Personal Development

Personal Development

Course Description: This course makes senior high school students aware of the developmental stage that they
are in, for them to better understand themselves and the significant people around them as they make important
career decisions as adolescents. The course consists of modules, each of which addresses a key concern in
personal development. Using the experiential learning approach, each module invites students to explore
specific themes in their development. Personal reflections, sharing, and lectures help reveal and articulate
relevant concepts, theories, and tools in different areas in psychology

Course Requirements: The students are required to comply with the following:
 Worksheets/Quizzes
 Module and Online Activities
 Group Collaboration Activities
 Quarterly Assessment Results

Learning Content:
Unit 1: Self-Development
1. Knowing Oneself
2. Developing the Whole Person
3. Developmental Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence
4. The Challenges of Middle and Late Adolescence
Unit 2: Aspects of Personal Development
5. Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence
6. The Powers of the Mind
7. Mental Health and Well-being in Middle and Late adolescence
8. Emotional Intelligence
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Unit 1: Self-Development
Lesson 1 Knowing Oneself

As an individual, we commonly see other people’s manner of doing things, belief, and lifestyle. Most of
the time, we give comments and/or judgment on how they behave and react in certain scenarios. However, it is
observed that most people find it hard to make good and sound evaluation towards their own behavior, traits,
and personality. In this lesson, we will try to know ourselves better by having careful reflections on how we see
ourselves as an individual and understanding our characters particularly as young and late adolescent.

Synchronous Activity:

Start knowing yourself better. Kindly work with a partner (anyone who is available to give you some
assistance) and assess how well you know yourself by listing down your values, characteristics and/or traits
using the Four Quadrants of Oneself. (Be guided by the instructions below.) Be able to discuss to your
teacher/guide or partner/buddy the result of this activity using your output.
I. Values you know well you possess
II. Values you and others knew you possess
III. Values you and others hardly knew you possess
IV. Values others knew well you possess

What’s New
Personal Development

Self-Development

As an adolescent, it is undeniable that during this year, you find it most important to know yourselves
deeper. You most of the time find yourself asking ‘what do you really want’ or ‘why do you really like doing
these things or being with these people.
You may find it queer that you are starting to ask yourself questions, but you have got to understand that
you are not the only person who experienced it. In other words, what you are experiencing is just normal. Now
that you are in your middle or late adolescence, we can say that you may have discovered changes in your life,
or in your behavior or attitude that compel you to discover more.
Self-development is a process of discovering oneself by realizing one's potentials and capabilities that
are shaped over time either by studying in a formal school or through environmental factors. Along this
realization, an individual encounters gradual changes deep within him/her that may help him/her overcome
unacceptable practices or traits which lead him towards positive change for his growth or self-fulfillment. It is
also called personal development.
On the other hand, examining yourself, most specifically how you react on things, your belief, traits, and
values is one of the most complicated things to do in the world. You must understand, though, that it is not that
simple. In fact, it follows a process.

This lesson will be of great help for you to rediscover yourself better. Let us start by knowing some
concepts of understanding oneself.

Know Thyself

“An unexamined life is not worth living”, this is one of the famous lines once uttered by one of the
greatest philosophers of Ancient Greek, Socrates. Know Thyself is an old maxim or aphorism which in time has
been used in varied literature and consequently gained different meanings. One of its meanings is recorded in
the Greek encyclopedia of knowledge called “The Suda”. Thomas Hobbes also discussed his own views about
the maxim from which he used the phrase “read thyself” in his famous work The Leviathan. He stressed that an
individual could learn more by studying others and that he/she can do this by engaging himself/herself to
reading books. However, Hobbes emphasized that a person learns more by studying oneself.
He further elaborates his views about know thyself from which he states that a man who looks into
himself/herself and considers contemplating on what he/she did or what he/she thinks, reasons, hopes and/or
fears and to what grounds he/she feels all these can consequently learn how to read and learn others’ thoughts
and passions in similar occasions.
Thus, this statement leads us to the realization that knowing oneself is the open door that leads us to
knowing others better. Authors of other materials related to this idea believe that ‘know thyself’ is a moral
epistemological injunction. This suggests that the philosophy is the acquiring the skills of way of questioning or
challenging the person to gain careful understanding of oneself. It is a form of self-concern.

Self-Concept

Self-concept is ones abstract and general idea about him/herself particularly toward his/her unique
personality and his/her own perception about his/her set of values, point of views and behavior.
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This theory began as Rene Descartes, the Father of Modern Philosophy, proposed his theory that a
person’s existence depends on his/her perception. Rene Descartes stated that mind is the seat of consciousness.
This means that it is in the mind that we know everything about ourselves like our identity, passion,
interest, feelings, and/or intellect, thus everything that we are comes from the mind.
Self-concept theory has a lot of suppositions regarding how people learn to judge themselves. Among
these Sincero named three aspects such as:
Self-concept is learned. This explains that no individual is born with self-concept. A person will soon
develop this as he/she grows old. This means that self-concept can only be acquired as soon as the person learns
how to mingle with others and so this indicates that self-concept is influenced by the person’s environment and
can be a product of the person’s socialization.
Self-concept is organized. This stresses out that one’s perception towards himself/herself is firm. This
means that a person may hear other people’s point of view regarding himself/herself but will keep on believing
that what he/she thinks of himself/herself is always the right one. Change on one’s perceptions towards
himself/herself, however, may also be possible but it takes time.
Self-concept is dynamic. As an individual grows older, he/she continues to encounter problems or
challenges that may reveal his/her self-concept in that particular time or situation. A person will respond to the
scenario based on his/her own insights and how he/she perceives himself/herself in the situation. Thus, self-
concept undergoes development as the person goes through different experiences.
Aside from the philosophers above, Sigmund Freud who is a well-known psychologist, neurologist and
the creator of Psychoanalysis Theory and the father of psychoanalysis, proposed that there are three components
of personality within us: The Id, Ego and Superego that certainly play a vital role of how we think of ourselves.
The Id. Freud explained that man's personality is driven by pleasure principle. This means that the nature
of Id is to satisfy man's desire without thinking much of the situation. This nature is being developed at a young
age or present from birth. To illustrate this idea let us take this as an example. An infant will cry if he/she wants
to be fed to satisfy his/her hunger. An infant cannot exactly explain what he/she really wants. Also, infants do
grab things and would want to get things on their hands not minding if they hurt nor if they are important or not.
All they want is to get them for they want them. This is the nature of Id, when the id wants it the rest are no
longer important. However, this instinct is controlled by the ego and superego as these aspects are developed in
man’s life later.
The Ego. This is the second component of the personality that is developed at approximately the age of
three. This operates according to reality which makes it possible for the Id to work in a more proper and
satisfactory ways. The ego will give a more socially accepted means of getting the desires and wants of a person
without getting to hurt other’s feelings. In other words, it is the job of the ego to provide a man some guidelines
on how to behave accordingly while he fulfilled his pleasure.
This component of our personality is manifested whenever we try to satisfy our cravings without
compromising our self-image to others.
The Superego. Freud believed that this aspect of man begins to manifest as a child turns 5. This is the
last component of personality which holds our moral judgments or concept of right and wrong that are believed
to be acquired from the family and the environment.
This personality is developed as man learns the culture of distinguishing right from wrong based on the
set of guidelines and standards that are known to people which might have been probably imposed by the
people in the community like parents, teachers, elders or the community as a whole. Therefore, superego directs
a man’s life for him to avoid hurting others.
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What I Have Learned

1. Self-development means is taking steps to better yourself. It also means efforts toward self-fulfillment.
2. Know Thyself is an old maxim or aphorism gained different meanings.
3. “The Suda” is the encyclopedia of Greek knowledge wherein the concept of Know Thyself is interpreted in
different meanings.
4. Thomas Hobbes used the phrase “read thyself” to stress out that an individual can learn more by studying
others and that he/she can do this by
5. Knowing oneself is the beginning of all wisdom according to Aristotle.
6. Know thyself is a moral epistemological injunction according to some writers which means acquiring the
skills of way of questioning or challenging the person to gain careful understanding of oneself.
7. Self-concept is ones abstract and general idea about him/herself particularly toward his/her unique
personality and his/her own perception about his/her set of values, point of views and behavior.
8. Rene Descartes states that mind is the seat of consciousness.
9. Self-concept have three aspects as enumerated by Sincero namely: Self-concept is 1.) learned, 2.) organized,
and 3.) dynamic.
10. There are three components of self, according to Sigmund Freud namely: 1.) The Id, 2) The Ego, and 3.)
The Superego.

Asynchronous Activity:

Various artists use arts to express their innermost thoughts through painting, photos, cartoons, murals,
and the likes. Our appreciation and judgment of others’ works might reveal our innermost thoughts
and theirs, as well.

Challenge 1: Editorial Cartoon Analysis

Personal Development

Directions: Study the editorial cartoon below. Answer the questions that follow. Do this on your answer sheet.

1. What do you think is the message of the cartoon? Do you agree with the cartoonist?
2. How would you describe the thought of the cartoonist toward adolescents?

Lesson 2 Developing the Whole Person

Developing oneself holistically may be the goal of everyone. However, there are times that we lack
awareness of our doings and actions that leads to misunderstanding with others especially our parents. This can
also potentially lead to self-harm. To know oneself is also quite challenging. To start picking the pieces of
ourselves and subsequently develop our individuality completely to be like an “ideal” person is not easy.

Who would be responsible in developing one’s personality?

Every individual undergoes different phases of development that form his/her individuality. Our
personality is a product of genetic response that we inherit from our parents and from the influence of our
environment. This environment shaped by the people around us, culture, and practices that we are being raised
in continuously creates social interactions and relationships. This interaction contributes to who we are today
and how we choose and decide for ourselves. Personality development is complex administration of thoughts,
feelings, emotion, and behavior that influence personal judgment.

As a child, you are dream of a good and satisfying life when you grow up. Your family becomes your
helping hand in nurturing, guiding, and educating yourself. When you reach adolescence, you experience drastic
changes in your physical appearance, cognitive abilities, social relationship, and emotional behavior. At this
stage, our environment becomes part of our development from which we acquire knowledge and collect
information to organize and interpret different life situations.
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According to Erik Erikson, adolescence stage of Psychosocial development, also known as “identity vs.
role confusion” is the stage wherein teens need to develop the sense of self and personal identity. At this point,
teenagers start to have circle of friends in which they build their trust.

Teenagers also experience adolescence cognitive empathy, known as “theory of mind,” which is
described as having high regards toward the perspective of others and feeling concern for others. Being
adolescents, they tend to foster social cooperation that prevents problems and leads to avoidance of conflicts
with peers. Teenagers are very careful in understanding the emotions of their friends as they start to create deep
trust with them. Sometimes, this leads to misunderstanding with their family, abuse of prohibited drugs, pre-
marital sex, cigarette smoking and alcohol intake. Based on research, teenagers are commonly high risk-takers
and impulsive due to incomplete development of frontal lobe during adolescence. The frontal lobe is
responsible for judgement, impulse control, and planning. That is why they search for their self-identify and
independence which requires guidance from their parents, relatives, and other people like teachers with whom
they can share their struggles. These experiences and challenges are part of a process of personality
development that adolescents need to understand. It is necessary for them to examine all the circumstances and
opportunities so that they can deal with them calmly. They must be open-minded to the opinion and advise of
other people in order
to shape their future with broader perspective and self-determination.

You cannot escape life challenges so you should know how your thoughts, feelings, and actions in
managing personal agency should be handled. Being an adolescent, you should be accountable for all your
actions because these power triads can either make or break your motivation to take charge of life. It is up to
you on how you will handle it. Remember, your judgement is based on your views in life and it is rooted on
your upbringing.

Thoughts are impression activated by a stimulus in your mind that is evident from the environment that
you are in. This conscious thought occupies emotions that give life to thoughts and it expressed through
feelings. Sometimes when you are too emotional, you could not think properly because your emotions occupy
your thoughts, this means there is lesser space to analyze the situation because feelings occupy it. Behaviors are
bodily reaction made based on our feelings that result to actions.

There are instances when feelings are faster than emotion and thought. This would result to fast reaction
and realizing the emotion and thought afterwards. Either positive or negative, feelings result to actions.
Emotions can direct and control thoughts that sometimes affect your consciousness. This can also lead to loss of
focus. As a teenager, it is very important to be focused on your goals. A focused thought will lead to high
intelligence. That is why if you are disturbed with your emotion, try to figure out where the emotion is coming
from and it will bring you back to reality.

Teenagers experience enjoyment and daunting times but it is very important to stay focused so that they
will lead you to the route of your goal. It is not easy to achieve the goal but if you have self-regulation that will
control your emotions, thoughts, and behavior it will help you to be successful in life. Learning from mistakes
and facing challenges with confidence and faith in God will give you the power to be successful in life.
Personal Development

What I Have Learned

Recall some important key points in understanding developmental change experienced by an adolescent
like you.

Asynchronous Activity:
Personal Development

Teenage years give us unfamiliar feelings and put us in situations that form our personal qualities. Let us
see how well you can relate to the situations given. Discuss how you behave when you encounter these
scenarios.

Scenarios Feelings/Emotion Action Results of the

Actions
You have a classmate who leads in
making your classmates laugh at
you. He also makes you feel that you
do not belong to their group. You
always choose to ignore but this
time you cannot stand it.
The end of the semester is near, and
most teachers require you to submit
all the outputs in their subjects. But
you are still working on them and
you find it difficult to handle the
situation. They particularly remind
you to comply because you failed in
the previous grading period. You
must pass time because this is your
last chance.
You experience a pimple breakout in
your face because of hormonal
imbalance that changed your
appearance. You are not comfortable
with it because your crush might not
like you.
You always have arguments with
your parents because of staying less
at home. You spend more time with
your friends because you share the
same interests and desire for
independence.
You and your circle of friends share
the same interests. One of your
friends asks you to try e-cigarette
but you know from the start that
your parents have negative opinion
about it and they constantly remind
you not to try it.

Processing questions:
Personal Development

1. What did you discover about yourself?

2. Which aspect of personality do you give more priority to be dominant in developing your well-being?
3. How will you improve the weakest aspect of your personality?

Lesson 3 Developmental Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence

In this lesson, we will be focusing on the tasks and challenges that you experienced during your
adolescence stage. Adolescence is the period of development that begins at puberty and ends at emerging
adulthood. During puberty stage, there are changes that occur in the body of a child. It is a natural process that
everyone goes through. Remember when you started to notice the rapid changes in your body? Mostly resulted
to your being self-consciousness and being overly emotional. Sometimes, you would want to be accepted and be
“in”, but at times, you would want to be just left alone. These adjustments are part of developmental changes
during adolescence stage -- the time when a child transitions in terms of physiology and cognition to fulfil a
new role as an emerging adult.

We will walk along with you to discover yourself as you take the journey to the stage of becoming a
responsible individual. Knowledge and understanding to oneself is the key to overcome the challenges in this
period of your life. With guidance, assurance, and a better understanding of the process, you will have an easier
time transitioning yourself in this extraordinary developmental stage.

What’s In

In the previous module, you learned that life is full of challenges. Nonetheless, what matter is how you
manage and overcome the challenges that you encounter in your life. This may be difficult but learning to
accept these difficulties may lead you in the right directions. Your thoughts, feelings, and behavior toward a
situation reflects yourself as a person. Moreover, dealing with circumstances makes you become a better
individual.
Read and express your thoughts, feelings, and ideas on the following situations.
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Processing Questions:
1. What kind of adolescent did the two students portray in the two situations?
2. What challenges did John and Erica experience?
3. What challenges do Filipino adolescents face most?

What’s New

Adolescence is defined as the period between the normal onset of puberty and the beginning of
adulthood. In the Oxford English Dictionary, it was derived from; late Middle English (as a noun): via French
from Latin adolescent- ‘coming to maturity’, from adolescere, from ad- ‘to’ + alescere ‘grow, grow up’, from
alere ‘nourish’. The adjective dates from the late 18th century.”
The transition period between childhood and early adulthood is quite difficult. This is the most crucial
stage because this is the time when teens start defining themselves. Remember, however, that each adolescent’s
experiences, individual changes, and growth vary.
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Adolescence is a stage in a young person’s life in which they move from dependency on their parents to
independence, autonomy, and maturity. The young person begins to move from the family as their major social
system to his/her peers as a more appealing social group that might influence his/her adulthood and
independence.
Undeniably, biological, cognitive, psychological, social, moral, and spiritual changes could be both
exciting and daunting for these may affect one’s independence and perspectives in life. Consequently,
oftentimes, it is the members of the family who take notice of these changes in patterns and behaviors.

Here is the list of the most common challenges that adolescents experience:

Biological Challenges
Adolescence begins with the first well-defined maturation event called puberty. Included in the
biological challenges are the changes that occur due to the release of the sexual hormones that affect emotions.
Mood changes can increase which can have an impact on relationships both at home with parents and siblings
and peers at school.

Cognitive Challenges
Piaget, in his Theory of Social Development, believed that adolescence is the time when young people
develop cognitively from “concrete operations” to “formal operations”, so they are able to deal with ideas,
concepts, and abstract theories. It takes time to develop confidence using these newly acquired skills, and they
may make mistakes in judgment. Learning through success and failure is part of the learning process for the
adolescent.
Adolescents are egocentric. They can become self-conscious thinking they are being watched by others,
and at other times they behave as if they were on a center stage and perform for a non-existent audience. For
example, acting like a music idol, singing their favorites songs in their room with all the accompanying dance
steps.

Psychological Challenges
The notable psychological challenge that the adolescent must cope with is moving from childhood to
adulthood. A new person is emerging, thus, rules will change, and more responsibilities will be placed on
him/her, so a certain standard of behavior is now required to be maintained. Accountability is becoming an
expectation from both parental and legal concepts.
As adolescents continue their journey of self-discovery, they continually adjust to new experiences, even
biologically and socially. This can be both stressful and anxiety-provoking. It, therefore, is not surprising that
adolescents can have a decreased tolerance for change; hence, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to
modulate their behaviors which are sometimes displayed by inappropriate mood swings and angry outbursts.

Health Issues of adolescence:

 Eating Disorders
An eating disorder describe illness that are characterized by irregular eating habits and severe distress or
concern about body weight or shape. Eating disturbances may include inadequate or excessive food intake
which can ultimately damage an individual’s well-being. The most common forms of eating disorders are the
following.
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Types of Eating Disorders:

1. Anorexia Nervosa
Teenagers with anorexia may take extreme measures to avoid eating and to control the quantity and
quality of the foods they eat. They may become abnormally thin and still talk about feeling fat. They typically
continue to strict diet even at very unhealthy weights because they have a distorted image of their body.

2. Bulimia Nervosa
Teenagers with bulimia nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by engaging in uncontrollable episodes of
overeating (bingeing) usually followed by compensatory behavior such as: purging through vomiting, use of
laxatives, enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise. Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day but are
most common in the evening and night hours.

Mental Health Disorder

 Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and
fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events, and fear is a reaction to current events. These feelings may cause
physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and shakiness.
 Mood Disorders
The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to identifiable stressors that occur
within 3 months of the onset of the stressors. Here, low mood, tearfulness, or feelings of hopelessness are
predominant.
 Major Depressive Disorder (MDD):
A period of at least 2 weeks during which there is either depressed mood or the loss of interest or
pleasure in nearly all activities. In children and adolescents, the mood may be irritable rather than sad.
 Bipolar Disorder:
A period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and
persistency increased activity or energy, lasting at least 4 consecutive days and present most of the day, nearly
every day, or that requires hospitalization.

 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Definitions of the symptom complex known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ,
but severe problems with concentration or attention and/or hyperactivity are estimated to affect adolescents. Six
times as many boys as girls are affected.
 School phobia
School phobia, also called school refusal, is defined as a persistent and irrational fear of going to school.
It must be distinguished from a mere dislike of school that is related to issues such as a new teacher, a difficult
examination, the class bully, lack of confidence, or having to undress for a gym class. The phobic adolescent
shows an irrational fear of school and may show marked anxiety symptoms when in or near the school.
 Learning disabilities
Learning abilities encompasses disorders that affect the way individuals with normal or above normal
intelligence receive, store, organize, retrieve, and use information. Problems included dyslexia and other
specific learning problems involving reading, spelling, writing, reasoning, and mathematics. Undiagnosed
Personal Development

learning disabilities are a common but manageable cause of young people deciding to leave school at the
earliest opportunity.

Social Issues
 Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is a sexual behavior, or a sexual act forced upon a woman, man, or child without their
consent. Sexual abuse includes abuse by another man, woman, or child. Sexual abuse in childhood may result in
problems of depression and low self-esteem, as well as in sexual difficulties, either avoidance of sexual contact
or, on the other hand, promiscuity or prostitution. Sexual abuse in children is regarded by the World Health
Organization (WHO) as one of the major public health problems.
 Substance Abuse
Many communities are plagued with problems of substance abuse among youth. Some children start
smoking or chewing tobacco at an early age, aided by easy access to tobacco products. Many of our youth, with
limited supervision or few positive alternatives, drink too much beer and liquor. Other youth, influenced by
their peers, use other illegal drugs. Our youth suffer from substance abuse in familiar ways: diminished health,
compromised school performance, and reduced opportunities for development. Our communities also bear a
heavy burden for adolescent substance abuse.

Asynchronous Activity:
The following illustrations a boy and a girl adolescent. Let one represent you and recall the challenges
you have experienced during your adolescence stage.
Personal Development

Example: rapid changes of physical appearance

Processing Questions:
1. What were the most difficult challenges you have encountered?
2. How were you able to overcome these challenges?
3. How did these challenges help you to be a better person? How do you think this would prepare you to your
adulthood?

Lesson 4 The Challenges of Middle and Late Adolescence

What’s New
Personal Development

What if you are placed in each of the situation given below, how would you manage to triumphantly
surpass the challenges of your life? Kindly discuss what actions would you take to overcome each of the given
situations.

Situation 1:
You are studying in public school and currently enrolled as Grade 11 student. Your mother told you the
other day that you are not going to finish Senior High School anymore because she cannot afford to give you
your daily allowance. Your mom’s decision is against your will. What best move will you do to avoid dropping
out from school?

Situation 2:
You are freshmen college student. You are also given the chance for scholarship grant by being a varsity
player. You met a good-looking man/young lady. You immediately find him/her attractive and wanted to be in a
relationship with him/her. How would you control yourself knowing that you must prioritize your studies well?

Situation 3:
You are a working student and currently at your last year in college. Your adviser reminded you to
concentrate on your study for he will not give any special considerations to working students to be fair with the
other students. How would you manage to meet his expectations?

Responsibility
Perhaps you are wondering what the main point of is giving your idea answering activity in What’s
New. It was set for you to see your sense of responsibility intentionally and primarily over things.
If you have come up with better ideas by weighing things and considering other matters precisely you
have developed a good sense of responsibility. But before we go any further how we do really define
responsibility?
Responsibility is any moral, legal or mental obligation or duty that is directly or indirectly entrusted to
you by the people around from which you are held accountable for whatever consequences or circumstance that
may arrive in the future.
In our community, young children are not given any responsibility at all nor held responsible for their
actions or negative thoughts. It is because they are not yet fully grown up and cannot understand the
consequences of their actions. As a young kid they still must discover how to deal with the world of an adult by
carefully undergoing the long process. This process takes place through their day to day experiences and/or
through formal education.
As he/she gets older and learned things such as principles and laws that constitute to being responsible
for one’s own actions, he/she is little by little taking a bulk of responsibility on his/her shoulder. Responsibility
is part of growing up.
This means no one can do away with having sets of responsibility. Out of this, we can also conclude that
being responsible is part of every man’s life.

Why Be Capable and Responsible Adolescent

Now that you have understood that responsibility is indeed one of the things that comprise life, then
perhaps you are asking, ‘Why do we need to become responsible as an individual?’ ‘Why do we have to learn
being responsible of our own actions if this will certainly take place as we grow older?’
Personal Development

Aside from the fact that being responsible helps us become successful in many aspects of life, we are
being taught and trained to develop a great sense of responsibility so that we will be capable of facing the
consequences of our own actions. As they say nobody can clean our own mess but ourselves alone.
Being capable and responsible adolescent means having a harmonious way of living. A person who can
do his/her own tasks and obligations will definitely gain the appreciation of the people around him/her. This
positive aura will lead him/her become a responsible person.
Becoming responsible person performing his/her own sets of duties and accountabilities is not as simple
as one two three but as soon as it manifests in one’s personality it has a greater impact to the community. People
who are known for his/her sense of responsibility also gain positive feedback from his/her colleagues, peers
and/or environment and it can create domino effect. He/she will serve as a concrete example in his/her
community. His/her way of living will become worthy of emulation. Individuals who are being emulated by the
whole community eventually serve as the key for the good transformation of the society.

Common responsibilities of adolescents

Before becoming a full-grown responsible individual an adolescent like you must be familiar and have a
wider understanding on your sets of responsibilities which have become the norms for you to be considered a
responsible person. Below are some of the common obligations that are expected from an adolescent like you.
1. Show respect to elders.
2. Take care of the younger ones.
3. Study well.
4. Avoid engaging to bad vices.
5. Establish a good identify.
6. Earn the trust of the people around.
7. Distinguish good company from bad influence.
8. Know yourself better.

How to become capable and responsible person in preparation for adult life
Getting teeners ready for their life ahead becomes the duty of the whole
society. There are numbers of suggestions and teachings on how you can really turn
into a responsible individual. Below are some of the common teachings of our
parents, advisers, and/or elders in our community on how we can establish sense of
responsibility within ourselves. Take time to read them.

1. Know your priority

2. Have focus
3. Be decisive
4. Work diligently
5. Don’t count at all
6. Stay humble
7. Love your duty
8. Dedicate time

Asynchronous Activity
Personal Development

Processing Questions:
1. To what statement/s did you give yourself the lowest rating? The highest rating? Explain your assessment.
2. How do you find your assessment towards your capabilities?
3. How can your knowledge of your own capabilities be carried out as you take responsibilities in the future?

Lesson 5 Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence

Personal Development

In this module we will discuss what is coping with stress and discover ways on dealing with the different
sources and effects of stress during middle and late adolescence. You will realize that stress is real, unavoidable,
and has different impacts on every individual depending on the level of tolerance a person has toward stress.
Stress should not be taken for granted because it will bring negative effects on the mind, emotion, and body, if
not given attention and solution. The focus of this module is to help the middle and late adolescent to cope with
prevailing stress and learn how to minimize its effects.

What’s New

Activity: Read the poem and answer the questions below.

Processing Questions:
1. What is the poem all about?
2. What did the author say about stress?
3. How did the author cope with stress?

What Is It
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Coping Defined

Coping refers to mental and behavioral efforts that we use to deal with problems relating to stress,
including its presumed cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces.
In coping with stress, we are using all aspects of our self to deal with both the causes of stress and their
impacts on our emotions that can make us feel uneasy or uncomfortable.
Stress will not disappear when we do nothing about it. Instead, it will worsen situations that can cause
more problems to our physical and mental health, which is more difficult to handle.
So, let’s do something to face the struggles in dealing with stress by finding a better solution.

How do people cope with stress?

Since stress is real and cannot be avoided, we need to deal with it. When we are stressed out, we
typically wanted to feel good and well. This may include knowing the causes of stress, understanding its effects
on us, and finding ways to deal with it.

Approaches in Coping with Stress

I. Avoidance Approach
In this approach, people tend to run away from the stress by denying the presence of stress and
by distancing from the causes of stress or stressor. People will tend to avoid the place, people, situation,
feeling, etc., that would remind them of the stressful moment in their lives. Avoidance is usually a
negative response, although you must do it sometimes if it deemed necessary.

Example: You want to avoid the person who has hurt you badly because it will remind you
again of the past pain, he/she has caused you.

Some people practice avoidance by directing their action or resorting to bad/negative habits like
smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, or even taking illegal drugs, which they think is helpful, but is
worsening the situation and causing more stress.

II. Acceptance-Action Approach

In this approach, you acknowledge and accept the fact that stress is real, and that stress has good
and bad effects to a person. Acknowledging and accepting the reality of stress and its effects would lead
you to take action to feel better or to resolve stress and have a healthy life. Dealing with stress leads to
finding better solutions.

Example: You know that you have an upcoming test. So, for you to pass or get a high grade
from the test, you have to exert some efforts like studying/reviewing.

Acceptance – action will help to lessen the stress in your life by doing something before or even
during the stressful times, which can help you do better and live well.
In this approach, adolescents are encouraged to think of helpful and effective ways to cope with
the stress.
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Ways on how to Cope with Stress to Maintain a Healthy Well-Being:

1. Physically:

A. Simple exercise- like stretching, proper breathing exercise, walking, jogging, Zumba.
B. Eat Nutritious Food and Healthy foods: Vegetables, fruits, eggs, and less fatty foods, salty, and sweet
food, etc.
C. Drink a Lot of water (8-10) glasses of water a day- drinking water helps eliminate the toxins in our
body and help our bodies to relax and keep us hydrated.
D. Take a Bath Daily. Taking a bath will help you feel clean and relaxed
E. Proper Hygiene- washing hands, brushing teeth, etc.
F. Take a Nap whenever you get tired of doing any work or activities
G. Sleep at least 8 hours- good sleep will help you regain your strength.
H. Find, Look or Imagine a relaxing place or even a picture
I. Do sports like badminton, volleyball, basketball, etc.

2. Emotionally/Socially:

A. Listen to Music (inspiring music that would help you feel better)
B. Do your favorite hobbies like dancing, playing musical instruments,
drawing, singing, painting, reading, blogging, etc.
C. Watch funny videos /movies that will make you laugh
D. Play relaxing games
E. Make a journal/blog
F. Release your emotions –share them to friends, siblings, parents, teachers,
and counselors
G. Have a positive talk to yourself like: “never give up”, “kaya ko to”, words
of encouragement and self-affirmations.
H. Learn to forgive- to let go about your ill-feeling towards others who have
offended you or even to yourself
I. Accept mistakes and learn from it knowing that nobody is perfect
J. Support group- people who can be there for you specially in times of crisis
K. Talk to professionals like doctors or counselors if needed

3. Mentally and Spiritually:

A. Read books/Novels/Comics, Inspirational books, Bible etc.

B. Think Positive- look at the brighter side in every situation. (What lesson
can I learn? How can I improve myself from this situation?)
C. Manage your Time-Plan ahead of your activities and make schedules like
classes, tests, household chores, breaking a bigger task into simple ones,
one activity at a time, etc.
D. Pray to God- telling/pouring out your emotions/problems to God.
E. Be thankful instead of grumbling
F. Learn to say No if needed
G. Know your Value as a being created in the image of God and loved by God

4. Things to be avoided when you are stressed:

A. Tobacco/cigarette
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B. Alcoholic beverage
C. Illegal drugs
D. Too much coffee and soft drinks
E. Negative thoughts
Asynchronous Activity:

Understanding Coping Approaches: Complete the table below with the appropriate response.
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Reference/ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO THE FOLLOWING:

Compiler:

Marjorie M. Jusay, LPT

BTECH SHS Faculty