Real Self Care
“There is no shortcut for setting boundaries and knowing your limits. The longer you let the fear of other people’s judgment or reactions dictate your decisions, the more devastating the destruction is in the long run.”
― Pooja Lakshmin
Rebel Read
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Real Self Care | A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses & Bubble Baths Not Included) | Pooja Lakshmin, MD | 2023 | Non Fiction
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of self-care?
Did you think time at the spa, a tarot reading, cold chardonnay in a hot tub or a juice cleanse and yoga class?
You are not alone in thinking that this is what self-care is all about - the term ‘self-care’ has exploded in our ‘collective consciousness as a panacea for practically all of women’s’ problems’
Lakshmin has offered an antidote to this ideology that is incomplete at best and manipulative at worst
She labels these as faux self-care practices and argues that they keep us always looking outwards, comparing ourselves with others and striving for a certain type of perfection that we often do not attain
The book focuses on self-care being more of an internal and self-reflective process - a way to be not something to buy and when we practice this internally, we shift our relationships, our workplaces and even the broken systems surrounding us
The book offers practical tools to deal with common problems and is a step-by-step program for women to set boundaries and move past guilt, treat themselves with compassion, get closer to themselves and assert their power
I love her down to earth writing style, filled with case studies from her practice and clinical research
The book is a bit of a personal and social revolution and you can read more about it here
Thank you JP for gifting me this profound read - self-care is an internal, self-reflective process xo