Episode description

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin visits Google to discuss her book “Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness”. The book provides a step-by-step guide towards real, sustainable change, using case studies from Dr. Pooja’s practice and clinical research.

You may have noticed that it’s nearly impossible to avoid the term “self-care”. That phrase encompasses any number of lifestyle choices and products—from juice cleanses to yoga workshops to luxury bamboo sheets—self-care has exploded in our collective consciousness as a panacea for practically all of women’s problems.

Psychiatrist Dr. Pooja Lakshmin finds this cultural embrace of self-care incomplete at best and manipulative at worst. Fixing your troubles isn't as simple as buying a new day planner or signing up for a meditation class. These false self-care practices keep us looking outward, leading us to compare ourselves with others or striving for a certain type of perfection. Even worse, they exonerate an oppressive social system that has betrayed women and minorities.

Real self-care, in contrast, is an internal, self-reflective process that involves making difficult decisions in line with our values - and when we practice it, we shift our relationships, our workplaces, and even our broken systems.

In “Real Self-Care”, Lakshmin helps readers understand what a real practice of caring for yourself could—and does—look like. Packed with actionable strategies to deal with common problems, “Real Self-Care” is a complete roadmap for women to set boundaries and move past guilt, treat themselves with compassion, get closer to themselves, and assert their power. The result—having ownership over one’s own life— is nothing less than a personal and social revolution.

Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.