Real Self-Care
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  • Published: 23 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9781529190373
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $32.99

Real Self-Care

Powerful Practices to Nourish Yourself From the Inside Out

Formats & editions
Paperback
11 Jun 2024
Tr. Paperback
14 Mar 2023
EBook
21 Feb 2023
Audiobook
23 Feb 2023
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Powerful practices to heal yourself and our broken culture

'A bracingly honest, galvanising and necessarily provocative look at \"self-care\" through a political and feminist lens' Pandora Sykes

'This isn't just another self-help book. A clear-eyed look at the way social systems drain our energy, and a concrete set of principles to rely on as we declare independence from these systems' Martha Beck

'A helpful and timely book that every woman needs' Julia Samuel

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.
  • Published: 23 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9781529190373
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $32.99
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About the author

Pooja Lakshmin

Dr Pooja Lakshmin, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist, New York Times contributor and a leading voice at the intersection of mental health and gender, focused on helping women and people from marginalized communities escape the tyranny of self-care. In 2020, Lakshmin founded Gemma - a physician led women's mental health education platform centering impact and equity. 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. Having gone down the rabbit hole of extreme wellness herself, Real Self-Care is her 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.

Praise for Real Self-Care

In Real Self-Care, Pooja explores what it really means to take care of ourselves and provides a revolutionary self-care framework that is honest, compassionate, and completely actionable.

Dr Becky Kennedy, no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Good Inside

A compassionate and powerful approach to true wellbeing. Real Self-Care is a helpful and timely book, and one that every modern woman needs.

Julia Samuel

A bracingly honest, galvanizing and necessarily provocative look at what 'self-care' looks at - through a political and feminist lens. Expect to fold down every other page.

Pandora Sykes

Invaluable. For anyone mothering, working, simply trying to be their 'best self', this book will offer clarity and a new way forward.

Katherine Ormerod

This isn't just another self-help book. It gives us a clear-eyed look at the way social systems drain our energy, and a concrete set of principles to rely on as we declare independence from these systems. Pooja is just the kind of wise, compassionate, experienced advisor who can help us claim health and happiness for the long term, despite the near-impossible demands that face us all. Real Self-Care is a much-needed sanctuary for the minds and hearts of its readers.

Martha Beck

Real Self Care is a revelation. Pooja takes us through a journey of unlearning and rediscovery to tackle burnout, make ourselves whole again and step into our power in a world that is often stacked against us.

Eve Rodsky

A gentle yet direct invitation for us to consider the things that will really help us to be well. This is a practical and helpful guide for anyone who has done all the things the listicles have outlined and is still feeling overrun and worn out. Pooja provides a real path forward paved with compassion and encouragement.

Dr Joy Harden Bradford, Founder of Therapy for Black Girls
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