PRAYER BEFORE STUDY

by St. Thomas Aquinas

Lord, true source of light and wisdom, give me a keen

sense of understanding, a retentive memory, and the
capacity to grasp things correctly. Grant me the grace
to be accurate in my expositions and the skill to
express myself with thoroughness and clarity. Be with
me at the start of my work, guide its progress and
bring it to completion. Grant this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
 PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Developing the Whole
LESSO Person
 Developing the Whole Person
In this Lesson, you will be given opportunity to learn and
understand the elements of self including:
• Physiological,
• Cognitive,
• Psychological or emotional,
• Social,
• Moral or spiritual,
• as well as their implications to you.
Adolescence is the developmental period occurring between
childhood and adulthood (from 13 to 19 years old). Adolescence is
often considered to be the second decade of life or the period
between puberty and legal adulthood. Adolescence is a transitional
period marked by substantial changes in physical maturation,
cognitive abilities, and social interactions.
 Puberty
is the part of adolescence, it is the
time in life when a boy or girl
becomes sexually mature. It has its
onset at ages 10-11 and finish by
the age of 14 for girls. For boys,
the onset ages at 11-12 and finish
by the age of 15 or 16. It causes
physical changes and affects boys
and girls differently.
Rejection is a primary issue
during adolescence. The
pains brought about by not
belonging, unaccepted, and
being alone a teenager in a
difficult situation. Hence,
they are easily influenced by
peers. Such influence is
called “Peer Pressure”.
Different changes that you
are experiencing During
Adolescence:
I. Physical or Physiological Changes
You started to experience various body
changes when you were around 13 years
old, which is the onset of adolescence for
most children. Girls start their growth spurt
earlier than boys, but boys eventually grow
taller than girls. Also, boy’s muscles grow
larger than girls’, so that after adolescence,
boys are physically stronger than girls.
Moreover, you can notice physical changes
in your sex organs, which are your primary
sex characteristics.
In Boys:
• Testes or gonads rapidly grow bigger for a year during
early pubescence, shortly after penis also grows.
• Boys come to know that there is production and
release of sperm “Spermarche”. This is when they
experience nocturnal emissions or wet dreams. This is
an indication that their male reproductive organs have
become mature in function and that they are already
capable of reproduction.
• Voice becomes husky at first and then eventually
lower in pitch.
• Muscles markedly grow and give shape to their torso.
• Body hair and Facial hair appears.
In Girls:
• The Uterus, Fallopian tubes, ovaries, and vagina,
grow rapidly during puberty. “Menarche”, or the first
menstrual period, marks a girl’s sexual maturity and is
indicative of her capacity to be pregnant.
• Girls come to have a fuller and more melodious
voice.
• Hips becomes wider and rounder, which results from
the enlargement of their pelvic region.
• Breast also develop, and their muscles grow and
strength, which give their arms, shoulders, and leg
shape.
• Pubic hair and body hair appear together with the
development of primary sex characteristics.
Both boys and girls experience markedly rapid physical development
because of the hormonal changes that take place in the body.
Androgen and Estrogens are hormones or chemical substances
produced by endocrine glands that actively affect physical growth and
development.

• Testosterone- is an androgen that is strongly associated in the

physical maturation of boys. Increased level of testosterone in males
is related to changes in height, deepening of voice, and development
of genitals, as well as sexual desires and activities.
• Estradiol- is an estrogen that is strongly associated in the physical
development of girls, such as widening of hips, and breast and
uterine development.
During this stage Sebaceous Glands and Apocrine Glands
become more active, this is the cause of acne and other skin
problems. Also, produce perspiration that results, at times in
body odor.

As more physical changes take place among adolescents, their

concerns about their physical appearance may also increase.
According to Stice and Shaw (2002), only few adolescents
experience body-cathexis or satisfaction with their bodies.

“It is only through Self-Acceptance that you become brave

enough to face the Whole you”
 II. Cognitive Changes
Have you ever asked yourself how and why you think the
way you doing right now? During adolescence, your brain
goes through significant structural development stages as
well. At this stage, the neurons in the corpus callosum thicken
and connect the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere of
your brain.
• Prefrontal cortex- involved in decision-making, reasoning,
and controlling one’s emotions.
• Amygdala- the seat of your emotions such as anger,
sadness, and happiness, it matures much earlier than the
prefrontal cortex.

Metacognition- process of thinking. This results in increased

introspection but may also lead to some sort of egocentricism
or preoccupation with the self.
 In this stage, adolescence tend to ask a
lot of questions, not only about yourself,
but also everything in your environment.

O You are no longer comfortable with simple

explanations; therefore, you begin to question
policies, rules, and norms.
O Doubts about their parent’s way of raising them.
You tend to compare the parenting style at home
and that of your peer’s.
O You tend to get confused with a lot of things and
your curiosity to prove things to yourself increases
and it leads you to explore and experiment.
 III. Psychological or Emotional
Changes
As a transition period, adolescence has often been described as a
period of “Strom and Stress”. Teenagers like you experience ups
and downs:
• You get easily excited with some situations (e.g., you giggle
when you see your crush, you jump for joy when you received
presents).
• You also tend to easily show irritation (e.g., you feel upset when
your parents ask you to stop playing games, you easily get
depressed when your request is not granted).
• When confronted by complicated situations, your emotions can
sometimes be really overwhelming.
• Most adolescents are emotionally unstable from time to time.
• Being envious of others who possess more material things is
common among adolescents. According to Hurlock (1982),
teenager use these material possessions as status symbols.
As you approach the end of this development stage, emotional stability is
gradually attained. You eventually gain a degree of control on how you
express your emotions.
*Emotional Maturity- is achieved by the end of adolescence.
Indicator that you attained Emotional Maturity:
 When you know how to express your emotions in a socially acceptable
manner.
 You exercise critical thinking before emotionally carried away.
 You become less reactive to provocations and emotionally heated
situations.
 You also realize that lessons can be learned from each difficult experience.
These realizations are important in your journey toward
self-actualization.
IV. Social Changes

Social pressures and demands add to the

stress and storm of the adolescence years.
You need to make social adjustments to
overcome challenges. Your attitude,
speech, interests, appearance, and
behavior are heavily influenced by your
peers.
• “Peer acceptance” becomes very
important. As you go through
adolescence, you may prefer fewer
friends and intimate relationships.
• If not handled well, your need for
belongingness may lead to your
conforming to the standards of your
peers without considering the
consequences.
• At an extreme, some adolescents even
cut classes, take illegal drugs, and
perform sexual activities with their
peers because of peer pressure.
As they progress through the years of
adolescence, social insight improves
(Hurlock, 1982).
• You become more capable of judging
members of the opposite sex
objectively.
• Further, the more you participate in
social gatherings, the more socially
competent you become.
• Moreover, choosing a leader who
would represent the peer group is
important for teenagers. As such, they
want leaders who are admired and
respected by others and a good
reflection of their peer group.
 To successfully make social
adjustments, you need to enhance
your social skills. Doing so will let
you be comfortable in social
settings, carry yourself gracefully
in front of others, and enjoy the
company of your peers. To cope
well with social pressures,
however, you should also learn to
clarify your boundaries so that you
maintain self-reliance.
 V. Moral/ Spiritual
Changes
Moral development starts with
obeying your elders when you were
a child to more internal, moral
thinking during adolescence.
According to Kohlberg, adolescents
should have attained the
postconventional reasoning or have
developed moral reasoning based
on the universal human rights.
Moral dilemma is a situation in
which a person is torn between
right and wrong. It involves a
conflict with the very core of a
person’s principles and values.

Self-condemnation-
adolescents who deviate from
their own general principles and
act upon the wishes of others
even though these are wrong are
more likely to suffer from this
(Hurlock, 1982).
 Relationship of Thoughts, Feelings, and
Behaviors

Your thoughts, feelings, and actions interplay with

one another.
• Thoughts- determine your mood or emotions. You
act upon what you think and feel.
• Feelings- defined as a person’s response to the
emotion that comes from the perception of a situation.
• Behaviors- is the way a person or thing acts or
reacts.
Automatic negative thoughts or Anxiety-
provoking thoughts (ANTs)- thoughts that
just seem to come into your mind without
any basis, which make you feel sad,
hopeless, and angry.
Example: You failed in a math quiz
ANTs: “I can’t do math. I’m just not
good in this course.”
Result: You feel sad about the result and afraid of the
subject. You feel demotivated to study and skip
attending the subject.
You may also be nurturing ANTs unconsciously. The
more you believe them, the more pessimistic and
unhappy you become.
The way to overcome these negative feelings is
to challenge your negative thoughts.
• You need to acknowledge them first.
• Aware of them so that you will know how
they affect you.
• Use your emotions to identify your negative
thoughts.
As your thoughts and feelings fuel your whole
body, you will act accordingly. Positive
dispositions bring about good-natured feelings,
which are reflected in your facial expressions
and your body movements.
Lastly, your bodily reactions influence your
thoughts and feelings. When you are tired,
your body produces sluggish thoughts, and
you may get easily irritated or sad about
petty things.

An emotional stable teenager knows how to

let off emotional steam in a socially
acceptable manner (Hurlock, 1982). Taking
control of your thoughts and your emotions
is an indicator that you are slowly
maturing.
THANK
YOU!
 DOMINICAN BLESSING
May God the Father bless us. May God the Son
heal us. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and
give us eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and
hands to do the work of God with, feet to walk
with, and a mouth to preach the word of
salvation with, and the angel of peace to watch
over us and lead us at last, by our Lord’s gift, to
the kingdom. Amen.