32: Book Chat: Real Self Care with Dr Pooja Lakshmin

If you follow me at all, you know that I really don’t like the word self-care. But today, I’m giving you an entire episode about Real Self Care!

My guest today is Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, a perinatal psychiatrist, writer, and CEO of Gemma, a women's mental health community, has a fresh perspective on self-care. In her debut nonfiction book, Real Self Care, Dr. Lakshmin challenges the conventional concept of self-care, which is largely full of empty calories and devoid of substance. She argues that the game is rigged, and faux self-care only keeps us looking outward, comparing ourselves with others or striving for a certain type of perfection, which means it's incapable of truly nourishing us in the long run. Her insights on self-care are particularly relevant in the current times, when many people feel overwhelmed, overburdened, and burnt out.

Show Highlights:

• The difference between a “system” and “philosophy”.
• There is no one right answer, there are hundreds of answers.
• Hope as a skill, not a new concept.
• A boundary is the process you went through where you decided that you were worthy of standing up for what you want.
• You know how to practice real self-care when you suffer from a mental health condition.
• There is no one answer for recovery from religious trauma.

Links and Resources:

Connect with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin: Instagram, Twitter

Real Self Care, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin

Connect with KC: TikTok, Instagram, and Website 

Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning

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