PHYSICAL DIMENSION
"Do I Understand, Like, Respect, and Nurture My Body?"
Intimacy with our body demands that we know it and understand how it functions and dysfunctions. Being comfortable with our body is also part of intimacy in the physical dimension. The experience of sexual shame may prevent a person from being comfortable with his or her body. This would be true especially of sexual-trauma survivors. It can also be true of those who have been sexually teased or made fun of, based on some physical characteristic. Then there are those who grow up in silence about sexuality and their bodies. They feel like sexual outcasts even when they experience normal sexual feelings. If we do not feel comfortable with our own bodies, no other person can really convince us to accept ourselves.
The beha vi oural dimension is not limited to sexual behaviour. It also includes behaฬours that facilitate or prevent a person from being emotionally present and available to relationships. An example of such unavailability is getting over-involved in work in order to avoid spending time with people.