Name : _____________________________

Year & Section : _____________________________

Instructions: Read the case scenario and answer the guide questions.

A. Case Scenario
Kate is 21 years of age and has struggled with her weight all her life. She remembers
back in primary school how the kids used to call her “fatty” and would not want to play with her.
The taunting continued throughout high school however it was more subtle. Kate found it
difficult to make friends and often found herself excluded from social events.

Although Kate’s mother is very supportive, the put downs continued at home. Kate’s
father would say things like “why don’t you go on a diet” or “what are you eating that for it’s
only going to make you fatter”. Her elder brother was embarrassed to be seen with her and to
make things worse, he was quite athletic.

A few months back, things were starting to turn around for Kate. She began a relationship
with a man (Mark), started exercising and lost about 10 kilograms. Slowly she started feeling
better about herself, however the relationship didn’t last and consequently Kate’s self-esteem is
now at its lowest. She blames herself for the break-up and believes that her boyfriend ended the
relationship because she’s fat. However, when questioned further about this Kate could not recall
a time when Mark had ever criticized her appearance, in fact he seemed to be very supportive.

At the moment Kate has such low self-esteem that she doesn’t even want to try to find a
job, she thinks “who is ever going to hire me”. Kate also described how her friends have stopped
calling her because they say she is constantly criticizing them. Kate stays at home all day and
every time she looks in the mirror she thinks how ugly she is. It is important to note that

Kate is currently within the healthy weight range for her age and height.
GUIDE Questions:

1. What do you think influence Kate’s low self-esteem?

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2. If you are Kate’s friend, how will you help her? What does she need to do in order to
overcome her low self-esteem?
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3. How important it is for Kate to overcome her low self-esteem?

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