The purpose of this paper is to submit a case study of a single parent facing health choices with limited resources and apply the Health Psychology four key frameworks. Fatima is the young mother who is making the choice to first feed her family and in the process is not addressing her own health symptoms that may put her at risk for serious consequences. In this paper we will look at options in her decision making that may improve both her health and her children’s and improve the family health future. The strategies will be developed from the text of Dr. Jane Ogden in The Psychology of Health and Illness and the Dr. Robert M Kaplan, “Health Psychology: Where Are We And Where Do We Go From Here?” and with the insightful work by Dr. Gabor Mate in When the Body Says NO: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection
Fatima and Health Challenges of a Single Parent
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She works 50-hour weeks to support and care for her family and has little time to relax on her own. Fatima does not smoke, in truth, she cannot afford to. All of her money goes to her children. Fatima eats along with her kids every day, but often cannot afford fresh fruits and vegetables for their dinner, often the family eats processed foods (boxed macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza, etc.). Fatima has long suffered from fatigue and the occasional chest pain but cannot afford to go to the doctor. One day, she fainted and was diagnosed with hypertension at the