A Day In My Head

Under Pressure

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets

As far as I'm concerned, there are 4 types of pressure.

The first is quite obvious - peer pressure. We get this all the time. "You should do this" from our friends. "Why don't you just do that" from our acquaintances. "Do this or I'll knock your teeth out" from our enemies. It can be useful or harmful, E.g. being pressured to start snorting cocaine is harmful peer pressure, but being pressured to stop might be helpful.

The second is slightly less obvious. Pressure from yourself. Your constantly pressuring yourself into thing that you don't really want to do, for no other reason than you see gain from it. You pressure yourself to not do those things at the same time. A classic example is when pondering over whether or not to ask someone out. Your pressuring yourself to do it, but at the same time, your thinking What if I get rejected?. It can be a really painful experience, pressure from yourself.

The third type is pressure from time. It's the type of pressure you get in an exam room after realising that you have five minutes left to complete the paper. This pressure is different from all of the others as it does not want to make us do something - it wants us to do nothing, as shown by the end at your ideas just stop flowing at this mark. Really a downright not-nice feeling, clock pressure.

The other type is the type you get when you try to put too much matter in a small space.

On a regular basis, I feel pressure types 1 to 3. People are constantly telling me to do things, trying to persuade me into doing things I don't want to do, shaming me for not having done certain things. It's a bit of a pain that people are so stupid to realise that a) There is a reason that I haven't done those things and b) 'no' means 'no', not 'try and persuade me'.

I'm constantly making myself do things that I don't want to do. Often, it's like I have a little argument between my two ears to decide whether I want to do it or not. My logical side is saying 'Yes, this will benefit you', and my scared/lazy side is saying 'What if...' and 'I can't be bothered'. So it feels like I'm being ripped in two.

I less so feel type 3 pressure on things that I have to do. I more so feel type 3 pressure when I know I have to be patient, but I can't wait any longer. It's pressuring me to do something quickly that I physically cannot do quickly. And it drives you INSANE. Of course, I do feel time pressure when I realise that I haven't started a four week homework project that's in for tomorrow, but that only happens very occasionally.

I have some advice for escaping pressure, but it is very hard to follow. Basically - avoid at all costs. Shut out peer pressure. Don't give yourself time to argue in your head - toss a coin if you have to. And make sure you complete all homework and exams as quickly as you physically can. And the same is especially true with type four, which can either crush you, or cause you to explode.

The moral - being under pressure is not nice. But the Queen song is.