Types of self-awareness
In a recent note, I wrote:
I have a tendency to 'push through' when I encounter resistance/obstacles in life. I call this 'Beast Mode' and it takes me from a place of comfort, through useful stress, into a place of strain. It means that I potentially don't have great interoception which would explain why I ended up with Stage 3 Overtraining Syndrome...
So I was wondering what different kinds of self-awareness there are. Here's what Perplexity came up with.
Bodily and sensory awareness
- Exteroception – awareness of external stimuli via sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.
- Proprioception – awareness of body position and movement in space.
- Vestibular sense – awareness of balance, orientation and acceleration.
- Nociception – detection of potentially harmful stimuli, often experienced as pain.
- Thermoception – awareness of temperature in and around the body.
- Interoception – awareness of internal bodily states such as heartbeat, breathing and gut sensations.
Emotional and affective awareness
- Emotional self-awareness – noticing, distinguishing and naming your own emotions.
- Interoceptive awareness in emotion – recognising how internal bodily signals shape feelings and moods.
Cognitive and reflective awareness
- Introspection – attending to your own thoughts, images, beliefs and experiences.
- Metacognition – awareness of, and reflection on, your own thinking and knowing.
- Reflexivity or reflective practice – systematic reflection on your assumptions, actions and the contexts shaping them.
Self-awareness across domains
- Intrapersonal self-awareness – awareness of your own traits, motives, strengths, weaknesses and patterns.
- Behavioural self-awareness – awareness of your behaviours and how they show up in practice.
- Interpersonal or social self-awareness – awareness of how others experience you and how you affect relationships.
Forms of selfhood awareness
- Minimal or core self-awareness – the basic sense that experiences are yours from moment to moment.
- Narrative self-awareness – awareness of your life story, identity over time and how you make sense of yourself.