2.1 Define ‘self-awareness’

This guide will help you answer 2.1 Define ‘self-awareness’.

Self-awareness is the ability to focus on and understand yourself. It means recognising your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours and how they affect both you and others. Being self-aware involves understanding your strengths and weaknesses, identifying your triggers, and being conscious of your values, beliefs, and motivations. It’s about knowing what makes you who you are.

This skill allows you to reflect on your own emotions and actions in a constructive way. You can assess how your behaviour affects others and how others’ responses influence you. When you are self-aware, you value feedback and use it to encourage positive change in yourself.

Self-awareness is a key competency in health and social care, making it easier to support others in a meaningful way. Without it, it can be challenging to communicate effectively, build trust, or respond appropriately to sensitive situations.

What are the Types of Self-Awareness?

There are two main types of self-awareness: internal and external.

Internal Self-Awareness

Internal self-awareness focuses on how well you know yourself. It’s the personal understanding of your emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. This includes:

• Identifying what makes you happy, sad, nervous, or angry.
• Understanding why you react to certain situations the way you do.
• Recognising strengths that can help you in your role and areas you need to develop further.

For example, a care worker may feel stressed during busy shifts. By becoming self-aware, they can identify when stress is building and take steps to manage their emotions effectively before it affects their work or relationships with others.

External Self-Awareness

External self-awareness relates to how well you understand how others see you. You must reflect on how your behaviours and attitudes impact colleagues, clients, and others around you.

This can involve:

• Being open to constructive criticism from others who point out blind spots in your behaviour.
• Recognising when your tone of voice or body language may give the “wrong impression”.
• Being aware of cultural, personal, or emotional factors that influence how others interpret your actions.

In health and social care, external self-awareness is vital for forming trusting relationships and promoting a person-centred approach. For instance, if a client seems withdrawn after a conversation, a self-aware care worker might reflect on whether something they said unintentionally upset the individual.

Benefits of Self-Awareness in Health and Social Care

Self-awareness benefits care professionals in several ways. It directly improves both personal and professional growth. Let’s look at some key areas where self-awareness is especially helpful.

Builds Better Relationships

Self-awareness enhances your ability to connect with people. When you know your strengths, you can use them to build rapport and develop trust with service users or colleagues. Similarly, recognising your weaknesses allows you to identify situations where you may need additional support or training.

For example, understanding your communication style can help you adapt to the needs of different individuals in your care.

Helps Manage Stress and Emotions

Working in health and social care can be emotionally challenging. Self-awareness helps you identify the signs of stress or burnout early so you can address them.

By being aware of your own emotions, you can avoid reacting impulsively, particularly in difficult or high-pressure situations.

This is particularly useful for conflict resolution. Imagine you are dealing with a challenging service user who becomes argumentative. Recognising your own feelings of frustration and managing them before responding can prevent the situation from escalating.

Encourages Personal Growth

Self-awareness is key to improving yourself professionally. It pushes you to embrace learning opportunities and reflect on past experiences for growth. By being aware of areas needing improvement, care workers can create clear, achievable goals.

For instance, suppose a worker realises they find it hard to complete written records efficiently. Recognising this weakness allows them to seek support, such as additional training, to improve their skills.

Promotes Empathy

Self-aware professionals are better at empathising with others. Recognising your own emotions makes it easier to understand and respect how others feel.

This is essential in person-centred care. Every individual you support has unique needs, preferences, and feelings. By being self-aware, you can adapt your approach to ensure they feel valued and understood.

Reduces Bias

Bias refers to unconscious opinions, assumptions, or attitudes that can shape your behaviour. If left unexamined, bias can negatively impact your interactions with others or the quality of care you deliver.

Developing self-awareness helps you become more aware of any biases you may hold. Once you identify these, you can make deliberate efforts to minimise their influence on your actions.

How to Develop Self-Awareness

Being self-aware requires practice. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve both your internal and external self-awareness.

Reflect on Your Day

At the end of each day, take time to reflect. Think about what went well, what didn’t, and what you could do differently next time. Did a situation make you uncomfortable? Were you happy with how you conducted yourself?

Keeping a journal can be useful for tracking these reflections.

Seek Feedback

Ask colleagues, supervisors, or even clients for honest feedback. View their comments as an opportunity to grow. They may notice things you weren’t aware of.

For example, a colleague might point out that you interrupt others during team discussions. This can help you recognise and adjust this behaviour.

Practise Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and fully engaged in the moment. It can improve your ability to recognise your thoughts and emotions without judgment.

For example, if you find yourself reacting negatively in a stressful situation, mindfulness teaches you to pause and assess your response before taking action.

Take Personality Tests or Assessments

Tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or Emotional Intelligence (EQ) assessments can offer insights into your tendencies and patterns. These tools help you understand how you interact with the world around you.

Observe Yourself

Pay attention to how you behave or react in various situations. Be mindful of your body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. These can reveal how you’re feeling, even if you don’t realise it at first.

For instance, crossing your arms during a meeting might signal defensiveness. If this isn’t how you intend to appear, you can work on being more open in your body language.

Barriers to Self-Awareness

While developing self-awareness is worthwhile, it’s not always simple. There are several challenges that may prevent or slow your progress.

Defensive Reactions

Sometimes, it’s hard to admit your flaws or accept criticism. If you become defensive, it can block your ability to listen and reflect. Being open-minded and willing to learn is essential.

Lack of Time

The busy nature of health and social care work leaves little time for self-reflection. Overcoming this requires creating moments for personal reflection, even if it’s during a break or after work.

Emotional Discomfort

Self-awareness often involves facing uncomfortable truths about yourself. It can bring up feelings of guilt, insecurity, or disappointment. However, growth comes from courageously addressing these feelings.

Final Thoughts

Self-awareness is about truly knowing yourself and how your actions affect others. It combines understanding your internal emotions and behaviours with considering how others perceive you.

In health and social care, self-awareness is not just useful—it’s necessary. It helps you connect better with service users and colleagues, manage stress, and provide the high-quality, person-centred care that every individual deserves. By actively working to develop your self-awareness, you can make a real difference in your role while continuously improving yourself.