Real Self-Care with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
Have you ever put on a face mask, expecting it to solve all your mental health problems?
That seems… unrealistic, but that’s what self-care marketing tells us: get your self care right, and all your difficulties will evaporate.
This week, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin breaks down what “self-care” actually means when we’re living in a complex, capitalistic world. It’s an exploration of grief, burnout, and exhaustion, and what it takes to care for yourself inside systems that repeatedly ignore their part in your suffering.
After leaving med school to join a wellness group that turned out more cult-like than liberating, Dr. Lakshmin went on a journey to heal herself. Along the way, she founded Gemma, a women’s mental health organization, and wrote a book called Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (warning: crystals, cleanses, and bubble baths not included).
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About our guest:
Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is a psychiatrist, a clinical assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, and the founder and CEO of Gemma, the women’s mental health community centering impact and equity. She has spent thousands of hours taking care of women struggling with burnout, despair, depression, and anxiety in her clinical practice.
Her debut non-fiction book, Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included), is available in e-book, hardcover, and audiobook narrated by Pooja.
Additional resources:
- Read “Hope is Not a Thing to Have – It’s a Skill to Practice” at Oprah Daily
- Read “How Society Has Turned Its Back on Mothers” at the The New York Times
- Read “Saying ‘No’ Is Self-Care for Parents” at The New York Times
- Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions: your questions, answered.
- Want to speak to her privately? Apply for a 1:1 grief consultation here.
- Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed
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