Senior High School

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Personal Development

PREPARED BY:
MARJORIE M. JUSAY, LPT

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Introductory Message

For the learner:

Welcome to the Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person
Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Personal Development.
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It
is often used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may
learn, create and accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies
that you as a learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the
relevant competencies and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic
success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time.
You will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being
an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
The following are some reminders in using this module:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of
the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other
activities included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with
it.
7. If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module,
do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind
that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful
learning and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can
do it!

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 This will give you an idea of the skills or
What I Need to Know competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.

This is a brief drill or review to help you link the

What I Know
current lesson with the previous one.

In this portion, the new lesson will be introduced

to you in various ways such as a story, a song, a
What’s New
poem, a problem opener, an activity or a
situation.
This section provides a brief discussion of the
What Is It lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.
This comprises activities for independent practice
What’s More to solidify your understanding and skills of the
topic.
This includes questions or blank
What I Have Learned sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson
This section provides an activity which will help
What I Can Do you transfer your new knowledge or skill into real
life situations or concerns.

This is a task which aims to evaluate your level of

Assessment
mastery in achieving the learning competency

At the end of this module you will also find:

This is a list of all sources used in developing this

References
module.

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is an

initiation to the activity and process of Personal Development.
The module is divided into 7 lessons, this includes:

Unit I: Self-Development
Lesson 1 – Knowing Oneself
Lesson 2 – Developing the Whole Person
Lesson 3 – Developmental Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence
Lesson 4 – The Challenges of Middles and Late Adolescence

Unit 2: Aspects of Personal Development

Lesson 5 – Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence
Lesson 6 – The Power of The Mind
Lesson 7 – Mental Health and Well-being in Middle and Late adolescence

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. conduct self-exploration and simple disclosure;

2. illustrate the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a
person’s holistic development;
3. make a list of ways to become responsible adolescents prepared for adult
life;
4. clarify and manage the demands of the teen years (middle and late
adolescence);
5. identify personal ways of coping for healthful living;
6. identify ways to improve learning using both the left and right brain;
7. identify his/her own vulnerabilities and make a plan on how to stay
mentally healthy; and,
8. identify ways to communicate and manage emotions in a healthy manner.

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 LESSON 1: KNOWING ONESELF

What’s New

“it’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
-Denis Waitley

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. realize that knowing oneself can aid in accepting one’s strengths and weaknesses.
2. recognize and analyze one ‘s unique characteristics, habits and experiences.
3. Understand oneself in order to develop the capacity to interact with others better.

Getting to Know You activities are famous during the first day of school. There
are teachers who would simply ask you to say your full name, followed by your
nickname, and a brief description about yourself. Some would ask you to think of
adjectives that define you starting with the letters in your name. Others would ask you
to think of a unique characteristic that you want others to remember about you. And
most often than not, this introduction part can take up the entire period because you
find it difficult to think of an attribute or a quality that fits your personality.
Thinking of a describing word about oneself is not that easy as it may seem. Facts
about yourselves are easy to share, yes, such as your name, address. favorite color,
height, and so on and so forth. But to think of a feature about who you really are, five
minutes will probably be not enough. As a result, you tend to just get the first adjective
that comes into your mind like “I am kind” or “I am simple” or “I am responsible” for the
sake of complying even if these do not define you.
Have you ever asked yourself why there are times, it so hard to give a
characteristic about yourself? Some of you might even feel the same difficulty of giving
a description to your own self. Why? Because you do not really know yourself.
Knowing oneself can assist you in achieving total development. You get to
appreciate the time to look more closely into self, have the opportunity to understand
yourself by identifying your strengths and limitations and eventually share them to
others. This allows us to understand and deal with other people in the long run.

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PERSONAL INVENTORY WORKSHEET
Describe yourself as honestly as possible as you generally are now and not as
you Wish to be in the future. Analyze yourself in relation to other people of the same
sex and of roughly the same age.

A. Rate yourself in the following areas to help you identify your strengths and
weaknesses. Using a non-black ink pen, shade the box the correspond to your
answer.
YES NO UNCERTAIN
I am a ‘worrier’.
I make friends easily.
I have a vivid imagination.
I trust others.
I complete tasks successfully.
I get angry easily.
I really enjoy large parties.
I think art is important.
I prefer variety to routine.
I work hard.
I overindulge.
I love excitement.
I enjoy reading challenging books.
I believe that I am better than others.
I am always prepared.
I panic easily.
I am a really cheerful person.
I act without thinking.
I get irritated easily.
I always chat to different people.
I like to take charge of situations.
I don’t like being messy.
I love to help others.
L can solve my problems.
I keep my promises.
Find it difficult to approach others.
I am always busy.

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 What Is It

THOUGHTS T0 PONDER

What I am looking for is not out there. It is in me.

~ Helen Keller ~

Today you are You, that is truer than true.

There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
~Dr. Seuss, from Happy Birthday to You!~

Recognizing one’s inner strengths and weaknesses gives a person the capability
to empower oneself. This is called self-awareness or self-empowerment. It is when one
recognizes his/her traits as something very important to one’s ability to place
importance on continuous learning to improve oneself.
In truth, acknowledging one’s assets and limitations is never easy – it is a lifelong
process. Even adults find this a very challenging process. The technique to make the
process a little easier is by making a choice. One has to choose to realize how valuable
he/she as a person because if one is in denial about the thoughts, feelings, beliefs. and
characteristics that he/she has, there will be nothing in one ‘s life but failure. If you let
go of the victim role in your life today, you tend to lose your energy and your thoughts
will spread out. First step that you need to do to start self-awareness is to choose to
recognize not just your gifts but your flaws as well because when you do, you will begin
to live a happy and stable life.
Of course, self-empowerment is not always going towards the easy way. One may
experience frightening and stressful events in life which makes him/her feel lonely and
disappointed. When this happens, one may feel frustrated for the rest of his/her life. To
prevent this from happening, one may need some reassurance that something good may
come out of this negative feeling sooner or later. What if there is none?
If you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you will find out that you can
get along well with yourself. This means that you have the ability to take control of your
approach to life and to others. This is a gift to yourself.
Learn to find direction in your life this is an important task in self-empowerment.
It may take some soul searching to End the right direction for your life but when you
begin asking yourself about what exactly is it that you want to accomplish in the future,
you are one step ahead about being aware of yourself. Ask yourself. “What kind of person
do I want to become?”, “How do I really feel right now?” these are questions that can be

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answered when you decide to find your inner flame because you want to become a better
person. Identifying the factors that make you decide on your choices can be realized by
understanding your inner passions in your lives. You have to be aware about how your
emotions regulate you so you can begin to empower your thought processes positively
this will aid you in your lifelong decision-making processes.
Consider the famous story of Charles Schultz, the writer who created the
“Peanuts” comic strip:
As a school boy, Charles Schultz was known to his friends as Sparky. He has always
seen the unlikelihood in all things. When he was in eighth grade, he failed to pass
Physics. Neither did he pass Latin, nor Algebra and English. In sports, although he
managed to make it to the school’s golf team, he lost the only significant game of the
season right away. He lost the consolation match, too.
Sparky felt awkward socializing with other people throughout his adolescence.
Other students did not actually hate him. It’s just that nobody cared that much. He gets
shocked whenever someone greeted him outside of school hours. He never even asked
a girl on a date during high school because he was too scared to get rejected.
A typical description at an individual with ail the characteristics mentioned
above, Sparky was called a loser. Everyone in school knew it, including himself, so he
has accepted this fact and just went on with the flow. He believed that if things were
meant to happen, they would. If not, then, he would just accept his unavoidable
ordinariness.
However, there was one thing that was so important to Sparky, it was drawing.
He was always delighted of his artwork even though no one else appreciated it. When
he was in his senior year of high school, he tried submitting some cartoons for their
yearbook. The editors gave his cartoons a thumbs-down. Notwithstanding this negative
response, Sparky continued to believe in himself.
After high school, he was still so convinced of his ability to draw. Sparky was so
committed that he decided to become a professional artist. He tried his luck and wrote
a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was asked to send some samples at his artwork
following a recommended cartoon to use. Sparky spent a lot at time drawing the
proposed cartoon and submitted it just in time, together with all his other artworks.
Once again, it was another loss for the loser Walt Disney Studios had rejected his
artworks.
Sparky did not stop from doing what he was good at. He decided to put his own
story in cartoons. Describing himself in his younger years as a loser, who was also a
chronic underachiever, the cartoon character who put the colors in his own life story
has soon become well-known everywhere. For Sparky, the boy who had so many failures
in school and whose work was rejected again and again, was the little cartoon character
whose life would never fly and was known to be Snoopy’s best buddy, Charlie Brown.
Answering the question “Who am I” can lead to a solid self-concept and self-
understanding. Knowing and understanding oneself is a lifelong journey and is made
more difficult by several hindrances that come along the way or by lack of awareness

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and fear of change. Remember that changing yourself into the best you can be is the
challenge that pursues you throughout your entire life.

What’s More

SELF-CONCEPT
One of the forerunners of humanist psychology was Carl Rogers who is especially
well-known for client-centered therapy. Counseling in this type of therapy creates a non-
judgmental environment by being open, honest, accepting and emphatic. The term
“empathy” refers to the ability to recognize and feel the emotions of others. It is as simple
as putting yourself in another’s shoes. This client-centered approach aims to help those
who need to find their own answers to their questions. In short, that person has to come
up with the solutions.
Self-concept is the person’s perceptions and beliefs about himself/ herself. It is
what you understand about yourself. It includes your physical appearance and your
body image, social Character or abilities and your thinking.

According to Rogers, self-concept has three different components:

1. Self-worth also called self-esteem is the set of beliefs we hold about ourselves.
Rogers believed that for positive self-worth to develop, one has to receive
unconditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard is acceptance no matter
what a person says or does and support in spite of mistakes and shortcomings.
2. Self-image -is how we see ourselves, such as whether we see ourselves as being
attractive or unattractive.
3. Ideal self is the person we would like to be.
Our ideal selves have fulfilled our goals and ambitions. But the ideal self can
change over time. One’s goals and ambitions today may differ from the goals and
ambitions you had when you were in primary school.

WHO AM I?
When somebody backstabs your friend, you feel the urge to defend your friend
because you do not want when people are rude to others. Sometimes you get angry.
For many people, answering the question, ‘Who am I?’ is not very easy because
finding a solid understanding of who they are is a big part of their lives.
Self-concept is an understanding of who you are as a person. When you recognize
that you hate rudeness, this is part of your self-concept. You know who you are and
what makes you different from other people.

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 But that is not all there is to the question ‘Who am 1?". One has to understand
what your motives are when you act This is called self-understanding and it is often
linked to self-concept.
Going back to our example, your will to defend people is part of your self-concept.
When you do not get the chance to defend your friend, say, you simply stayed home and
let it pass, you get restless and annoyed Sometimes, you feel guilty and does things
around you that you are not proud of. Understanding the way you act because of your
suppressed emotions of not being able to defend your friend is part of your self-
understanding.
Let us get into detail by looking at the elements of self-concept and self-
understanding. What are the factors that can contribute to yourself concept? What
exactly goes into a person’s self-concept?

SELF-CONCEPT AND ITS ASPECTS

There are many aspects of yourself that can make up who you are and who you
believe yourself to be. Among them are:
l. The physical self
Are you tall? Are you fat? Are you handsome?
Who you are physically is important to many people? For example, you are an
active person. You see to it that you are physically fit because you are the type who is
always on the go. Being strong and healthy is a big part of how you define yourself.
There are some, though, whose physical self is different. Some may be overweight
and get tired easily. The physical self is still part of their self-concept, but in an opposite
manner that it is for you: their physical self is out of shape and overweight.
2. The social self
Are you shy? Are you confident? Are you sociable?
Say, you are the type who does not have so many friends - just a few who are
very close to you. You like spending time with them and that every day you realize that
you still discover new things about them. This is part of your social self; that is, how
you, as a person, relate to others.
3. The competent self
Are you good in sports? Can you swim? Can you draw?
Competence is the ability of a person to provide for their basic needs. For
example, your best friend is a hard worker and is able to achieve many things in school.
She feels like she is competent, which is a big part of her self-concept.
You, too, are competent but in a different way. Your pride is on your baking. You
do not really get awards or recognitions in school but you bake like a professional and
you still feel competent because your family and friends appreciate the cupcakes and
other pastries that you made for them. Again, this is part of your self-concept, even
though it is different from your best friend’s competent self

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4. The inner self
Are you happy? Can you make decisions easily? Are you pessimistic or
optimistic?
Also sometimes called the psychological self, this is made up of the feelings and
thoughts that a person has deep inside them.
For example, you worry a lot about the future and what it will bring. You like to
ponder deep thoughts and read about philosophers ' that try to get at the meaning of
life.
Your best friend on the other hand, has no time for philosophy and the meaning
of life. She is too busy working for her achievements. But she does have an inner self,
too. Hers is based around her religious faith and love of her family. She sees herself as
someone who is faithful and loving to God and her family. As you can see, a person’s
self-concept is made up of many aspects of themselves, and different people can have
very different self-concepts.

‘l VERSUS ME’
Two elements are very evident to a person’s self the ‘I’ and the Me? The 1 is the
person deep inside. This is the part of a person that is antisocial and just about how
you feel. For example, when you see someone else being rude, you want to shove them
and knock them down. This is your ‘1’ at work: you feel something deeply and want to
react to it.
Note that, a person's ‘I’ is not always in charge. The Me is the part of a person
that is about being in society. This is the part of a person that is about understanding
and’ obeying the rules of society. For example, even though you might want to push a
rude person, you still understand that, that is not probably the best idea. So, instead;
you talk to the person and try to make them understand that others have feelings, too.
Your ‘Me’ is figuring out the best way to act.
A person’s actions can be controlled by either their ‘1’ or their ‘Me’. When you
wanted to defend your friend from someone who is rude, your ‘1’ is taking over and
controlling your actions. But, when you were able to control your impulses, your ‘Me’ is
in charge. Knowing which one (the ‘1’ or the ‘Me’) is motivating our actions is a big part
of self-understanding.

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 What I Have Learned

A. In the space provided below, draw an object that would best describe yourself. Make
sure that the object you have chosen possesses the qualities that you also have.

What I Can Do

Compare your own strengths and weaknesses to that of the object that you have drawn.
Complete each sentence to describe yourself and the object you have chosen.

I compare myself to a/an________________________________________

(name of the object)
My Strength
One strong point of the _________________________________________
(name of the object)
Is that it is _______________________________________________________
(adjective about the object)
Like this object, I am ____________________________________________
(adjective about you)

My Weakness
One weak point of the __________________________________________
(name of the object)
Is that it is _______________________________________________________
(adjective about the object)
Like this object, I am ____________________________________________
(adjective about you)

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 LESSON 2: DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON

What’s New

“Perhaps we shall learn, as we pass through this age, that the ‘other self is more
powerful than the physical self we see when we look into a mirror.”
-Napoleon Hill

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. examine the relationship among physiological, cognitive, psychological, spiritual and
social development of a person;
2. recognize and describe the relationships between thought, feelings, and behaviors in
real-life situations;
3. assess his/her thoughts, feelings and behaviors

Everyone grows and changes throughout their lives. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT is

the way people change and grow across their life span. There are many types of
development that people go through. As persons age, there are bodily changes. As he or
she learns problem-solving skills, his/her cognitive (or thinking) development grows.
When people grow older, they gain wisdom which allows them to deal with more complex
situations – this is a process that is part of emotional development.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an

act but a habit.
~ Will Durant ~

What does it mean to be a whole person? You are a whole person with unique
physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual needs and experiences. You have to
understand that you are still growing, changing and developing as whole persons. Let
us look at one aspect of human development in the life of an adolescent - the
physiological development of the adolescent.

What Is It

PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Most people would often confuse the terms adolescence and puberty and use
them interchangeably. In this module, it is important to know the difference between
the two because they do not mean the same 3 things. Puberty 'refers to the physiological

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changes involved in the sexual maturation of a child, including other changes that occur
in one’s body « during this period of time. Adolescence, on the other hand, refers to the
stage from puberty to adulthood and includes the psychological experiences of the child
during this period.

The period between childhood and young adulthood is a period of rapid change -
physical, emotional, cognitive and social. During this time, children’s bodies change in
different ways at different times. Now two teenage bodies are the same.

Physical changes during adolescence

Girls might start to see early physical changes from about 10 or 11 years, but they
might start as young as 8 years or as old as 13 years. Physical changes around puberty
include: breast development, changes in body shape and height, growth of pubic and
body hair, the start of periods (menstruation). On the other hand, the physical changes
that occur to boys usually start around 11 or 12 years, but they might start as young
as '9 years or as old as 14 years. Physical changes include: growth of the penis and
testes (testicles), changes in body shape and height, erections with ejaculation, growth
of body and facial hair, changes to voice. Young people start to show physical changes
at a widely varying times.

Other physical changes: inside and out

While the body of an adolescent is maturing physically, the brain development,

thinking skills and emotional development are happening at their own speeds. What is
seen on the surface does not always match the ones on the inside.

Brain - Adolescence is an important time for a child’s brain development. By now, you
are already aware that changes in your teenage brain affect both your behavior and
social skills. This is why you begin to develop an improved self-control and skills in
planning, problem-solving and decision making. This process continues in your early
20s.

Bones, organs and body systems - Your organs change in size and capacity as
well. Lung performance improves, limbs grow, and bones increase in thickness and
volume. The chest and shoulders get broader in boys while the hips and pelvis get wider
in girls.
Clumsiness and coordination - Your growth during this period is so fast that
your centers of gravity change and your brains might take a while to adjust at times
which might affect your sense of balance. You display a bit of more clumsiness or poor
coordination for awhile, and the chances of injury might also increase during this time.
Physical strength and sports skills - Muscle strength and size increase during
this period. You have an improved hand-eye coordination which continues over time,
along With ' motor skills such as ball catching and throwing.
It Is equally important to know that boys and girls who develop very early or very
late might feel more self-conscious. They get teased a lot and have body image concerns.
Girls are observed to often reduce physical activity, despite improved strength, because
of body image and gender, based self-image concerns. Boys who have early physical
development will have an earlier growth spurt. They might be bigger and stronger than

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their peers for a while. Boys who develop later might be more at risk of being teased or
bullied, and might be less interested in physical activity. Remember, strength and
height, are not important for all activities.
Try to embrace other interests not just sports that demand height d strength
because you are unique in your own little way and you excel in your own chosen field.

I realized that..

Now that you have recognized the physical changes that are taking place in your
bodies, let us now examine another aspect of our development. Have you noticed the
changes in the way you think about things? As you grow into becoming a teenager, how
you think about and understand things develop as well. Cognition, in developmental
psychology, refers to the thought processes of a person. Hence, cognitive development
deals 1th how People’s thoughts develop.

What’s More

Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) outlined specific stages of mental growth in children and
adolescents. While babies find their way through new experiences and the use of their
senses, children start to attribute meaning to every little thing that they do in their
surroundings.

Curiosity begins they start realizing how things work and operate. Note that
childhood is considered as the exploration age. It is the time in our life when we gain an
understanding of the world around us.

PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE - This first stage occurs between the ages of two and seven
wherein mental representations for objects are essential. Children at this age are too
curious about things. They question almost everything that arouses their interest There
are two sub-stages in this preoperational stage: the symbolic function and the intuitive
thought.

Stage 1: Symbolic Function. Symbolic function refers to the use of mental

representations for imagination which takes place between the ages of two and four.
Remember those times when you used to play make believe. The girls used to gather
around a table pretending to be having tea with friends while holding their invisible tea
cups. This is a representation of symbolic function. Also present during this stage is
what Piaget referred to as egocentrism. When we were children, we tend to focus on
ourselves and think only from one’s own point of view. Remember when we had friends
over and we wanted to play hide and ‘seek, we think our friends do too because at this

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stage, we-are not yet able to imagine how our friends may feel about playing the game
that only we want to play.

Stage 2: Intuitive thought Intuitive thought refers to a growth in curiosity and basic
reasoning which takes place between the ages of four and seven. We used to pose
questions such as: ‘Mommy, why is there a rainbow?’ ‘Daddy, why is the moon following
us? In this age, according to Piaget, children are acquiring a great amount of knowledge
but have no idea yet about how to use it.

CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE - This is the stage in our life when we began to
think logically about objects and incidents which take place between the ages of seven
and 11. According to Piaget, conservation is one of the ways to think logically it is an
understanding that quantities do not change when the appearance is altered. At this
age, our understanding tells us those ten pieces of 1-peso coin is greater than a piece
of IO-peso coin. When given with a lot of 1-peso coins, we tend to brag about it because
we find it rewarding enough as a child. Otherwise, we pull a face because of the simple
idea that we now have something that is of less value. However, as we grow older, we
realize that they have just the same value.

FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE - We are now in this stage of development when we

begin to think in a more complex manner. Our thoughts become more abstract and
more detailed. In this stage, we become more able to solve problems and are open to
considering different ideas and points of view. Sometimes, a teacher thinks of your
classmate as someone who is sluggish but you know that this classmate comes from a
problematic home; you see his/her situation as something that 18 more complex. In
this stage, you do not just see things as black and white. Instead, there are shades of
gray in some situations. This is also the stage when walking around the school feels as
if everyone is looking-at you even if they really are not. Or, this is the stage when you
do not believe that your parents really do understand you. ’Instead, you feel that you
are the only one in the world going through a tough time - you feel that your situation
is the only one that exists and not understood.
You now realized that the way you think also evolve as you grow older. And
because your capacity to think is even more complex at present, you should also
understand that our capacity to know the difference between right and wrong
transforms as well as we grow and age.

Lawrence Kohlherg’s Theory on Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927 -1987), developed three levels with Six stages to reflect
our progression through moral development. These levels and stages describe how our
ideas of right and wrong change as we, grow. However, Kohlberg did admit that not all
people progress through these changes at the same age due to differences in cognitive
functioning. In fact, he stated that some people never reach full moral development.

`Moral development refers to the ways we distinguish right from wrong as we grow and
mature. Generally, the moral development of children differs to a great extent from that
of adults.

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 Go back to being a child. How did you decide if something was right or wrong?
How did you know if something was good or bad? Did you follow what your parents did?
Or did you behave just like your friends? At one time or another, you probably did both.
If you do not have money and you badly need it for a valid reason, will it be okay for you
to steal? Or you won’t because you believe the societal and cultural laws that it is wrong
to steal? How do people learn to make morally sound decisions? These are the types of
questions that Lawrence Kohlberg asked while studying moral development in human
beings.

Let us explore the Stages of Moral Development using a robbery situation.

Typically, when a robber is caught by the police, he or she would say, “I need the
money,” for reasons that range from “I have a very sick daughter? “I don’t have a job,”
or other reasons that a robber can think of just to make the robbery case a little
“acceptable” because of the reason that may be deemed as valid but morally wrong.

Let us use this situation to apple Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory and try to find
out how you can come up with a moral reasoning.

Stages of Moral Reasoning:

Level One: Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation

Pre-conventional Moralitv Stage 2: instrumental Relativist Orientation

Level Two: Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation

Conventional Morality Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation

Level Three: Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation

Post-Conventional Morality Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

It is called pre-conventional morality because people at this stage do not really

understand the conventions / rules of a society.

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation

The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in young children, but
adults are also capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this stage, children see
rules as fixed andabsolute. Obeying the rules is important because it is a means to avoid
punishment.

Summary: The concern is for self “Will I get into trouble for doing (or not doing) it?” Right
or good behavior is associated with avoiding punishment.

Possible Stage 1 responses to the robbery situation:

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 ✓ You should not steal from the jewelry store because you might get caught and
sent to jail.
✓ You should break-in and steal from the jewelry store because if you don’t then,
you won’t have the means to get the medical treatment that your daughter needs.

What problems do you see in Stage 1 reasoning?

Inadequacy of Stage 1 reasoning: Avoidance of punishment regardless of the ethical

value of the actions is unhealthy especially under “bad” authorities such as Adolf Hitler.

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points of View
and judge actions based on how they some individual needs. In the robbery situation,
children argued that the best course of action was the choice that best served your
needs. Reciprocity is possible at this point in moral development, but only if it serves
one’s own interests. Reciprocity is a matter of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch
yours; not of loyalty, gratitude or justice.”

Summary: The concern is “What’s in it for me?” Still egocentric in outlook but with a
growing ability to see things from another person’s perspective Action is judged right if
it helps 1n satisfying one’s needs or involves a fair exchange

Possible Stage 2 responses to the robbery situation:

✓ It is right for you to steal from the jewelry store because you will be able to get
the money for your daughter’s medical treatment. Your daughter will no longer
suffer and will soon be cured.
✓ The owner of the jewelry store spent all his life to build his business so it’s not
fair to him if you break to his store and steal everything that you can get.

Again, what problems do you see in Stage 2 reasoning?

Inadequacy of Stage 2 reasoning: Your need to have the money to save Your daughter
coincides with the owner’s need to make a profit from his jewelry store.

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

It is called Conventional Morality because people at this stage conform t0 the

conventions/ rules of a society.

Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation

Stage 3 is often referred to as the “good boy-good girl” orientation; this Stage of
moral development is focused on living up to social expectations and roles. There is an
emphasis on conformity, being “nice,” and consideration of how choices influence
relationships. ‘He means well’ becomes important for the first time. One earns approval
by being ‘nice.’

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Summary: The concern is “What will people think of me?” and the desire is for group
approval. Right action is one that would please or impress othem This often involves
self-sacrifice but it provides the psychological pleasure of ‘approval of others? Actions
are also judged in relation to their intention.

Possible Stage 3 responses to the robbery situation:

✓ Yes, you should steal from the jewelry store. You will probably go to jail for a
short time for stealing but your other family members will think that you are a
good parent.
✓ Your friend, the police officer should report that he saw you behaving
suspiciously and running away from the jewelry store because his immediate
supervisor would be happy to have a lead in this robbery incident [See Scenario
2]
✓ The *police officer should not report what he saw because you, his friend, would
be pleased to know that your friend is on your side.
✓ The judge should not sentence you to jail for stealing because you meant well you
stole to get a cure for your daughter [See Scenario 3].

Now, what problems do you see in this 3" Stage of Reasoning?

Inadequacy of Stage 3 reasoning:

• Same person, different roles OR different groups, different expectations

What should you do if you are in the same business as the owner of the jewelry
store? Some of your family members Will think that you are a good parent if you stole
from the jewelry store but you may not be able to face any member of the jewelry
business again. If you do not steal, your family members will think that you are
heartless. How can you resolve these conflicting expectations?

• Different people, different roles

As a good parent, you should steal from the jewelry store to find a cure for your
daughter.
But your friend, the 'police officer who saw you behaving suspiciously and
running away from the jewelry store, also has a role to play, does not that role demand
that he reports what he saw?
Then there is the judge who has the responsibility to uphold justice. Does not
that role demand that he sentences you to jail?

• People not living up to their duties or roles

What if you do not love your daughter and do not want to steal 'from the jewelry
store?

Another question: Should the people from the hospital be forced to help you get
a discount for the medical treatment of your daughter or allow you to pay later? Why or
why not?
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Stage 4: Maintaining Social Order

At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a whole

when making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following the
rules, doing one’s duty and respecting authority.
Summary: The concern now goes beyond one’s immediate group(s) to the larger society
to the maintenance of law and order. What is right is obeying the law of society. One’s
obligation to the law overrides one’s obligations of loyalty to one’s family, friends and
groups. To put it simply, no one or no group is above the law.

Possible Stage 4 responses to the robbery situation:

• As the parent, you have a duty to save your daughter’s life so you should steal
from the jewelry store. But it is wrong to steal, so you should be prepared to
accept the penalty for breaking the law.
• The judge should sentence you to jail. Stealing is against the law! He should not
make any exceptions even though your daughter is dying. If the judge does not
sentence you to jail then others may think it’s right to steal and there will be
chaos in the society.

What problems do you see in this stage 4 of reasoning?

Inadequacy of Stage 4 reasoning:

✓ Unquestioning obedience toward authority is unhealthy

✓ Accepted social order may not be the best possible order. The laws of society may
even be bad.

There are other societies with rules different from ours. Why should we’ just accept
the conventions or rules of our society? What are the base, for our rules?

LEVEL 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL MORALITY

It is so called because the moral principles that underline the conventions of a

society are understood.

Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights

At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values, opinions and beliefs
‘of other people. Rules of law are important for maintaining a society, but members of
the society should agree upon these standards.

Summary: The concern is social utility or public interest. While rules are needed to
maintain social order, they should not be blindly obeyed but should be set up (even
changed) by social contract for the greater good of society. Right action is one that
protects the rights of the individual according to rules agreed upon by the whole society.
Possible Stage 5 responses to the robbery situation:

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 ✓ You should steal from the jewelry store because everyone has the right to life
regardless of the law against stealing. Should you be taught and prosecuted for
stealing then the law (against stealing) needs to be reinterpreted because a
person’s life is at stake.
✓ The decision of the people in the hospital to not extend help to you is shameful
but the hospital’s right to fair compensation (for medical treatment) must be
maintained. Therefore, you should not steal from the jewelry store.

What problems do you see in Stage 5 reasoning?

Inadequacy of Stage 5 reasoning:

How do we arrive at a consensus on the rules that are good for society? Should
a majority group impose their preferences on a minority group? What if you disagree
with the decision of the majority? Would you then disobey “their” rules?

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

Kolhberg’s final level of moral reasoning is based upon universal ethical

principles and abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these internalized
principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.

Summary: The concern is for moral principles an action is judged right. If it is consistent
with self-chosen ethical principles. These principles are not concrete moral rules but
are universal principles of justice, reciprocity, equality and human’ dignity.

Possible Stage 6 response to the robbery situation: You should steal from the jewelry
store to save your daughter because preserving human life is a higher moral obligation
than preserving property.
What problems do you see in Stage 6 reasoning?

lnadequaey of Stage 6 reasoning: Our conscience is not an infallible guide to behavior

because it works according to the principles we have adopted. Moreover, who or what
determines these Universal principles?
Although moral reasoning does not necessarily lead .to moral action, _ the latter
is based in part on one’s capacity to reason about moral choices. Kohlberg was more
concerned with the reasoning of the action than the action itself. And that reasoning
when acted upon becomes our motivation.
Albert Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning

Albert Bandura (l925-present) believes that one’s environment influences one’s

behavior people learn by watching what others do and will not do. Because of this,
Bandura proposed his theory of learning called the social cognitive theory which focused
on how aggressive behavior develops in children.

According to this theory, people can learn new information and behaviors by
watching other people. It is known as observational learning (or modeling). There are
three core concepts at the heart of social learning theory: first is the idea that people
can learn through observation; second is the idea that internal mental states are an

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essential part of this process; finally, this theory recognizes that just because something
has been learned, it does not mean that it will result in a change in behavior.

Let us explore each of these concepts in greater depth.

1. People can learn through observation.

Observational Learning or modeling

The Bobo Doll Study is the most famous study of Bandura. He made a film of one of
his students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll, A bobo doll is an
inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight at the bottom that makes it bob
back up when you knock it down. Nowadays, it might have Darth Vader painted on it,
but back then it was simply “Bobo” the clown.
The young lady punched the clown, shouting “sockeroo!” She kicked it, sat on it,
hit it with a little hammer, and so on, shouting various aggressive phrases. Bandura
showed his film to groups of kindergartners who, as you might predict, liked it a lot.
They then were let out to play. In the play room, of course, were several observers with
pens and clipboards in hand, a brand-new bobo doll, and a few little hammers.
And you might predict as well what the observers recorded: A lot of little kids
beating the daylights out of the bobo doll. They punched it and shouted “sockeroo,”
kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little hammers, and so on. In other words, they imitated
the young lady in the film, and quite precisely at that. ‘
In his famous “Bobo doll” studies, Bandura demonstrated that children learn and
imitate behaviors they have observed in' other people, the children in Bandura’s studies
observed an adult acting violently toward 3 Echo dolls. When the children were later
allowed to play in a room with the B0130 doll, they began to imitate the aggressive
actions they had previously observed.
Children’s minds are like sponges they absorb everything in the environment.
Children are born with a blank slate mind but because environment has a really big
impact on the development of one’s behavior, they tend to imitate everything that they
see or hear.
Bandura did a large number of variations on the study, on his experiment: The
model was rewarded or punished in a variety of ways, the kids were rewarded for their
imitations, and the model was changed to be less attractive or less prestigious, and so
on. Responding to criticism that bobo dolls were supposed to be hit, he even did a film
of the young woman beating up a live clown. When the children went into the other
room, they find there nothing but the live clown! They proceeded to punch him, kick
him, hit him with little hammers; and so on.

Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:

1. A live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or. acting out a
behavior.
2. A verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and explanations of a
behavior. ‘
3. A symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors in
books, films, television programs, or online media.

Let us proceed to the second concept:

2. Mental states are important to learning.

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Intrinsic Reinforcement
Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only
factor to influence learning and behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form
of internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This
emphasis on internal thoughts and Cognitions helps connect learning theories to
cognitive developmental theories. While many textbooks place social learning theory
with behavioral theories, Bandura himself describes his approach as a ‘social Cognitive
theory? '

3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

While behaviorists believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior,
observational learning demonstrates that people can learn new information without
demonstrating new behaviors.
Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the
model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is Successful. Certain
requirements and steps must also be followed. The following steps are involved in the
observational learning and modeling process.

All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps
involved in the modeling process:
1. Attention. If you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying attention.
Likewise, anything that puts a damper on attention is going to decrease learning,
including observational learning. If, for example, you are sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick,
nervous, or “hyper,” you will learn less well. Likewise, if you are being distracted by
competing stimuli.
Some of the things that influence attention involve characteristics of the model.
If the model is colorful and dramatic, for example, we pay more attention. If the model
is attractive, or prestigious, or appears to be particularly competent, you will pay more
attention. And if the model seems more like yourself, you pay more attention. These
kinds of variables directed Bandura towards an examination of television and its effects
on kids!
2. Retention. Second, you must be able to retain remember what you have paid
attention to. This is where imagery and language come in: we store what we have seen
the model doing in the form of mental images or verbal descriptions. When so stored,
you can later “bring up” the image or description, so that you can reproduce it with your
own behavior.
3. Reproduction. At this point; you are just sitting there daydreaming. You have to
translate the images or descriptions into actual behavior. So you have to have the ability.
to reproduce the behavior in the first place. ‘I can watch Olympic ice skaters all day
long, yet not be able to / reproduce their jumps, because I can’t ice skate at all! On the
other hand, if I could skate, my performance would in fact improve if I watch skaters
Who are better than I am.’
Another important tidbit about reproduction is that our ability to imitate
improves with practice at the behaviors involved. And one more tidbit; Our abilities
improve even when we just imagine ourselves performing! Many athletes, for example,
imagine their performance in their mind’s eye prior to actually performing.
4. Motivation. And yet, with all these, you are still not going to do anything unless you
are motivated to imitate, i.e. until you have some reason for doing it. Bandura mentions
a number of motives:

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 • past reinforcement, ala traditional behaviorism
• promised reinforcements (incentives) that we can imagine
• vicarious reinforcement seeing and recalling the model being reinforced

Notice that these are, traditionally, considered to be the things that “cause” learning.
Bandura is saying that they do not so much cause learning as cause us to demonstrate
what we have learned that is, he sees them as motives.

Of course, the negative motivations are there as well, giving you reasons not to imitate
someone:

• past punishment
• promised punishment (threats)
• vicarious punishment

Like most traditional behaviorists, Bandura (1977) says that punishment in

whatever form does not work as well as reinforcement and, in fact, has a tendency to
“backfire” on us.

SELF-REGULATION

Self-regulation controlling our own behavior -‘is the other “workhorse” of human
personality. Here Bandura suggests three steps:

1. Self-observation. We look at ourselves, our behavior, and keep tabs on it.

2. Judgment. We compare what we see with a standard. For example, we can compare
our performance with traditional standards, such as “rules of etiquette.” Or we can
create arbitrary ones, like “I’ll read a book a week” Or we can compete with others, or
with ourselves.
3. Self-response. If you did well in comparison with your standard, you give yourself
rewarding self-responses. If you did poorly, you give yourself punishing self-responses.
These self-responses can range from the obvious (treating yourself to a sundae or
working late) to the more covert (feelings of pride or shame). .

A very important concept in psychology that can be understood well with self-
regulation is self-concept (better known as self-esteem). If, over the years, you find
yourself meeting your standards and life loaded with self-praise and self-reward, you
will have a pleasant self-concept (high self, esteem). If, on the other hand, you find
yourself forever failing to meet your standards and punishing yourself, you will have a
poor self-concept (low self-esteem).

Recall that behaviorists generally view reinforcement as effective, and

punishment as fraught with problems. The same goes for self-punishment. Bandura
sees three likely results of excessive self-punishment:

• compensation a superiority complex, for example, and delusions of

• grandeur, inactivity, apathy, boredom, depression
• escape drugs and alcohol, television fantasies, or even the ultimate escape,
suicide

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 Bandura’s recommendations to those Who suffer from poor self-concepts come
straight from the three steps of self-regulation:

1. Regarding self-observation know thyself! Make sure you have an accurate picture of
your behavior. '

2. Regarding standards -make sure your standards aren’t set too high. Do not set
yourself up for failure! Standards that are too low, on the other hand, are meaningless.

3. Regarding self-response use self-rewards, not self-punishments. Celebrate your

victories; do not dwell on your failures. 2

Inasmuch as an individual changes physically, mentally, morally and socially, he

or she also develops psychologically. These psychological Changes are imperative in
understanding a person’s total development because it cannot be denied that these
affect our personality and behavior as well.

Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory

Sigmund Freud (18564939), the father of Psychoanalysis and the father of
Modern Psychology, is probably the most well-known theorist when it comes to the
development of one’s personality. Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory, also
considered as the most controversial theories of personality, explains that an
individual’s personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which the
pleasure-seeking energies of one’s personality become focused on certain erogenous
zones. This psychosexual energy, or libido, is said to be the driving force behind a
person’s behavior.

Let us get into the details of Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory.

THE ORAL STAGE

Age Range: Birth to 1 Year
Erogenous Zone: Mouth
During this stage, the infant’s primary source of interaction occurs through the
mouth you, as a child, are focused on oral pleasures. This is why rooting and sucking
reflex is important. Try to remember your past ' at this stage. The mouth is vital for
eating and as an infant; you derive pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying
activities such as tasting and sucking. Because as an infant you are entirely dependent
on your caretakers (who are responsible for feeding you), you, then, develop a sense of
trust and. comfort through this oral stimulation.
The key conflict at this stage is the weaning process the time should come that
you, as a child, must become less dependent upon your caretakers. Otherwise, fixation
occurs. Freud believed that an individual would have issues with dependency or
aggression. Too much or too little gratification can result to Oral Fixation wherein one
may be preoccupied with oral activities. This type of personality may have a stronger
tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails. Personality Wise,
these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual
followers. 0n the other hand, they may also light these urges and develop pessimism
and aggression toward others.

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THE ANAL STAGE
Age Range: 1 to 3 years
Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder Control
During this stage, the primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and
bowel movements. This is the time when you, as a child, encounter potty training -your
focus, at this age and stage, is on eliminating and retaining feces. This is the stage
where you, as a child, have to learn to control your bodily needs so that you may develop
a sense of accomplishment and independence.
Note that success at this stage is dependent upon the approach that parents use
for toilet training. Parents who praise and reward their child for using the toilet at the
appropriate time result to positive outcomes and help children feel capable and
productive. Freud believed that positive experiences during this stage served as the
basis for people to become competent, productive, and creative adults.
However, not all parents provide the support and encouragement that children
need during this stage. Some parents have a tendency to punish, mock or embarrass a
child for accidents. According to Freud, when parents respond inappropriately, it may
result in negative outcomes. If parents take an approach that. is too lenient, ‘Freud
suggested that an anal-expulsive personality could develop in which the individual has
a messy, wasteful, or destructive personality. If parents are; too strict or begin toilet
training too early, Freud believed that an anal-retentive personality develops in which
the individual is stringent, orderly, rigid, and obsessive.

THE PHALLIC STAGE

Age Range: 3 to 6 Years
Erogenous Zone: Genitals
During this stage, the primary focus of the libido is on the genitals. This is the
stage wherein you, as a child, begin to discover the differences between males and
females. Freud believed that during this stage, a boy develops sexual desires for his
mother unconsciously. As a result, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as
competition for the mother’s affection. During this time, boys also develop a fear that
their father will punish them for these feelings, such as by castrating them. This is
known as Oedipus Complex (after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally killed
his father and married his mother). Electra complex, termed by more recent
psychoanalysts, has been used to describe a similar] set of feelings experienced by
young girls. They, too, develop sexual attraction to their father unconsciously. Although
Freud strongly disagreed with this, Freud, however, believed that girls experience penis
envy instead.

According to Freud, boys eventually decide to identify with his father rather than
fight him because of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his father.
As a result of identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics and
identities himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. A
fixation at this stage could result in sexual deviances (both overindulging and avoidance)
and weak or confused sexual identity according to psychoanalysts. ’

THE LATENT PERIOD

Age Range: 6 to Puberty

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Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are Inactive
During the latent period, the libido interests are suppressed. The development of
the ego and superego contribute to this when a child begins to enter into school and
become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests.
This is the time in your life when you interact and play mostly with the same sex.
The latent period is a time of exploration. Although the sexual energy is still present,
you, as a child, are focused more on intellectual pursuits and social interactions. This
stage is important in the development of social and communication skills and self-
confidence.

THE GENITAL STAGE

Age Range: Puberty to Death
Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual Interests
The anal stage of psychosexual development begins at the start of puberty when
sexual urges are once again awakened. During the final stage of psychosexual
development, the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. This
stage begins during puberty but lasts throughout the rest of a person’s life.
Recall that the earlier stages of development focused solely on individual needs.
During the genital stage, the interest in the welfare of others matures. Successful
completion of the other stages leads to an individual who is now well-balanced, warm,
and caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between the various life areas.
Just like any other stage theories that one will encounter, Freuds Stages of
Psychosexual Development can result 1n a positive or a negative personality. According
to Freud, if a person completes each stage successfully, he or she may have a healthy
personality. On the other hand, i if certain conflicts remain unresolved, a failure, leading
to an unhealthy : personality, can occur. This refers to fixation. It is a persistent focus
on ‘ an earlier psychosexual stage. Until an issue or a conflict is resolved, the individual
will remain trapped in this stage, which means that a child may either overor under-
indulge once he or she becomes an adult.

Another important aspect in a person’s psychological development is ; how we

interact with people in the environment. The Way we behave and socialize with other
people affect our development as a person. I

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Theory

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) has contributed to the field of psychology with his
Psychosocial Developmental Theory. Psychosocial refers to the ‘interplay between our
inner, emotional. lives (psycho), and our outer, social circumstances Just like Sigmund
Freud, he believes that an individual develops in stages. He focused on how children
socialize with other people and how this affects his/her development as a human being.
He came up with eight stages of identity formation which revolve around conflict and
resolution. In his theory, he stressed on the importance of completing each stage so that
an individual will have a healthy development as a human being. Failure to successfully
complete a stage can result in a conflict where one finds himself/herself problematic in
dealing with other people.

TRUST vs. MISTRUST

(from birth to 1year old)
An infant is vastly dependent on other people. During this stage, the development
of a sense of trust is based on one’s dependability on his/her parents.

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 Babies are dependent on their parents to feed them or to carry them if they want
to be cuddled. During this time, as an infant, they learn to trust their parents if they
are reliably cared for and fed. 'If not, say, they are neglected or abused, they will develop
mistrust instead. Infants, at this stage, either learn that they can trust others to fulfill
their needs, or that they cannot -that the world is a dangerous and unreliable place.
It is important that at this age, the child develops a sense of trust because if not,
he/she will be afraid to get hurt emotionally and in effect, his psychosocial development
will slow down in the process.

AUTONOMY VS. SHAME AND DOUBT

(from 1 to 3 years old)
At this stage, kids love to explore the surroundings. If parents alloy their toddlers
to discover the World on their own, they will develop a sea of autonomy. However, when
parents are too restraining or too wary about their children, they begin to doubt their
abilities. Instead of learning it, believe in themselves, they develop insecurity.
A concrete example would be learning to use the toilet properly. During this stage,
a child should develop a greater sense of personal control. As early as 2 years old, the
child should be potty trained by this time. He has to learn a sense of independence
(autonomy) to wee or to poo on his own because it is at this stage that he/ she feels a
sense of self-fulfillment and emotional gratification.
Children who completed this stage feel more secure and confident, but for those
who did not, they are said to have hesitations on themselves and have low self-esteem.

INITIATIVE VS. GUILT

(from 3 to 6 years old)
This is the stage where children begin to 'go to school and start interacting with
other people. Children at this stage need to develop a sense of initiative. They should be
able to make small decisions on their own such as what activity to do or how to finish
a task. Parents should encourage them to develop a sense of independence. If not, they
may learn to feel guilt and again, may bring down their self-esteem.

INDUSTRY VS. INFERIORITY

(from 6 to 12 years old)
During this time, the children are starting to gain real adult skills like reading,
writing and logic.
You learned to make figures out of Lego toys at this stage. Remember that feeling
when you wanted to keep your interest and strived even harder to build more figures
when your parents acknowledged your effort in doing 'something good like these? When
there is affirmation, you try harder to come up with much better figures. You are
encouraged to become a better person. Conversely, failure to receive acknowledgements
or receiving negative comments, like the Lego figures are horrible or those they look
weird, you tend to develop the belief that you cannot do something good for yourself or
for other people. You feel inferior and when you grow older, you seek more attention
from parents or from other people who will affirm you and your capabilities.
According to Erikson, if children are encouraged, they will develop a sense of
industry a motivation to keep learning and practicing. You, as a child, would start to
want to be productive instead of just wanting to play. Children who are not encouraged
to work hard about learning new skills will feel inferior and unmotivated.

IDENTITY VS. CONFUSION

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(12 to 13 years old)
Children at this stage become aware of their sexuality. During this stage, you are
entering the stage of adolescence whose primary concern is to find a personal identity.
'lhis is said to be the stage of formation of the feminine side of the girls and the
masculine side of the boys. Adolescents may even experiment with many identities and
express it with the type of music that they listen to, the style of clothing that they wear
or the kind of friends that they hang out with. If at this stage you are unable to commit
to an identity, or regret the identity that you have chosen, you may experience role
confusion in the form of an identity crisis.
When a boy is used to playing with toys exclusively for boys, the/child grows up
to be very manly. But when a boy tries to play with girl toys such as Barbie dolls, he
will grow up soft and with a more obvious femininity. Similarly, when girls are exposed
to toys for the boys, they either grow up manly or boyish. Oftentimes, they ask
themselves: Am I a girl or am I 1caning towards liking boy stuff more? Am I a boy or am
I leaning towards liking girl stuff more?
Though we have been accustomed to the fact that adolescence ends with the
teenage years, Erikson saw this stage potentially lasting into the tthnties and as a key
feature of ‘coming of age.’

INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION

(18 to 40 years old)
Once the sense of identity is developed in the previous stage, the child now is
ready to have a good relationship with the opposite sex. At this stage, you have already
formed your identity in the previous stage and are now looking for a close, mutual
relationship with the opposite sex. It is at this stage that one tends to develop the feeling
of love and grow into becoming a mature person. On the other hand, if one cannot find
such relationship or have experienced being heartbroken, a sense of isolation develops.
He/ she would prefer to be alone all the time because he/she is avoiding pain and hurt.

GENERATIVITY VS. STAGNATION

(40 to 65 years old)
The successful completion of the resolution from the previous stage makes a
person more productive at this stage. At work, a person is successful and he/ she is
able to provide for the family. But when a person isolated himself/herself in the previous
stage, then there is a tendency for him/her to be stagnant or inactive at this stage
because of the inability to do anything but to be dull in his/ her life.

INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR

(65 years old onwards)
It is at this stage that a person feels self-actualized in his life. Adults: at this stage
feel content if they look back at their lives knowing that they have been productive and
happy. He or she is ready to die because he/ she has achieved so much by this time.
However, if the person is unable to overcome the conflicts at the earlier stages of his life,
there is fear of death knowing that there is still so much to accomplish but they have
just wasted their time.
Certainly, not everyone agrees with Erikson’s stages of psychosocial
development. Some find it inaccurate while others find it so broad and Vague that it is
very difficult to prove it right or wrong. Nevertheless, Erikson believed that our identity
can change over our entire existence; we just need to resolve the conflicts that we
encounter at each stage.

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 Considering the relationships between the physiological, cognitive, psychological,
moral and social development of a person is essential in understanding one’s thoughts,
feelings and behaviors.

What I Have Learned

LEARNING TASK 1
Matrix of Changes

Recall your memories from infancy up to the present. Write the changes that took place
in each stage of your development by completing the Matrix of Changes below.

DEVELOPMENTAL PHYSICAL MENTAL

SOCIAL CHANGES
STAGE CHANGES CHANGES

Infancy

Early Childhood

Middle and Late

Childhood

Early Adulthood

What I Can Do

Reflect on these changes and write your realizations:

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 LESSON 3: DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

What’s New

“Behind you are the challenges you’ve met.

Before you lie new possibilities.
Today you choose the direction of your life.”
-ANONYMOUS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. classify a range of tasks according to each stage of development;
2. evaluate one’s development in relation to other adolescents of the same age group;
3. devise ways on being a responsible adolescent equipped for adult life
You have just learned the various aspects of holistic development physiological,
cognitive, psychological, moral and social development.
The total development of an adolescent is too compound and yet it can be best explained
in terms of the developmental tasks that go with card) stage.

EYEOPENER:
Have you ever asked yourself about your role as an adolescent? Do you find
yourself staying in your comfort zones? Or do you feel the urge to be free so you can
explore the world on your own?

Complete the My Adolescent lob Worksheet to identify your duties and

responsibilities as an adolescent.

MY ADOLESCENT JOB WORKSHEET

Think of the roles that you play as an adolescent at home, in school and in your
community. Write them down below and discover the many tasks that you need to
accomplish in order to become a responsible adult in the future.

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 What Is It

THOUGHTS T0 PONDER

Great things are not done by impulse,” but by a series

of small things brought together.
~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

About a few years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst ((1948) of the University of
Chicago identified several developmental tasks associated with the adolescent
transition. According to (Havighurst, each task plays a significant factor in the overall
sense of self of an adolescent which they * carry with them as they move toward and
into young adulthood.
In an unpublished book written by lngersoll entitled, Normal adolescence, the
adolescent must:

✓ adjust to a new physical sense of self.

✓ adjust to new intellectual abilities.
✓ adjust to increased cognitive demands at school.
✓ develop expanded verbal skills.
✓ develop a personal sense of identity.
✓ establish adult vocational goals.
✓ establish emotional and psychological independence from his or her
parents.
✓ develop stable and productive peer relationships.
✓ learn to manage her or his sexuality.
✓ adopt a personal value system.
✓ develop an increased impulse control and behavioral maturity.

Moving towards adulthood can be dangerous for an adolescent. You may find
yourselves .at risk at any of the following aspect: physical’ social or educational.
Apparently, taking risks are manifested during early and middle adolescence, perhaps
because of curiosity and an aspiration to become independent. In an effort to move
towards late \ adolescence and early adulthood, you are capable of learning the value
of self-control you can evaluate which behaviors are acceptable and adultlike. Little by
little you learn the essence of self-discipline.

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 For the record, adolescents do not progress through these developmental tasks
independently. There are those who may be dealing with multiple tasks at any given
time and may vary with each transition period.

What’s More

Individuals in early adolescence experience rapid physical growth and

maturation. It is the stage where they first attempt to depart from their dependent and
protected roles as a person to establish a unique self, liberated from their parents.
Adolescents focus more on building a self-concept about their physical self. Your
physical acceptability matters most. Early adolescence is also a period of strong
conformity to friends. At this stage, you have this desire to get along’ with your friends
and the need to be accepted seem so compelling you do not want to be seen by anybody
as someone who is different?

Middle adolescents, on the other hand, experience new thinking skills. their
intellectual world has suddenly expanded momentously. At this stage, your friends are
still an important part? of your life but you are more directed toward the Opposite sex.
Your desire to become independent of your parents is much greater during this stage
because your focus is more on adult roles wherein you start making decision5 about
your goals in life --a display of behavioral maturity on your part is a young person. you
have been oriented toward what is right and proper which enable you to control your
impulsiveness despite some of your careless behavior.
Late adolescence is the stage where the final preparations for adult roles take
place. This is the time of young adulthood wherein your career goals are now clearer
and you start attempting to work on them so that they will soon fall into place. At this
stage, you are no longer concerned about whether or not your friends approve of what
you do. You are an independent person and the transition to adulthood is nearly
complete.
Life throws so many challenges at us that we begin to realize that we. need to
transform in order to be on our way to a fulfilling life. There are times when we spend
thinking about other people’s lives but come to think of this: Why not spend quality
time thinking about OUR OWN life?
In this present generation, young people like you are so remarkable most of you
do not stop from succeeding which makes you more impressive. Big bosses of different
companies and those who are at managerial positions are so young. Look at Mark Elliot
‘Zuckerberg Who, at 25, is estimated to be worth 4 billion dollars for his greatest
creation, the Facebook. How many years away are you from being 25? Well, he knew
his gift when he was still very young he created Facebook, when he was barely 20 years
old. But the point is, it is never too early to look into your life and dream!

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 Having a game plan for your life is important. You are the first and best person
to make a decision to plan a good life for yourself. Of course, along the way you will
meet people who will provide you with life-changing insights and experiences open your
mind to these inspiring people and learn from them so you can become a responsible
adult like them as well. i Let them-be your life coaches too:
Morrie (1997), from one of the most inspiring books: “Tuesdays” with Morrie”,
was a college professor who was terminally ill.
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even
when they are busy doing things, they think are important. This is because they’re
chasing the Wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself
to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote ourselves
to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

I realize that…

What is it that you want to devote your life to? What is it that you want to be able
to do that will really make you feel that you have accomplished much? Life planning is
about answering these important questions. The answer to these questions will lead you
to your life’s mission. Have a Set Of clear goals where you anchor the major decisions
of life.
Ask yourself now, “Do I want to be successful? Do I want to reach my highest
hopes and fondest dreams? Do I want to be happy?” M05t 0f you would surely answer,
“YES!” but with hesitations like “I can’t do it.” “I’m not as lucky as other people.” and so
on and so forth. If you start with these, you will really be doomed to get stuck in life.
Why not say, I am wonderfully made and I shall succeed and bless the lives of people I
serve.” Then, It shall happen!

What I Have Learned

LEARNING TASK 1
Reflections
A. After reading Lesson 3, choose three statements that struck you, those that
you consider your favorites. Write a reflection about each statement and relate it
with how can it help you with your mission statement and life planning.
STATEMENT 1:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How is this statement related to your own life?

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_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

STATEMENT 2:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How is this statement related to your own life?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LESSON 4: THE CHALLENGES OFMIDDLES AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

What’s New

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you,

They’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”
-Virginia Satir

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. realize that facing the challenges during teen years may help them understand and
manage the demands of being an adolescent;
2. articulate his/her feelings on the expectations of the significant people around hint
her;
3. make affirmations that Will enable them to become more lovable and capable
adolescents.
Middle and late adolescence are the periods in our lives when rapid growth and
change occurs physical, mental and social. This is also the time when teenagers like
you worry about so many things.

The mud baggage is used to describe when we hold feelings or emotions to

ourselves. These feelings and emotions are sometimes caused by the people around us
or sometimes by our personal thoughts one mayor another. Our behavior gets affected
that they become our burden everyday:

BAGGAGE CLAIM WORKSHEET

How are you feeling at the moment? Do you have concerns or apprehensions that
make you feel uncomfortable? Is there anything that you would like to talk about? Are
you feeling anxious about something? Fill-in the baggage below by writing down the
things that give discomfort to you.

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 It is normal for teenagers to have worries and fears. According to Evemerd
&Vander Werfforteten. (1983), being an adolescent means that you are experiencing too
much confusion about the many changes that are still taking place in this stage of your
life. This causes you to become nervous, scared or uneasy about everything around you
even if in reality, there is nothing to worry about.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

The ultimate measure of a man is not where

he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.
~ Martin Luther King Ir.

What Is It

CHALLENGES FACING MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENTS

1. Anxiety and Stress
Adolescents in the middle and late stage have a tendency to treat every worry as
a big? problem you have a huge pimple on your cheek and you *are embarrassed to go
out; your teacher announces a surprise quiz and you start to panic; or you fought with
your friend and you cannot do anything Productive. When these worries would not go
away or they get worse over time and interfere with your daily life, this could be a sign
that you are struggling with anxiety.
Take note, if you keep thinking about negative things, it can lead to stress.
It is normal for teenagers like you to worry about things but take note. not all
worries need professional help.
Sometimes, you just need to take a deep breath, and stop thinking about all this
non-sense because there are absolutely other things worth thinking about. Simply, take
things slowly, try to talk about Your ‘worries’ with somebody else and transform those
'worries’ into positive ones you will then realize that you are one step ahead to
overcoming your worries.
2. Pressure in School
Young individuals like you today are under a lot of study pressure from both your
teachers and your parents. You are expected to get good grades so that you can get into
a good college or a university. Teenagers sometimes put too much weight on their
shoulders to excel in. school because they want to make a good impression. You want
to be the best in all the activities so that others in school will admire you and look up
to you. However, there are many problems that come with the will to be the best. Many
of you stress yourselves much more than you can or you should. You spend hours
studying or working too hard. As a result, you become restless and get sick. You have
to relax along with all the hard work that you are putting in to avoid stress attacks and
other stress related health problems.
There are some who tend to cheat because they are under so much pressure and
if caught, they have an even bigger problem because they are faced with very bad

36 | P a g e
consequences. You must understand that parents are aware that not all children can
get the best grades. It only seems that they are too compelling that you excel in school
‘but the truth of the matter is, they only want you to exert your best effort because they
believe in your skills and capabilities. They believe in you (you just need to recognize
your strengths, you Know!) So, avoid engaging yourselves in rebellious and less
disciplined activities because you can always excel in things that you do best your
parents are aware of that!
3. Pressure in a Relationships
In this age and time, most middle and late adolescents are in relationships. Some
adolescents who are heart broken in love can get easily depressed and even try to
commit suicide. Be open to your parents if you are in a relationship, they can help you
overcome your sadness. Being in a relationship may also include a physical involvement
with another person. Teenagers get involved in unsafe sex which can lead not only to
pregnancy but also to other sexually transmitted diseases. These cases are on the rise
and you have to understand the consequences of your every action. If you are not yet
reader to see yourself carrying a little baby in Your arms, if you know that you are still
financially incapable of raising a family, If You know that you cannot give up. partying
all night, then be responsible enough when you are in a relationship. “

4. Drinking and Smoking

Teenagers may feel the need to and drink because other people it.
They see their parents drink and smoke. In addition, the teenage social often
revolves around drinking and smoking - friends would urges one another to try a drink
or smoke something, that is peer pressure. Since they are readily available and they see
all their friends enjoying it, in their minds, they would see drinking and smoking as a
part of the now, a teenage experience.

5. Drugs
This is a common problem that most of the teens face today. They could be
addicted to drugs due to a number of reasons. Mostly it is the peer pressure.
If the parents don’t have time for these kids, then the problem only becomes more
serious. So do not blame your child if you catch him or her taking drugs. Give them the
help and the support they need. It is also equally important that you explain them how
drugs can be dangerous and must be avoided. We have an article that is dedicated to
the problems of drug addiction. We hope that the article will help you to deal with the
problems.

6. Constant Need to Look Good

Some of you may not be aware but many people of your age today suffer from
outer physical image problem. Middle and late adolescents spend a huge amount of
money buying new clothes, accessories and the like, to improve the way they look but
at the of it all, they still feel dissatisfied. Reality bites, not all teenagers can look
gorgeous. In effect, they feel depressed and become introverts. They choose to stay home
and avoid making friends because they feel that they are too fat and not attractive
enough for others to like them.

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 News flash: you do not need to look good for others to accept you. You are
beautiful in your own unique ways. You just need to accept that fact so you can feel
confident enough about yourself – little do you know; others accept you for who you are
and not for who they want you to become.

7. Eating Disorders
Adolescents at this stage believe that being fat is hideous and unattractive. Part
of the need to look good is the amount of food that a teenager eats every day. Teenage
girls fear getting fat; as a result, they do not eat at all. Because of this, some suffer from
anemia and anorexia. They become too thin and weak; hence, they develop a lot of
health-related complexities. Teenage boys, on the other hand, have the habit of eating
lots of junk food. They do not have any discipline and either they skip a meal or overeat
at times.

A responsible adolescent knows his/her limitations when it comes to eating. A

little of everything is better ' than to have nothing at all.

8. Addiction to Social Networks

Social networking has become a necessity in the life of teenagers. When-you wake
up in the morning, the first thing that you do is to check your phone and browse through
your Facebook account.

You are about to eat with your loved ones and the first thing that you do is take
a selfie with the food that you are about to eat. Before you go to sleep, the last thing
that you do before you close your eyes is to post something in your Instagram account.
Some of you Would even spend the whole night updating your details on different Sites.
You may be smiling right now because you know these are true! This is how addicted
you are to social media -you do not even sleep well, 3’ou cannot even concentrate on
your School work and you suffer in all the aspects of life because of this What you do
not realize is that you are to invite unnecessary trouble because of this and also get
followed by stalkers which can lead to a lot of crimes against the teenagers_ This has"
become one of the most common problems that teenagers face today and you cannot
even get rid of it. .

9. Uncertainty About the Future

As teenagers, you are not sure as to what the future holds for you. You wonder
about which college or university You Will get in and what career you will make in the
coming years. Since the answers are uncertain, you often feel depressed, at times, you
find yourself lost and day dreaming. Do not be confused. There are people around you
who can help you decide about what you should do and’ what profession you, should
pursue. Try to seek advice from your school counselor, from your parents and friends
they will surely show you the way.

10. Depression
When you are generally worried about these things for no clear reason and you
cannot relax, when you feel like giving up and Y0u are having trouble sleeping, or

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simply: you are behaving in ways that are not like you and this goes on for most of the
time .or for more than two weeks, you could be heading towards depression, which can
ruin your future if it becomes quite dangerous and painful for you.

What I Have Learned

LEARNING TASK 1
My Adolescent Life and the Challenges that Come with It
Examine your teen years. What are the challenges that you are currently facing in your
life – at home or in school? Write them down using a graphic organizer. Below each
challenge, describe how you are able to manage it (or how you are planning to manage
it).

YOU

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 LESSON 5: COPING WITH STRESS IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

What’s New

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
-William James
LEARNlNG OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. discuss that understanding stress and its sources during adolescence may aid in
identifying ways to cope and have a healthful life;
2. identify sources of one’s stress and illustrate the effect of stress on one ‘s system;
3. demonstrate personal ways of coping with stress for healthful living.
Stress, distress, eustress: what exactly do this mean? Just thinking about these
terms may stress you out! When you do something, it causes you a little bit' of stress.
Hopefully, only a little bit. Some stress may be good for you, while others might be bad.
In this lesson, you will find out What stress is, how and why it occurs and all being well,
you will be able to identify your own ways on how to manage stress.

EYE-OPENER:
Let’s find out what causes you stress. Take time to read each item and try to answer
each item in the Identify Your School Triggers Worksheet as honestly as possible.
Ask for help if you do not understand an item

IDENTIFY YOUR SCHOOL TRIGGERS WORKSHEET

Rate each item from 1 to 5'. Use the following indicators for your answers
1 - Does not bother me at all
2 - Makes me feel a little uncomfortable
3 - Makes me feel stressed
4 - This upsets me
5 - I’m going to explode!
1 2 3 4 5
A teacher gives me feedback/constructive criticism
Someone or something interrupts me while I am working
A teacher tells me to correct a mistake
When I disagree with my classmate
When a classmate asks for help
HomeWorks
When a teacher tells me to do something
When someone starts ‘small talks’ with me
Reporting in front of the class
Meeting new people

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 What Is It

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

I wish... I wish I were dead…

And what use would that be to anyone? ’
~ I.K. Rowling, Harry Potter "and the Deathly Hallows ~

In a year, you’ll barely remember why you felt

so stressed, so why stress about it now?
~ Mom of Anonymous ~

When there are real or imagined disruptions 1n our lives, may it be a demand or
a stimulation 1n our life, stress occurs. Stress IS the psychological and physiological
response to these changes in life. Bad stress, which results from unpleasant events that
lowers the quality of life, is called distress. On the contrary, eustress or good stress,
enhances a person’s quality of life. ‘Distress is set to Depress, but eUstress can bring
you success.

TYPES OF STRESS
Stress
You may doubt the above claim about stress being good because we have always
understood stress as something that is bad for us but this is not always the case.
Stress can result from: falling in love with someone, participating in a ball game
you love, seeing your crush, anticipating a drop in a roller coaster ride you enjoy, getting
into a relationship. Basically, eustress comes from participating in or anticipating a
pleasurable experience. Eustress can feel exciting and improves our performance and
motivation. You may find the start of the school year as stressful, but eustress can give
you a feeling of wanting to succeed, impress, and will motivate you to do better.
Stress is a manageable type of stress. It does not overwhelm you and it does not
last long like some types of distress. But take note, too little eustress can lead to being
bored and too much eustress may endanger your health like adrenaline junkies might
when you seek out this pleasurable form of stress by doing activities like skydiving and
base jumping over and over again.

Distress
Distress, on the other hand, comes from being involved in or anticipating
unpleasant things like; death of a loved one, loss from a contest a financial difficulty,
injury or abuse, Unlike stress, this stress can cause anxiety which is unpleasant, lead
someone to feel as if they are overwhelmed and unable to cope, decrease a person’s

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performance in things like school work or life in general might lead to mental and
physical health problems may be short or long-term
Distress, especially over the long-term, can lead to a ton of mental and physical
health problems which may include heart problems and sleep disorders.
One particular form of distress may not be a bad thing in the short term. This
type of distress is one that can actually save your life. Known as tight or flight response.
it is our response to stress that makes the body Prepare to confront or avoid a situation.
A good example of this would be if you were to be walking outside in the woods,
only to come across a bear out of nowhere! You Would, even without thinking about it,
enter into this primitive and instinctive stress response in order to do everything you
can to survive a potential bear attack.

Where Does Stress Come From? What is worry?

Worries are unpleasant thoughts that you can’t get out of your head. They’re like
annoying bugs that keep buzzing around and ' won’t leave you alone.
It’s normal to have worries-everyone has them from time to time. It’s only a
problem when your worries get in the way of other parts of your life, or if they make you
unhappy, what do you worry about? Circle at least three of your worries from the
lists below:

FAMILY SCHOOL FRIENDS OTHER

Arguments or
Following Rules Fitting in Getting Hurt
Fights
Upsetting Family Grades Making Friends Being Embarrassed
Family’s Safety Presentations Being Teased Appearance
Getting in Trouble Homework What to Talk About Money
Sick Family
Tests Bullies
Member

When you worry, your body goes through a number of changes. These changes
can be uncomfortable, and for some pe0ple they’re scary. Circle each of the worry
symptoms that you’ve experienced: Fast Heartbeat, Sweating, Feeling Sick, Shaking,
& Feeling Hot
The good news about worry is that it can’t hurt you. Worrying might be
uncomfortable, but you can learn to control it with a little practice. Is there anything
you already do that helps you control your worry?

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 To control my worry, I...

Stress can result in problematic symptoms, especially when stress continues over
a long period of time.

What Are Stressors?

Examine your life and the many things that stress you out. You will probably
come up with a long list of things that you worry about. It is important to assess where
stress comes from in our lives and the facts about how all sorts of stress arises in our
day-to-day lives. Stressors are the factors that cause us stress let us identify these so
that we will learn how to manage them eventually.

School and Interpersonal Stress

There is test anxiety that causes distress during an exam - even intelligent
students may do poorly on a test when they prepared for it very much. There is also
speech anxiety, which is even far worse than test anxiety for many. Notice the reactions
of some of your classmates whenever your teacher announces that there will be a graded
recitation, you need to report about a topic, or you need to deliver an essay for your
speech class e they just seem so restless. Having to speak your mind in front of a group
of people can cause a stir upon one’s mind and body. Certainly, there is \he math
anxiety the feeling that you are incapable of doing well for as long as it is related to math

But there is more here than those obvious examples. School may bring. about
strain to a person in different ways. Time management is difficult for middle and late
adolescents because of the numerous activities in and outside school projects are piling
up, too many submission deadlines to meet, multiple quizzes in a day, book reports and
other homework, new movie to watch, new friends to be with, DOTA Tournament and
the like. Some students get homesick; others may have the usual relationship problems
with a boyfriend/ girlfriend. Others have to work while they study, being away from
loved ones, fighting with a partner, and balancing work with studies all add another
layer of stress to an already hectic student life.

Stress from the Environment

Environmental stressors such as light, noise, smells, pollution of all sorts, and
temperature can add misery to an already difficult situation (Gregson, 2000). Sometimes
you want to go to sleep early because of a tiring day but you cannot because your dorm
mate has friends over who make humongous noise. Your neighbors are fighting again
which would rouse you up from sleep or they are having a Videoke Party, leaving you
totally groggy for the rest of the day.

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Internal Stressors
Procrastination, the tendency to put things off until a later time, increases stress. You
have a project to submit and it was announced a month ago so you have enough time
to work on it but because you kept on wasting your time on something else, delaying
your schedule to work on it, you had to cram the night before for the sake of submitting
a project. Procrastination is a type of internal stressor, something that is generated
within ourselves. Other examples of internal stressors include:
• Perfectionism: the desire to perform or complete things with no room for mistakes
• Self-criticism
• Expecting too much from ourselves in a short space of time
This type of strain you place upon yourself can sometimes be extreme. Sometimes
you even feel your stomach hurt so much and later on get sick because of too much
misery coming from internal stressors that you yourself created.

Impact of Stress
Stress can cause anxiety, fatigue, physical ailments, and emotional issues and,
in some cases, even behavioral changes (Davidson, 2002). In the past, people suffering
from stress may have noticed that they are not sleeping well, unable to eat well or are
restless and unproductive.
The effects that stress has on the body are different for each person. But it is
equally important to be able to identify the effect stress has on you. This will enable you
to realize you are stressed and hopefully come up with a means of stopping or dealing
with the issue. Some of the effects stress can have on a person are:
1. Physical: You may experience physical issues with your body such as headaches,
muscle tension, fatigue, change in eating habits and even loss of sleep.
2. Mood: You may start having moods that are driven by anxiety. You might become
less motivated to do work, get angry quickly or be short tempered and possibly fall into
sadness or depression.
3. Behavior: You might start to not eat as much, yell at or become irritated with
individuals more quickly and even turn to alcohol or drugs to deal with the issue.
These signs are indications that you are under stress. These can be caused by
many things in our daily lives of course, let us remember that we are looking at stress
because of our personal actions that maybe we cannot manage our time or get
everything to work the way we want things to be. The technique is: recognize the
symptoms and come up with solutions that will make us effective individuals.

How to Reduce, Prevent and Cope with Stress

When you are under stress, you sometimes feel that there is nothing you can do
about it. The school projects keep coming. You feel that there will never be more hours
in the day, and your responsibilities will always be demanding. But remember! You have
more control over stress than you might think. Stress management is all about taking
charge of your lifestyle, thoughts, emotions and the way you deal with problems. No

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matter how stressful your life seems, there are steps to relieve the pressure and regain
control.

What’s More

How to Reduce, Prevent and Cope with Stress

When you are under stress, you sometimes feel that there is nothing You can do
about It. The school projects keep coming, you feel that there will never be more hours
1n the d ay, and your responsibilities will always be demanding. But remember, you
have more control over stress than you might think. Stress management is all about
taking charge: of your lifestyle» thoughts, emotions, and the way you deal with problems.
No matter how stressful your life seems, there are steps you can take to relieve the
pressure and regain control.

Stress Management
In dealing with stress you have to keep in mind that there is size fits all each of
us respond differently to stress. However, if you that stress is getting out of hand do
your part to take some action been” you absolutely do not want harmful effects to be
spiraling in the future.
Stress management can teach you healthier ways to cope with stress, some of
you may feel hopeless and powerless when stressed out but do not ever forget that you
still have control over your thoughts, emotions and the way you deal with your
problems. Stress management allows a person to:
1. change the stressful situation when he/she can;
2. reverse one’s reactions when he/she cannot;
3. take care of yourself,
4. make time for rest and relaxation.

But how? You just need to recognize the true sources of stress in your life. To do
this, you need to start a stress journal. It will help you identify the stressors that
regularly bother you and how you deal with them. Take note of the instances when you
feel stressed in your journal so you can keep a daily log of them. This will allow you to
see patterns and common themes. Example of this is:
✓ What caused your stress?
✓ How did you feel both physically and emotionally?
✓ How did you react?
✓ What did you do to feel better?
There is a difference between identifying the true sources of stress after a major
life event (like losing a loved one or separation of parents) and identifying the true
sources of everyday stress. Normally, it is easier to pinpoint the former and more difficult
in the latter. Definitely, you know that you constantly worry about your school projects

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or submission dates but have you ever given a thought that maybe it is your
procrastination or delaying tactics rather than the actual demands of the project that is
causing the stress? It is always best to look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses
to identify the true sources of stress:
• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on
right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your school or home life (” Brings are
always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous
energy, that's all”)?
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely
normal and unexceptional?
Until you accept your responsibility for the role that you play in creating or
maintaining your stress level, it will remain outside your control.
Ask yourself now, “How do I currently manage and cope with stress in my life?”
“Are my coping strategies healthy or unhealthy, helpful or unproductive?” Sadly, many
people cope with stress in ways that make the problem even bigger

Coping with Stress: The Unhealthy Way

Some coping strategies below may reduce stress but only temporarily. What you
are not aware of, they can have lasting negative effects on your life.

• Smoking and drinking

• Using drugs to relax
• Splurging on junk or comfort food
• Sleeping too much
• Spending too much time in front of TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family and other activities
• Procrastinating
• Pretending to be busy to avoid facing problems
• Lashing out your stress on others (angry outbursts, physical violence, and the
like)

Coping with Stress: The Healthier Way

You will soon realize that when your methods of coping with stress are not
helping you, it is about time that you find healthier ones. Of course, there is no single
method that works for everyone or in every situation. It is up to you to experiment with
what strategy pacifies you and makes you feel calm.

Strategy #1: Get in motion

Strategy #2: Engage socially
Strategy #3: Avoid Unnecessary Stressors
Strategy #4: Alter the Situation

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Strategy #5. Adapt to the Stressor
Strategy #6. Accept the things you cannot change
Strategy #7. Have Fun and Relax.
Strategy #8. Adopt a healthy lifestyle

What I Have Learned

A. In essay form, explain the importance understanding what stresses an individual.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

B. Look for a friend who you can share your thoughts with, it could also be a relative
you are comfortable to talk to. Ask hi,/her about what stresses him/her, and try to list
down what he/she does to cope with the stresses.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LESSON 6: THE POWER OF THE MIND

What’s New

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you, you will be tomorrow where
your thought take you.”
JAMES ALLEN
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. discuss that understanding the left and right brain may help in improving ones
learning;
2 explore the two types of mind-mapping techniques which are situated at either the
right brain or left brain-dominant thinking styles;
3. make a plan to improve learning using left and right brain through mind-mapping
activities.
Did you know that at one point in time, you and a dog, fish and bird had
something very much in common? You may be guessing that it was the fur, the scales
or the beak. The truth is, it was the most important structure of any higher order animal
known as the brain.
Believe it or not, the human brain was as complex and as advanced as that of a
bird. Ifyou think that this happened only millions of years ago, then you are only in part

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correct. As a matter of fact, it occurs right now all over the world and it happened to
you when you were still in your mother’s womb. Yes, at one point in time, you basically
had a bird brain.
The development of all sorts of organs occurred to you when you were still in your
mother’s womb. Slowly but surely, they all grew to become very important in your daily
activities. They mature into the structures in your adult brain that make life possible
for you today.
In this lesson, we will focus on the brain’s hemispheres to help you improve your
learning.
The human brain is located in the head and is protected by the skull. It is the
organ considered as the command center of the nervous system responsible for receiving
inputs from the sense organs and sends output to the muscles.
Our brain is comparable to a globe. You definitely know that our world, the Earth,
is divided into parts. They are individually called hemispheres. Our brain is separated
into two halves each half is called a hemisphere.
All of us have two hemispheres one is called the right hemisphere and the other
is called the left hemisphere. When referring to the left hemisphere versus the right
hemisphere, it is important to remember that we are talking about your own body’s
perspective. This means that just like your left arm is on the left side of your body, your
left-brain hemisphere is on the left side of your head, too. The same goes for your right
arm and right hemisphere -they are both on your right side.

What Is It

THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

Logic will get you from A-Z.

Imagination will get you everywhere.

~Albert Einstein ~

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HEMISPHERIC DOMINANCE INVENTORY
Put a check mark to each item that applies to you.

A B
You are better with faces than names. You are very organized person.
People have described you as “perceptive”. In fact, you kind of love cleaning.
If someone is mad at you, you can tell without them And nothing makes you happier than coming home
having to say a word. and having everything in its place.
When planning a party, you think about the bigger You like to think things through before making
picture rather than smaller details. decision.
Actually, you are not a HUGE planner, you prefer to And you`re really not into surprises or being
be spontaneous. spontaneous.
You have been called out for daydreaming. You`re really great at catching typos.
And being easily distracted. Before you buy something, you check to make sure
nothing`s wrong with it.
You are daydreaming or getting distracted right You work best in quiet space.
now.
When you look at piece of art, just because you were And you`re great at assigning jobs when you work on
curious. group projects.
Actually, you`ve dabbled in art, just because you People love coming to you for advice, because you
were curious. don`t let your own feelings cloud your judgment.
If someone`s arguing. You are more likely to believe You rarely make mistakes, and if you do, you never
them if they get emotional. make the same mistake again.
And you tend to get emotional about things You`re really great at organizing events and parties.
yourself.
You are not afraid of talking risks. And planning ahead is kind of jam.
And you tend to trust your gut instinct over You have hard time understanding people who are
anything else. always late to things, because you so rarely are.
You work best if there`s music or TV on in the You hate talking risks.
background.
And procrastinating is skill you`re extremely You`re really amazing at learning new languages.
familiar with.
You`re more of a visual learner and tend to And you learn best by reading or listening to
remember details if you can see them. something out loud.
If you had the chance to live in a fantasy world When you have to build something, you read the
instead or reality, you would. instructions first.
In fact, you`ve related more to fictional characters And if you`re going to buy a new car, you`re going to
than people in your real life. research every possible option.
You tend to doodle whenever you`re taking notes. You are scary good at Sudoku puzzles.
That might be because you get others might think And remembering people`s names.
of you
And aren`t at all afraid of what others might think You`re never happier than after you`ve checked off
of you. everything on your to-do list.

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How many did you check under Section A? ___________ Section B____________?

I realized that..

So, what if you are right-brained or left-brained? Have you ever heard people
describe themselves as strictly “right-brained” or “left-brained”? Of course, the left-
brainers would brag about their math skills and the right-brainers would tout about
their creativity. The reason for this is because each hemisphere provides a different set
of functions, behaviors, and controls. The right hemisphere is often called the creative
side of the brain, while the left hemisphere is the logical or analytical side of the brain.
Roger Sperry’s in his Split-Brain Experiment examined the way the human
brain’s hemispheres operate independently and in sync with one another. The brain’s
right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the human body, while the left
hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body. So, for example, when
you wink your right eye, that is the left side of your brain at work. Due to this crisscross
wiring, when one side of the brain gets damaged, the opposite side of the body is
affected.
Generally, the left hemisphere is dominant in language. It processes what you
hear and is in-charge of handling most of the duties of speaking. In addition, it also
carries out logic and exact mathematical computations. When you need to retrieve a
fact, your left brain pulls it from your memory.
On the other hand, the right hemisphere is mainly in charge of spatial abilities,
face recognition and processing music. It performs some math, but only rough
estimations and comparisons. The brain’s right side is also its-charge of understanding
visual images so that everything we see would make sense. It plays a role in language,
particularly in interpreting not just context but a person’s tone as well.
Take a look at the picture below for a more detailed division of tasks of the right
and left hemispheres of the brain.

LEFT-BRAIN RIGHT-BRAIN
LOGIC CREATIVITY
ANALYSIS IMAGINATION
SEQUENCING HOLISTIC THINKING
LINEAR INTUTION
MATHEMATICS ARTS (MOTOR SKILL)
LANGUAGE RHYTHM (BEATS)
FACTS NON-VERBAL
THINK IN WORDS FEELINGS
WORDS OF SONG VISUALISATION
COMPUTATION TUNE OF SONG
DAYDREAMING

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 What the brain does is to carefully balance and assign control of certain functions
to each side. Basically, it relies most on nature’s way of ensuring that the brain
ultimately divides the tasks to maximize efficiency.
Now that you have learned the functions of the right and left parts of the brain,
let us analyze how they can improve one’s learning.
How exactly does the right brain and left-brain dominance affect how you perform
in the classroom? Most of the time, the teaching styles in the {classroom use left brain
strategies, which is more favorable to left-brained students and difficult for right-
brained students.

Right Brain vs. Let! Brain Dominance & Its Learning Implications
According to Cherry (2016), left-brain students are good at linear and sequential
processing, such as involved in language and math. Left brain students are also good
at planning and following directions. These students easily learn information in lecture-
style, teaching approach.
Right-brain students can process information more holistically. They learn by
understanding the big-picture and not the details. They tend to be visual and not
language oriented. This means they find it difficult to follow a lecture-style teaching
approach. Right-brain students need to know why they are doing something. Right-
brain students can benefit from reviewing material before class to understand the bigger
picture, and to understand the context for details that will be taught in class.
Left-brain students can easily express themselves in words. This is a large part
of what is expected in class participation and in assignments. Right-brain students may
know what they want to say, but often have trouble finding the right words.
A left-brain student is good with symbolic language and mathematics, and can
easily memorize vocabulary words or math formulas. A right-brain student needs to see,
feel, or touch the real object. Right-brain students prefer hands-on activities, and need
to draw out a math or other problem to understand it. They “also need diagrams or
illustrations to help visualize the problem or solution.
Right-brain students learn visually, not by listening to a lecture-style class. They
must take extensive notes, and use diagrams and drawings to make information more
visual, to facilitate learning the information. They “also need to make a mental image of
things they hear or read in order to remember the information.
Left-brain students are good note takers and list makers. They are also good at
planning and scheduling. This means they are good at completing assignments. Right-
brain students tend to approach things randomly. They tend to not make study
schedules, and jump around from one task to another without regard to priorities.
Right-brain students may be late with an assignment, not because they were not
working hard, but because they were working on a lower priority assignment. Right-
brain students need extra effort in reading instructions to ensure they understand the
assignment. They also need extra effort in making assignment lists and study schedules.
Left-brain students are better at writing and spelling, since it involves sequencing
and organizing of letters and words. Right-brain students require more time to write a
paper, and require more revisions to get it to say what they want to say. Right-brain
students must also rely more on spelling checkers and proof reading for their

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assignments. Right-brain students tend to be more creative, but have more trouble than
left-brain students with the mechanics of writing and communicating.
To facilitate more learning among adolescents like you (and even among adults
like us), a new technique has begun entirely different from the traditional methods and
techniques of learning. This is known as Mind Mapping Technique -a learning technique
which uses both the right and left sides of our brain.

What’s More

Mind Map
A mind map is a visual map of your ideas which is usually laid out in a circular
format around a central thought (Buzan, 2002).
Traditionally, when studying, one makes notes in a linear, list style by making
tons of lines of information. By making notes this way, we end up with heavy texts of
information written on our notebooks which are difficult to read and understand. By
writing notes this way, one may be forced to isolate pieces of information and feel the
inability to make connections between the concepts and ideas. Moreover, your creativity
becomes limited since the texts and information written are in a. linear form, and you
find these ideas hard to read, you do not have the chance of looking forward to reviewing
your notes. Agree?
Mind maps appeal to your senses with so much visual elements, images, and
colors which add emphasis and ensure that you will truly remember your notes. By
noting down only key words, you save vital time while studying. Also, when you want to
write essays or study using your mind maps, you will be able to recall most important
information.

Advantages of Mind Maps (Adapted from [Link])

Balancing the Brain
Mind maps emphasize the strengths of the right and left hemispheres of the
brain. When we draw our mind map, the right part of our brain is tasked with visual,
associative, and non-verbal thinking as well as a lot of relative thinking. The left
hemisphere, on the other hand, is responsible for analytical thoughts (which can only
be examined one at a time) such as when we are writing. Usually, we find it difficult to
express our thoughts on paper. But when the right hemisphere is triggered in tandem
with the left hemisphere, such as when we are producing a mind map, we overcome this
difficulty.
Mind maps allow you to concentrate because both hemispheres of the brain are
trained to be balanced and active at the same time, and because various sensory
channels are being employed at the same time, multiple. intelligences can be drawn
together to help in comprehension and memorization

Organizing Thoughts
By using mind mapping, we are able to organize and classify concepts 1,” our
minds first, which makes it easier for us to write about ‘a connection of concepts that
are related to each other.

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The Effects of Mind Mapping a Creativity
Most of the time individuals tend to underestimate their creative talents. In your
pursuit of academics, you tend to stress the functions of your left creative hemisphere
and forgetting the functions of the “creative” side of right hemisphere (except, of course,
for those who are “artistically gifted”). You are lucky that some schools integrate a well-
balanced education in their curricula to develop a well-balanced personality as well.
Mind Mapping help improve one’s creativity because of its emphasis on brainstorming,
free association and radiant thinking. You are able to present your level of
understanding graphically, in which translates higher order thinking skills when you
identify related ideas or subtopics.

Speed
The good thing about mind maps is that drawing your ideas in the ban of
keywords or symbols is a faster process compared to laboriously writing down lines of
notes. With the use of key words or symbols. you are likewise able to make associations
between different concepts and topics.

Having an overview of the Subject at a Glance

When we scan an entire page in our notebooks. usually it will take some time
before we finish and remember everything that we can. With mind maps, can actually
scan an entire page of information with just one look, which eases overloading of
Information in our minds. As a result. we get a quick overview of the subject.

Improved Learning and Memory

Can mind mapping help one to study better? Most of the studies about the effects
of mind mapping say yes. The effectiveness of mind maps stems from their function as
spatial structure mnemonics this means that our mind remembers where each idea was
placed within the mind map: The shape and the structure of the mind map act as visual
cues to trigger memory about where we placed the idea.

How to Mind Map

Mind mapping is very easy to do. First, you need a blank unlined paper. colored
pencils and pens, your brain coupled with your imagination.
Buzan (2002) identified Seven Steps to Making a Mind Map.
1. Start in the center of a blank page burned sideways. Starting in the neuter
gives your brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express itself more freely
and naturally.
2. Use an image or a picture for your central idea. A picture is worth a thousand
words and it will help your imagination. A central image is more interesting and will
keep you focused.
3. Use colors throughout. Colors are as exciting to your brain as images. It adds
extra vibrancies and life to your mind map and adds energy to your creativity -not to
mention, it is fun!
4. Connect your main branches to the central image and connect your second
and third-level branches to the first and second levels, etc. This will allow your brain to

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work by association. You will be able to link two or more things together and in doing
so; you will understand and remember a lot more easily.
5. Make your branches curved rather than straight-lined for the simple reason
that straight lines are boring to your brain.
6. Use one key word per line. Single key words give power and flexible Your mind
map more
7. Use images throughout because like the central image, each one is also worth
a thousand words.

What I Have Learned

Explain the importance of knowing if you are right-brained or left-brained.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

According to this module, “The good thing about mind maps is that drawing your ideas
in the ban of keywords or symbols is a faster process compared to laboriously writing
down lines of notes. With the use of key words or symbols. you are likewise able to make
associations between different concepts and topics”, create a good caption about the
picture below.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 LESSON 7: MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN MIDDLE AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE

What’s New

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”
Proverbs 4:23

LEARNlNG OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. discuss the concept of mental health; and,
2. identify the importance of mental health particularly to the adolescent.

MENTAL HEALTH
• It’s the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect your life.
• Good mental health leads to positive self-image and in-turn, satisfying
relationships with friends and other.
• It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
• Having good mental health helps you make good decisions and deal with life’s
challenges at home.

What Is It

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her
own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and
fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health is
our ability to respond to challenges. What kind of challenges? It could be anything from:
1. A sudden encounter with a snake
2. Reviewing for an upcoming exam
3. It could be something physical like an illness
4. Something social like bullying or being left-behind
5. Or a to-do-list the size of a mountain
6. It could be an argument with your family
7. Or a difficult essay
8. Or a death of a parent

The fact is life rarely goes the way we plan. And whenever we are hit by trials
and challenges, mental health is our ability to bounce back and stay on course.

HOW DO YOU GET THIS ABILITY?

Are you born with it? NO. Mental health can change and the things that tend to shape
it are called risk factors and protective factors.
1. Protective factors

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 • Sense of self-efficacy – one’s perception of one’s value and worth, effectiveness,
and ability in performing a task or activity
• Mental health and well-being is also anchored on one’s self- worth and value or
self-esteem.

SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY ESTEEM

Does any of this sound familiar?
• "I'm too tall."
• "I'm too short."
• "I'm too skinny."
•“I’m too fat.”
• "If only I were shorter/taller/had curly hair/straight hair/a smaller nose/longer legs,
I'd be happy."

Are you putting yourself down? If so, you're not alone. As a teen, you're going
through lots of changes in your body. And, as your body changes, so does your image
of yourself. It's not always easy to like every part of your looks, but when you get stuck
on the negatives it can really bring down your self-esteem.

WHY ARE SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE IMPORTANT?

• Self-esteem is all about how much you feel you are worth — and how much you feel
other people value you.
• Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect your mental
health and how you behave.
• People with high self-esteem know themselves well. They're realistic and find friends
that like and appreciate them for who they are. People with high self-esteem usually feel
more in control of their lives and know their own strengths and weaknesses.

WHAT IS BODY IMAGE?

• Body image is how you view your physical self — including whether you feel you are
attractive and whether others like your looks. For many people, especially people in their
early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem.

WHAT INFLUENCES A PERSON'S SELF- ESTEEM?

1. Puberty and Development. Some people struggle with their self- esteem and
body image when they begin puberty because it's a time when the body goes
through many changes. These changes, combined with wanting to feel accepted
by our friends, means it can be tempting to compare ourselves with others. The
trouble with that is, not everyone grows or develops at the same time or
2. Media Images and Other Outside Influences. Our early teens are a time when
we become more aware of celebrities and media images — as well as how other
kids look and how we fit in. We might start to compare ourselves with other people
or media images ("ideals" that are frequently covered up). All of this can affect
how we feel about ourselves and our bodies even as we grow into our teens.
3. Families and School Family life can sometimes influence our body image.
Family members might struggle with their own body image or criticize their kids'

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 looks ("why do you wear your hair so long?" or "how come you can't wear skirts
that fit you?"). This can all influence a person's self-esteem, especially if they're
sensitive to others peoples' comments. People also may experience negative
comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates and
peers. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect body
image and self-esteem.

Things That Tend to Shape Mental Health

1. Protective factors
• A supportive family
• Or strong friendships
2. Risk factors
• Chronic illness
• Or low socio-economic status

EXAMPLE OF A MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING MODEL

The Wheel of Wellness model includes what is referred to as the five life tasks
developed in 1991 by Witmer and Sweeney: Essence or spirituality, Work and leisure,
Friendship, Love; and, Self-direction
Related to these five tasks are twelve sub-tasks as major components of wellness
or well-being that comprise the Wheel of Wellness. These are: Sense of worth, Sense of
control, Realistic beliefs, Emotional awareness and coping, Problem solving and
creativity, Sense of humor, Nutrition, Physical exercise, Self-care, Stress management,
Gender identity, and Cultural identity (Note: This may or may not apply to every Filipino,
but we do have cultural and regional differences that need to be understood and
accepted.)
It is important that the five tasks are balanced in terms of time spent on each
one, and of course, on the amount of energy one gives to fulfilling each of the tasks.
•The 12 sub-tasks are more of what one needs to own and practice to achieve mental
health and well-being.
In addition to the components, maintaining good mental health and well-being
requires resiliency and adaptability, two important skills that needs to be developed in
every person particularly the adolescent. Resiliency – the capacity to establish and
maintain one’s balance and well- being in the face of adversity. •It is the ability to get
back on one’s feet after a disaster or a crisis. While, Adaptability – the capacity to adjust
to changes necessary for one’s survival and balance.

What’s More

HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT AT THE CORE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

• Having a positive regard for oneself means looking at oneself as someone who is
worth loving and worth caring for, regardless of physical flaws and defects,
regardless of what other people perceive him to be, and in spite of the thoughts,
feelings, and behavior one experiences.

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 • It is about understanding and accepting one’s personality, uniqueness, and
individuality.
• Having a positive warm regard for oneself is also about seeing one’s strengths,
challenges and successes, as well as the stumbling blocks that come along the
way in one’s search for meaning and happiness.
• Having a wonderful self-concept is about having a spirituality that provides
philosophical and existential meaning to one’s life, and about one’s relationship
with his perceived Supreme Being.
• Having a healthy self-concept is also about embracing meaningful universal
human values that define who you are, and how these values form your set of
healthy attitudes about other people, situations, and things.
• The bedrock of a healthy self-concept, however, is a high sense of self-worth or
self-esteem.

GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH

The World Health Organization clearly noted that poor mental health plays a
significant role in diminished immune functioning and the development of certain
illnesses, and eventually premature death. One’s physical health is also an important
factor to good mental health. Sleep and nutrition, for example, should be given
importance and properly observed by an adolescent whose tendency is to take these
things for granted. An individual who is deprived of sleep, for example, will be cranky,
will have a short temper, will sometimes become emotionally sensitive, and will also
have a bad memory. Physically, the individual deprived of sleep may develop skin rashes
or acne, have dark circles around the eyes, and may even develop bad posture because
of feeling weak or sluggish and having low energy. People around this person will take
notice and might even get affected by certain behavior a

HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT +HEALTHY MIND AND BODY = GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

AND WELL-BEING
When all of these elements are in balance, then general well-being is experienced.
Well-being is a state of wellness where every aspect of a person is in balance. Being well
and feeling well means that there is a general sense of contentment, happiness,
calmness, and peace within. Developing one’s good mental health and well-being is very
important to the adolescent because this serves as a strong foundation toward a happy
and healthy adulthood.

CHALLENGES TO MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

A mental health problem is a short term and temporary change in a person’s
thoughts, feelings, or behavior that upsets one’s well-being, interpersonal relationships,
and productivity. A mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs
and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function. Many
adolescents are more susceptible to mental health concerns than adults. This is
primarily due to their underdeveloped brains and continuing changes in their bodies.
In addition to this, the adolescent is also going through tough times in resolving
their identity crisis and role confusion. Roughly 20% of a country’s total population falls
under the 10 to 19 years of age category or the adolescence category. The WHO

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estimates that there are around one billion adolescents around the world today. This is
the reason why the World Health Organization has mandated every member-nation to
provide special health services to the adolescent segment of their population.

EXAMPLES OF MENTAL ILLNESS

1. Depression
2. Anxiety Disorders
3. Schizophrenia
4. Eating Disorders
5. Addictive behaviors (drugs and alcohol)

DEPRESSION
Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time, and affects your everyday life.
In its mildest form, depression can mean just being in low spirits. It doesn’t stop you
leading your normal life but makes everything harder to do and seem less worthwhile.
At its most severe, depression can be life-threatening because it can make you feel
suicidal.

WHEN DOES LOW MOOD BECOMES DEPRESSION?

We all have times when our mood is low, and we’re feeling sad or miserable about
life. Usually, these feelings pass in due course. But if the feelings are interfering with
your life and don't go away after a couple of weeks, or if they come back over and over
again for a few days at a time, it could be a sign that you're experiencing depression.

ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about
things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future. It is a
natural human response when we perceive that we are under threat. It can be
experienced through our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. “Going out of the
house is a challenge because I have a fear of panicking and feel that I'm being watched
or judged. It's just horrible. I want to get help but I'm afraid of being judged.”

SCHIZOPHRENIA
You could be diagnosed with schizophrenia if you experience some of the
following symptoms: a lack of interest in things, feeling disconnected from your feelings,
difficulty concentrating, wanting to avoid people, hallucinations, such as hearing voices
or seeing things others don't, delusions (which could include paranoid delusions) –
strong beliefs that others don't share, and disorganized thinking and speech

EATING DISORDERS
If you have an eating problem you might: restrict the amount of food you eat, eat
more than you need or feel out of control when you eat, eat a lot in secret, feel very
anxious about eating or digesting food, eat lots of food in response to difficult emotions
(when you don't feel physically hungry), only eat certain types of food or stick to a rigid
set of diet rules and feel very anxious and upset if you have to eat something different,
do things to get rid of what you eat (purging), stick to rigid rules around what you can

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and can't eat and how food should look – and feel very upset if you break those rules,
feel strongly repulsed at the idea of eating certain foods, eat things that are not really
food, be scared of certain types of food or eating in public, think about food and eating
a lot or all the time, compare your body to other people's and think about their shape
or size a lot, check, test and weigh your body a lot – and base your self-worth on how
much you weigh or whether you pass your checks and tests.

ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS
Recreational drugs are substances people may take to give themselves a
pleasurable experience, to help them feel better if they are having a bad time because
their friends are using them to see what it feels like. They include alcohol, tobacco
(nicotine), substances such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, and some
prescribed medicines.

What I Have Learned

Reflections
A. After reading Lesson 7, choose three statements that struck you, those that
you consider your favorites. Write a reflection about each statement and relate it
with how can it help you with your mission statement and life planning.
STATEMENT1:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How is this statement related to your own life?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT2:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How is this statement related to your own life?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

A. Start spreading Mental Health Importance Awareness By creating a poster slogan.

Use a one whole bond paper to illustrate your work.
B. Compose a 3-stanza Spoken Poetry about Depression.

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