Tip 19: Refusal Skills
It gets soooo damn old going to parties and being pressured to drink. Sometimes people just slam the drinks into your hand and other times it is a bit subtler. Thoughts?
Amy M., North Dakota State University, Sophomore
I have my act together as far as school goes. I get good grades. I have a great girlfriend. I am on the baseball team and we are a Division One team. The problem is that when I go to parties I like to have just a few but all my friends and teammates want me to drink more. What can I do to get them off my back at parties?
Anonymous, Freshman
If you are being pressured to drink but you really would rather not, try these responses:
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No thank you… no thank you… no thank you… no thank you. (until the person gives up)
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Why is it so important to you that I drink?
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I take my (athletic, academic, etc) performance very seriously and don’t want anything to get in the way of my success.
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I have a (test, practice, recital, work, meeting, class, date, etc.) tomorrow.
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I am just getting over mono (or some other contagious disease) and I need to be careful. (cough in the person’s direction when answering)
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Back off! (or any other four letter word you care to insert)
Amy, here’s another idea. In a national survey of college students approximately 10% of the respondents said they had carried around a drink making it look like they were drinking but they really were not. Carrying a non-alcoholic drink or nursing your beer is one way to curtail the pressures from others.
Tips.
Once you have established the reputation of being a low-risk drinker, the pressure tends to subside. It takes awhile to establish that status but have patience. Sooner or later others will get the message and reduce the pressure.