CHAPTER 2

Unpacking the self

Reporter:
Lumaday Miracle B.
Dastas, Mark kenneth
Seria, Paul Adrian
Policarpio, Gene peter
 LESSON 1
01 Explain the concept
of physical self
PHYSICAL SELF
02 Discuss ways on how to observe
physical self care

03 Enumerate practical tips on

how to practice mental self
care; and
04 Describe ways on how to
perform emotional self
care
INTRODUCTION
"The physical body is conceived and constructed in consciousness as are time and space. All
happens within our self." - Deepak Chopra

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of
dynamic and creative activity." - John F. Kennedy

The physical body is the window to one's personality. By merely looking at someone's physical
features, you can have an idea of his or her feelings, thoughts, and behavior.

Much of our resources has also been devoted to beauty products and treatments in order to
improve the way we look, because we want others to have a good impression of who we are.
Shavelson described the total self or general self
as being made up of academic self and
nonacademic self. Academic self is influenced by
the learning process. Non academic self is
shaped by an individual's social self, emotional
self, and physical self.
The social self is greatly influenced by parents,
colleagues,friends, and acquaintances among
others. Emotional self is the person's experiences of
joy, anger, fear, anxiety, and other emotions.
On the other hand, physical self is affected by
involvement in sports,exercise and other activities
that enhance the physical body (Medisauskaite
2009).
•Physical self is the amazing vessel, complex,
woven, and knitted finely tuned creature with
which we interact with our environment and
fellow beings. The physical self is the concrete
dimension, the tangible aspect of the person
that can be directly observed and examined. It is
composed of systems that receive and respond
to various external and internal stimuli.
• Sigmund Freud’s concept of self and personality makes
the physical body the core of human experience. Freud
stated that ego is the first and foremost a body ego.
Moreover, Wilhelm Reich emphasized the unity of the
mind and body. The body is central to all dynamic
psychological functioning and it plays a very important
role in storing and channeling the bioenergy, which is
considered as the basis of human existence and
experience (Singh, 2020).
• Meanwhile, Erik Erikson considered experience as firmly
associated on the ground-plan of the body. He stated that
organs of the body are essential during the early developmental
stages of a person. The formation and development of physical
and intellectual skills greatly influence the ability of the
individual to choose his/her role in the society and be fulfilled.
Physical health is directly correlated to the incompetence of
children. Healthy children are more competent and therefore,
will become more capable of acquiring complex skills than
children who are undernourished and sickly. Erikson also
highlighted the incessant and interplay of the body,
psychological processes, and social forces (Singh, 2020).
• Maslow provided a very important lesson about our
physical bodies when he laid down Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs. Once the psychological needs are met, the
person becomes dedicated to attaining the higher
needs. That is why he emphasized that we give due
attention to all the needs of the body. A well-nourished,
loved, respected indivudual experiences fulfillmeny. On
the other hand, deliberate self denial and rejection of
the body’s basic needs and will result to an inactive,
crippled organism.
• Psychologists have their own views of the physical body. But one thing is
common and that is the important role the physical body plays for totality of
our being. Without the tangible, responsive, physical body, we could not
enjoy the pleasures of the world.
• Religious groups around the world also have varying concepts regarding the
physical body. One that draws attention is the varying idea from the Indian
tradition. Some showed outright rejection of the body, because they
consider it as source of desires and attachments, while others give due
respect and importance to the physical body, because they attribute is as
the main instrument for spiritual growth and self realization. Indian tradition
also appraised growth and enlightenment as the whole body event, which is
only possible if one has a pure and strong body.
• Furthermore, the concept of the Middle path
from the Buddhist tradition is vital in one’s
attitude toward the body. They believe that
the body deserve love and respect, so there
should be neither full indulgence of one’s
desire nor extreme asceticism or self denial.
Taking Care of our Physical Body

The physical body has been considered as the "real

home", "temple", or "vehicle." It is the only one that
we have throughout our entire lives and is also the
one most intimate to us.
• Self care occurs in three levels: physical,
mental, and emotional. Taking care of the
physical body also entails taking care of our
mental and emotional lives.
 Proper Physical Self-Care

• This aspect of self care is the simplest one and

is very common nowadays. There are three
basic aspects of physical self care, and these
include good nutrition,sufficient amount if
recovery time (rest and sleep),and necessary
exercise.
02

Others might have other ways to care for the

body depending on the specific need and
preferences, like breathing exercises,massages,
long baths, saunas,physiotherapy,biking, hiking,
skin care and more.
Teenagers and adults nowadays are becoming fond of
doing som special skincare sessions or they are using
special skin care products to improve the quality of
their skin. Others also have to change hairstyle from
time to time to follow the trend. Consequently, we
have our own ways to take care of our physical bodies,
let us make sure that they are really beneficial and they
will not cause us to suffer unnecessary problems later
in life.
 03 Proper Mental Self Care
According to Brzosko (2018), Mental Self-care – is a two-fold process.
The First Step - is taking time to consistently break down what you are thinking
and why you are thinking that, because the moment you manage to notice your
thoughts, they will not have the power to direct your life without you even
noticing.
As we become conscious with our own thinking, we can actually choose where
to focus our thinking. We can choose to center our thoughts to something
positive. We can think of an idea, an activity, or a place that energizes us the
most.
• The Second Step – is to cultivate those mental
habits and thoughts that benefit us. As what has
been mentioned previously, keep those thoughts that
improve our well-being. It is not helpful if we will
meditate on negative words, negative experiences
and negative people that we have encountered. We
are just wasting our precious time with those
negative thoughts.
 Here are the tips for improving our mental habits suggested by
03 Brzoko (2018):
Focus your attention on the present moment
Practice Gratitude
Exercise Patience 01
Keyword
Learn to accept what is already happening.
Our relationship with others can also be improved if we keep in
mind that it is actually better to give something to others than to
Keyword
04
receive.
As the golden rule teaches us - let us do to others what we want
others to do to us. If these thoughts will be engraved in our minds,
our lives will be a lot better.
 04 Proper Emotional self care
It is, of course, easier to accept some feelings over others.
Most of the time, it is easy for us to recognize and embrace
emotions like peace, love, excitement, happiness, gratitude,
and hope. However, it takes more time and effort to accept
fear, regret, sadness, anxiety, and the like.
04
After recognizing the emotion, we
can either alter the emotional state
or we do not. For example, you
might be feeling sad or lonely
because an unexpecte event just
happened.
04

On the other hand, the Second

option tells us that we can
Keyword Keyword

actually detach the mental

interpretation from the emotion
itself, we can gradually get to
the root of the feeling
Keyword Keyword
• Consequently, we integrate the emotions as a valid
part of our experience, not being worse nor better
than others. With these, we will no longer seek
some feelings over others. Sometimes, we just
need to be cautious and mindful of these
emotions, so that they will not cause negative
impact to our daily activities and to the way we
interrelate with other people around us.
THANK YOU!!