Real Self-Care

What does self-care really mean? From puppy yoga to gua shas, we are promised pastel-coloured 'quick fixes' to long-term social problems that cause burnout and stress. But the truth is you can't meditate your way out of a 40-hour work week with no childcare. So when these promises prove empty, we are made to feel like failures within a system that is failing us.

Now, psychiatrist Dr. Pooja Lakshmin offers a sustainable practice for real self-care. Based on her clinical and personal experience, Dr Lakshmin's revolutionary framework reimagines self-care as an ongoing, internal process that involves making difficult decisions in line with your values, putting boundaries in place, treating yourself with compassion and asserting your power. Practising it has the power to change your relationships, your workplace, and our broken systems. Her work serves as a wake-up call, reminding us that wellbeing is not a product to buy, but a way to be.

It is time to let go of the illusions of wellness and start practising real self-care. Because the result - having ownership over your life - is nothing less than a personal and social revolution.

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is the author of the national bestseller, Real Self-Care, which has been featured by Good Morning America, NPR’s Code Switch and 1A, The New York Times, The Guardian, Talks at Google, and has been translated into 6 languages.

Pooja is a board certified psychiatrist and author specializing in women's mental health and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. She is a leading voice at the intersection of mental health and gender, focused on helping women and other marginalized communities escape the tyranny of faux self-care. She maintains an active private practice, where she treats women struggling with burnout, perfectionism, and disillusionment, as well as clinical conditions like depression and anxiety. As a frequent contributor to the The New York Times, Pooja's viral essays on the betrayal of burnout have changed the national and international conversation about women's mental health. Pooja's virals Instagram posts have resonated with millions of women. Her advice has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, NPR, and in Glamour, Marie Claire, Self, Shape, Harper’s Bazaar and other media outlets.

In 2020, after noticing a gap in accessible science-based digital resources tailored to women’s emotional well-being, Pooja founded Gemma, a physician-led education platform dedicated exclusively to women’s mental health, impact, and equity. Gemma provides expert taught virtual courses to support women’s mental well-being and is building an innovative approach to online learning and women’s mental health.

Pooja frequently speaks, advises and consults for organizations on mental health, well-being, and real self-care for employee wellness and for brand social impact initiatives. Her recent partners include LinkedIn, Therapy for Black Girls, Google, The New York Times, 23andMe, Edelman, Pearson, McKinsey, and Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Pooja studied at the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude in Women's Studies and Biological Basis of Behavior. She received her MD from Jefferson Medical College. She did her internship and PGY2 year of psychiatry residency training at Stanford University, finishing her psychiatry residency training at George Washington University, where she was part of the Global Mental Health track.

Having gone down the rabbit hole of faux self-care and extreme wellness herself, Real Self-Care is Pooja's answer to the juice cleanses, the gratitude lists, and the bubble baths -- not only to care for ourselves for real but, in turn, to transform our broken culture.

She lives in Austin, Texas with her partner Justin, their son, and their two feisty cats.