LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA• 19
- My good friend has started taking drugs and often asks me to try. I like my friend and do
not want to lose the friendship. How can I help him or her and myself? - Friends are sitting together after several drinks and someone suggests having a last
round before they leave. After a large number of drinks, reaching home could be a
problem. Yet everyone is saying that one more will not be harmful; - Your exam is tomorrow and you have got a lot of studying to do. A friend gives you a pill,
which he promises will keep you awake; - B lost his wallet and his entire month’s salary. He is feeling really bad about it. His friends
invite him for a drink and say he will feel better; and/or - After the movie, everyone was hanging around. Then someone started smoking a
cigarette and passed it around. It has come to you. Your friend say, all of us are smoking
it, why do not you?
- List all the techniques you can use to protect yourself. Add to this list if some more are required.
Discuss effects of drugs with friends and agree to some rules. The rules could be:
- One person must remain sober to protect others from making a wrong decision;
- Limit consumption by decreasing quantities of alcohol and drinking fewer times a week;
- Support friends who, like you, are trying to abstain or be responsible;
- Practice saying “no,” be assertive;
- Say to yourself, “enough is enough” and move out of a situation to think clearly;
- Leave if you cannot handle the situation;
- Carry a condom; and
- Take help from a trusted person.
Review- Do you think the methods were appropriate?
- Would they work in a real life situation?
- What do you do if it is difficult to refuse a friend?