most students gave us positive feedback. Post meditation, we discussed how meditation can be used to not just relieve stress, but also to gain control over our minds. Harveen and I explained that meditation is one way they can stay away from drugs; by knowing themselves and their values well and having a firm mind, they can say no to drugs.
Combatting peer pressure and saying no when needed are very important skills that we want our students to develop during our workshop series. Thus, our next discussion was about understanding that we cannot avoid situations where we will be pressured to do something that is against our values; however, what we can do is refuse to give in to peer pressure. One way is to think of oneself as a leader. We explained that a leader is someone who not only helps other people in need, but also knows how to take care of himself or herself; he or she is not afraid to say no even to his/her closest friends if that means doing the right thing. It was quite apparent that students had never thought of a leader this way before.
We ended week three by continuing our research at the Bhatia Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital & De-Addiction Centre in Amritsar and also scheduling more interviews at another center. Our next week is packed with more interviews and final workshops. We are also excited to evaluate the impact of our workshops on our students and develop a drug addiction workshop curriculum that can be implemented at any school.