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Project 01-15-15

Inner-life-water-erika-craig
Painting by the fabulous Erika Craig

This post reflects the beginning of a new chapter in my life. One of the primary side effects of grief has a somatic nature and can be experienced as weight gain or loss. In my case, I gained a significant amount of weight as a result of the medications I took for severe depression, anxiety, deep emotional churning and distress. I used eating as a way of coping with the abject sadness that weighed on me.

On January 1 of this year I commenced Project 7-11-14 which was focused on weight loss and health, and a commitment to my professional development and goals. I also put my toe into the dating pool. So on July 11, I was in San Francisco with a good woman friend and officially toasted the successful completion of this project. I have released 12 pounds, all my health tests came back superb, my website and blog were launched, and I taught a course at a local university. Moreover, I have had approximately 2 dozen dates. I have been on fire!

So now I am beginning a new phase which I have entitled Project 1-15-15. This project continues my weight loss efforts, as well as my ongoing inner work. I am connecting with new parts of myself – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When I became a widow, I was no longer a wife. I find myself re-imagining who I am now that my primary identity as Roy’s wife is gone. The late feminist psychoanalyst Karen Horney describes the importance of unlocking a woman’s inner life – one that is not defined by what the external patriarchal world provides her. Horney encouraged women to work from the inside out, not from the outside in. What I know about my inner world is that it has been shaped by the demands of patriarchal standards – questioning whether I am thin enough, pretty enough, and smart enough to live successfully in a man’s world. What I am driven to design for myself at this stage of my life is an inner framework that challenges the patriarchal domination of my psyche. I am moving towards becoming a woman with a life of her own and with questions of her own.

3 Comments

  1. Another great article and congrats on completing so many goals.
    Karen Horney’s work is right on and your description best I’ve heard.
    Love the art work. Is this one of the artists you mentioned to me?

  2. What a beautiful post. Inspiring both inside and outside of me! You motivate me to create a project. Recognizing my own power as a woman, although still married.

    And, by the way, you are beautiful — inside and out. Nuf said.

    E

  3. Kathleen:
    I am EXACTLY where you are. I have gained weight because of the anti-depressant I am on, and I want to take the weight off and re-define who I am. September will be two years since Al passed away, and it is time for me to start a new life for myself. I would love to talk with you about what you have done at a time convenient for you.
    Warmly,
    Barbara Mintzer

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