| This thesis uses alchemical hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies to inquire into the ways compulsive overeating might come from a woman's disconnection from her inner world. By exploring the different levels of a woman's being: body, mind, emotions, spirit, and connection with others, the author finds access points into this forgotten or often neglected inner world. All research for this thesis seemed to lead back to one effective solution: embodiment---inhabiting one's body and senses by retrieving the fragmented, lost parts of the self. The way to embodiment is through kind self-care in many different forms. When a woman tends to herself in that way, her resiliency to life can increase, and compulsive eating can start to fall away because she is finding nourishment in more constructive ways. |
