This is what "real self-care" looks like | Code Switch
Zusammenfassung
TLDRPodcastul discută despre provocările moderne, inclusiv crizele globale și personale și modul cum reacționăm la acestea. Autoarea explorează conceptul de 'faux self-care' (autoîngrijire falsă) față de 'real self-care' (autoîngrijire autentică). Faux self-care se referă la soluții rapide, cum ar fi meditația sau curele de detoxifiere, care nu adresează problemele profunde și sistemice ale societății. În contrast, real self-care presupune decizii interne și schimbări în modul de viață, fiind esențială stabilirea limitelor, dezvoltarea compasiunii de sine, clarificarea valorilor și înțelegerea acestei abordări ca o formă de putere personală. Exemple de femei faimoase care au practicat real self-care sunt discutate, ilustrând cum au gestionat ele presiunea societală pentru a da prioritate sănătății lor mentale și bunăstării. Podcastul subliniază că, deși sistemul economic actual profită de pe urma promovării falsei autoîngrijiri, reîntoarcerea la valorile individuale și la deciziile personale este crucială pentru adevărata schimbare și bunăstare sustenabilă.
Mitbringsel
- 🔍 Faux self-care nu rezolvă problemele sistemice.
- 🧘♂️ Real self-care necesită introspecție și decizii personale.
- 🚫 Limitele sunt esențiale pentru autoîngrijire autentică.
- 💪 Real self-care este o formă de putere personală.
- 🌱 Clarificarea valorilor ajută la orientarea vieții.
- 👩⚕️ Discuții despre sănătate mentală sunt vitale.
- 🤝 Real self-care are un impact comunitar pozitiv.
- 🔗 Compasiunea de sine este cheie.
- 💼 Contextul economic influențează alegerile de autoîngrijire.
- 🌍 Femeile de culoare se confruntă cu presiuni suplimentare în sistem.
Zeitleiste
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
Introducere despre presiunea din lume și cum gazda codului ne împărtășește metoda personală de a face față stresului, care include practica Reiki virtual, pentru a obține o stare de bine energetică într-o lume haotică.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
Gazda menționează Dr. Puja Lakshman, care explică diferența dintre ceea ce este adevărata îngrijire de sine și ceea ce este considerat în mod eronat îngrijire de sine. Sistemele sistemice precum capitalismul toxic și supremația albă sunt factorii contribuie la presiune.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Dr. Lakshman introduce conceptul de „faux self-care” care constă în acțiuni de suprafață care mențin status quo-ul fără a adresa cauzele externe ale stresului și presiunii. Acțiuni precum cursuri de yoga sau liste de recunoștință sunt exemple de astfel de practici.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
Adevărata îngrijire de sine se axează pe reflectarea la propriile valori și decizii de viață, precum și pe stabilirea limitelor și auto-compasiune. Procesul durează ani întregi și necesită luarea de decizii interne critice.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Este discutată experiența personală a Dr. Lakshman cu sistemul de sănătate și cum a realizat că adevărata îngrijire de sine necesită mai mult decât curenții ideali de wellness. Reconcilierea personală și asumarea responsabilității sunt esențiale.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Importanța stabilirii limitelor și impactul pe care acestea îl au, mai ales în contextul femeilor de culoare care sunt adesea supuse sarcinilor neplătite și presiunilor sistemice de muncă.
- 00:30:00 - 00:39:49
Exemple de îngrijire de sine autentice vin de la figuri proeminente precum atletele Naomi Osaka și Simone Biles, care au prioritizat sănătatea mentală asupra carierei lor, arătând puterea și sacrificiul implicat în adevărata îngrijire de sine.
Mind Map
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Ce este faux self-care?
Faux self-care se referă la metode de autoîngrijire care sunt prescripții externe și nu abordează problemele sistemice reale.
Cum definită Dr. Puja Lakshman faux self-care?
Faux self-care este definită ca metode prescrise din exterior, cum ar fi meditația sau cursurile de yoga, care nu schimbă sistemele mari ce cauzează stres.
Care sunt principiile autoîngrijirii reale, conform Dr. Lakshman?
Cele patru principii sunt: stabilirea limitelor, dezvoltarea compasiunii de sine, clarificarea valorilor și înțelegerea că această formă de autoîngrijire este o formă de putere.
De ce este faux self-care populară, conform podcastului?
Popularitatea faux self-care este atribuită economiei care încurajează soluții rapide și consum de produse în loc să rezolve problemele sistemice.
Cum a ajutat-o pe Michaela abordarea autoîngrijirii reale?
Michaela a reușit să își gestioneze mai bine sănătatea mentală prin stabilirea limitelor în familie și prin solicitarea unui concediu medical de la muncă.
Care este diferența între autoîngrijirea reală și cea falsă?
Autoîngrijirea reală implică decizii interne și transformări pe termen lung, pe când cea falsă este adesea o scăpare temporară.
Cum poate cineva afla ce înseamnă autoîngrijirea reală pentru ei?
Autoîngrijirea reală este un proces personal, implicând introspecție și decizii făcute pe baza valorilor proprii.
De ce este importantă discuția despre autoîngrijire pentru femeile de culoare?
Pentru că atunci când femeile de culoare consideră că problema este la ele, nu mai contestă status quo-ul și impactul sistemelor opresive.
Ce reprezintă un pas important în autoîngrijirea reală?
Stabilirea limitelor este un pas crucial, deoarece ajută la crearea spațiului necesar pentru îngrijirea de sine.
Cum ajută conștientizarea propriilor valori în procesul autoîngrijiri?
Clarificarea valorilor ajută la luarea deciziilor importante în viață, asigurând că acestea reflectă ceea ce este cu adevărat semnificativ pentru individ.
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- 00:00:18hey everyone you're listening to code
- 00:00:20switch I'm ba
- 00:00:23Parker okay so is it just me or is it a
- 00:00:26stressful time right now there are Wars
- 00:00:29raging in multiple parts of the world
- 00:00:31presidential candidates are saying some
- 00:00:33wild things every few days it feels like
- 00:00:36there's some new climate disaster or
- 00:00:39shooting or Public Health crisis and
- 00:00:42while sometimes it can feel like there's
- 00:00:44nothing we as individuals can do about
- 00:00:47all that chaos out there we still need
- 00:00:49to get through each day go to work take
- 00:00:52care of ourselves and our people so I
- 00:00:55want to share with you all my small way
- 00:00:58of
- 00:00:58coping
- 00:01:00so safe space I do
- 00:01:04raiki and not just any raiki virtual
- 00:01:07raiki we're still in the pandemic people
- 00:01:10so once a week I meet a lady over zoom
- 00:01:13and she sends energy into my chakras so
- 00:01:16we are slated to do 30 minutes together
- 00:01:19I sit on my couch light my candle and
- 00:01:23place my crystals and then this nice
- 00:01:26woman on the screen angles her hands
- 00:01:28towards the camera setting an
- 00:01:32intention while I feel this warm static
- 00:01:35travel through my crown and down my back
- 00:01:40a lot of energy just ped through Reiki
- 00:01:44you know is actually an ancient healing
- 00:01:47technique it was popularized in Japan
- 00:01:50but it has roots in many other cultures
- 00:01:53and even though a lot of people in the
- 00:01:54US think of it as kind of woo
- 00:01:57woo I guess with all all of the madness
- 00:02:00in the world that half an hour feels
- 00:02:04nice it's nice to get my energy cleansed
- 00:02:08ignoring my neighbor's toddler stomping
- 00:02:11on the floor above me or the police
- 00:02:14sirens outside my window or the backtack
- 00:02:17meetings I sometimes have from 10:00
- 00:02:20a.m. to 5:00 p.m. it's my form of
- 00:02:23self-care oh I think it is or at least I
- 00:02:27thought it
- 00:02:28was
- 00:02:30I like to say that you can't meditate
- 00:02:32your way out of a 40-hour work week with
- 00:02:35no child care without health insurance
- 00:02:38without access to actual real systemic
- 00:02:42support that's Dr Puja lman she's a
- 00:02:45psychiatrist specializing in women's
- 00:02:47mental health and the founder and CEO of
- 00:02:50Gemma which is a women's mental health
- 00:02:52education platform and she's the author
- 00:02:54of a new book called real self-care
- 00:02:57crystals cleanses and bubble baths not
- 00:03:00included so today on the show what is
- 00:03:03real self-care what's not real
- 00:03:06self-care and why the difference is
- 00:03:08crucial especially to women of color
- 00:03:11because when you believe that the
- 00:03:13problem is inside of you then you don't
- 00:03:16question the status quo we're going to
- 00:03:19start with the fake selfcare to do that
- 00:03:22unfortunately I have to take you all
- 00:03:24back to a dark depressing time that I
- 00:03:26think we all rather
- 00:03:28forget so uh in like 2020
- 00:03:332021 I like the rest of the world was
- 00:03:35going through a rough patch mhm and I
- 00:03:38was stressed with work with the news
- 00:03:39with life and a lot of people told me I
- 00:03:44needed to
- 00:03:45prioritize self-care MH and so like I
- 00:03:49tried everything like I tried meditating
- 00:03:52breath work I did Edibles I went into
- 00:03:55centry deprivation tank like I did raiki
- 00:03:58but like nothing was worth working and
- 00:04:00I'm I was still really stressed but in
- 00:04:02your book you're making the argument
- 00:04:04that none of that is actually self-care
- 00:04:07right so yes with a caveat yes so you
- 00:04:11know buying a new day planner and
- 00:04:13signing up for a meditation class isn't
- 00:04:15going to change the fact that 30 million
- 00:04:17Americans are uninsured and that um you
- 00:04:21know a quarter of American workers don't
- 00:04:23have paid sick days or you know the fact
- 00:04:26that if you're a black woman you have to
- 00:04:27work for 19 months to make the same
- 00:04:30amount of money that a white man will
- 00:04:33make in 12 months right so all of the
- 00:04:35systemic things whether we're talking
- 00:04:36about white supremacy whether we're
- 00:04:38talking about you know toxic capitalism
- 00:04:42patriarchy right all these different
- 00:04:44things so the meditation apps the bubble
- 00:04:48baths the sensory deprivation tanks um
- 00:04:51all that stuff is kind of sold to us as
- 00:04:55the
- 00:04:56solution but it doesn't act actually fix
- 00:05:01any of the real external problems that
- 00:05:05have caused us to feel so terrible to
- 00:05:07begin with in the book you define it but
- 00:05:10how do you define quote unquote fake
- 00:05:12self-care yeah so I call it fo selfcare
- 00:05:16self fo self-care and I conceptualize
- 00:05:19faux self-care as the methods so it's
- 00:05:23always going to be something that's
- 00:05:24prescribed from the outside like you
- 00:05:26mentioned people telling you you know
- 00:05:28you need to do selfcare you need to
- 00:05:30meditate you need to go to yoga you need
- 00:05:32to make your gratitude list so it's
- 00:05:34prescribed from the outside it's usually
- 00:05:36a noun so it's usually describing some
- 00:05:39sort of activity or a product it's
- 00:05:42something to buy or something to do
- 00:05:45right um and it usually maintains the
- 00:05:49status quo in your relationships or in
- 00:05:52your family life or in your workplace
- 00:05:55and it doesn't actually do anything to
- 00:05:57change any of these larger systems so
- 00:06:00that's like that's the Crux of it like
- 00:06:02it maintains the status quo in your life
- 00:06:06and usually especially for women and for
- 00:06:09people of color it's typically an escape
- 00:06:13and and we can come back to this it's
- 00:06:14not that escape is bad but it's it's an
- 00:06:17Escape so that you can get away from all
- 00:06:20of the terribleness that's going on or
- 00:06:23sometimes it can end up being something
- 00:06:25that actually gets turned into an
- 00:06:28achievement me
- 00:06:30it just you just reminded me there was a
- 00:06:32few years where I was obsessed with um
- 00:06:34spin
- 00:06:36classes and then I realized I was so
- 00:06:38mean to myself during the spin classes
- 00:06:41that I thought it was like making me
- 00:06:43better but it was also just making me
- 00:06:44feel really bad about myself well yeah
- 00:06:47and that's a really great point so the
- 00:06:48other thing with faux self-care
- 00:06:50especially when it's something that gets
- 00:06:52equated with achievement is it usually
- 00:06:55comes with guilt and shame either guilt
- 00:06:58and shame when you don't get to it when
- 00:07:00you miss a day right or uh that you're
- 00:07:03not doing it well enough right and so
- 00:07:06you know the perfect example is the
- 00:07:08woman who comes into my practice and
- 00:07:09it's just like well Dr lexman you know
- 00:07:11I'm burnt out I'm stressed out I'm not
- 00:07:13eating well I'm not sleeping well and I
- 00:07:15feel like it's my fault right because I
- 00:07:18know I'm supposed to be going to yoga
- 00:07:20and that's exactly what you described
- 00:07:23with sort of like the spin you know when
- 00:07:26you believe that it's that thing that's
- 00:07:28going to fix all of your problems then
- 00:07:32that gets turned into another measuring
- 00:07:35stick yeah that you're using to judge
- 00:07:37yourself and also to beat yourself up
- 00:07:41yeah but then why do you think faux
- 00:07:44self-care is so
- 00:07:46appealing yeah um if you don't mind I'm
- 00:07:49going to be a little bit ragy here by
- 00:07:51all means please do well because um the
- 00:07:56entire US economy is built on the unpaid
- 00:07:59or underpaid labor of women and
- 00:08:02particularly women of color of black
- 00:08:04women of brown women um of immigrants of
- 00:08:08people who are less than in the cast
- 00:08:10system so we are living in an economy
- 00:08:14that is incentivized to have us believe
- 00:08:18that the solution to our problems is to
- 00:08:23buy something or to work
- 00:08:26harder because when you believe that the
- 00:08:30problem is inside of you then you don't
- 00:08:33question the status quo you don't ask
- 00:08:36yourself well why doesn't my employer
- 00:08:40give me paid sick days off right why
- 00:08:43don't we have paid parental leave in
- 00:08:45America why is it so hard to find a
- 00:08:48therapist who takes insurance and is
- 00:08:51accepting new patients right so the
- 00:08:55reason that self-care is something
- 00:08:59that we have hoisted on to the
- 00:09:03individual is really tied up
- 00:09:06in not only
- 00:09:09capitalism as a system but also white
- 00:09:12supremacy um you know I specialize in
- 00:09:15women's mental health so all my patients
- 00:09:17are people who identify as women so a
- 00:09:19lot of my patients are mothers or
- 00:09:21caretakers whether that's taking care of
- 00:09:22like little kids or whether that's
- 00:09:24taking care of your aging parents right
- 00:09:26um so I do think that it's really
- 00:09:29important to think about how much we
- 00:09:34devalue hair work yes and emotional
- 00:09:37labor and all the things that are
- 00:09:40invisible um so getting back to the
- 00:09:42original question the real work of
- 00:09:45self-care is actually
- 00:09:47invisible and it takes a really long
- 00:09:50time and it's not something that you can
- 00:09:54measure or check off on a list and so
- 00:09:57therefore like the shortcut right is to
- 00:10:00just believe that like well I can just
- 00:10:02like buy this packet of pretty beige
- 00:10:05branded vitamins that's being shoved in
- 00:10:08my face on Instagram every day if I buy
- 00:10:12that and it's delivered in 24 hours
- 00:10:14right like that'll fix my problems um as
- 00:10:17opposed
- 00:10:19to investing in the longer
- 00:10:23term
- 00:10:25risky work of looking at how am I living
- 00:10:29my life like what's really important to
- 00:10:31me how do I learn how to set boundaries
- 00:10:35in my relationships right all that stuff
- 00:10:37that's the real kind of internal work um
- 00:10:40that's so much harder because you know
- 00:10:43we're like living in this system where
- 00:10:45people just you don't have time so it's
- 00:10:47like you're drowning and when you're
- 00:10:48drowning you just want that life raft
- 00:10:50right you just want the thing that's
- 00:10:52just going to make you feel better
- 00:10:53immediately and that's what the faux
- 00:10:55self-care is so so I want to also just
- 00:10:57say I don't want to anybody to feel
- 00:11:00ashamed for the ways in which you turn
- 00:11:04to whether it's like the bubble baths
- 00:11:06whether it's like the sensory
- 00:11:08deprivation tank right like all these
- 00:11:10different things the Manny petties
- 00:11:13um because like usually you're coming
- 00:11:16there out of desperation and maybe this
- 00:11:18is a good spot for me to share a little
- 00:11:19bit about my personal experience um
- 00:11:23about a decade ago I had my very own
- 00:11:26deeply heartbreaking experience with
- 00:11:29wellness and at that time I was in my
- 00:11:31late 20s um and and I'm a child of
- 00:11:34immigrants my parents are South Asian
- 00:11:36and they came here from India and you
- 00:11:37know I did all the things that a good
- 00:11:38Indian girl was supposed to do I went to
- 00:11:41Ivy League College I got into med school
- 00:11:45became a doctor got married and found
- 00:11:48myself in my second year of Psychiatry
- 00:11:50residency at a really prestigious Place
- 00:11:52having kind of checked off all the
- 00:11:53things that I was supposed to do I found
- 00:11:56myself like really lost you know I was
- 00:11:58kind of like okay well now I'm allowed
- 00:12:00to figure out to be how to be happy and
- 00:12:02I didn't know how and then I also was
- 00:12:05really angry and confused by the modern
- 00:12:10medical system and sort of what I was
- 00:12:12being taught as a
- 00:12:14psychiatrist you know I was seeing
- 00:12:16things like patients coming in and you
- 00:12:18know someone who's unhoused right and
- 00:12:22what they really need is housing but all
- 00:12:24I can do is prescribe medication right
- 00:12:27or another patient who's like losing her
- 00:12:29job because she doesn't have child care
- 00:12:31and all again all I can do is prescribe
- 00:12:32medication or do Psychotherapy with her
- 00:12:34but I can't fix these systemic problems
- 00:12:36and I realized that was a very naive way
- 00:12:39of looking at becoming a doctor that I
- 00:12:41believed that I could fix those problems
- 00:12:44and anyway so I was very angry and so I
- 00:12:47basically just destroyed my life I left
- 00:12:49my marriage I moved into a wellness
- 00:12:51commune in San Francisco pretty quickly
- 00:12:54after that I dropped out of my residency
- 00:12:56but by the end of that two years I
- 00:12:58realized that I just been running away
- 00:13:00from my problems and that there's no um
- 00:13:04even in the wellness world or the
- 00:13:07spiritual World quote unquote spiritual
- 00:13:09world you know there are just as many
- 00:13:11hypocrisies and inconsistencies as in
- 00:13:15mainstream medicine and that there's no
- 00:13:18shortcut actually for doing the hard
- 00:13:20work of making really hard decisions in
- 00:13:23your own life like you can't Outsource
- 00:13:26any of that and whether it is you know a
- 00:13:29juice cleanse or a diet or a coach or
- 00:13:33you know whatever the kind of like
- 00:13:35latest Wellness fad is you're never
- 00:13:38going to be able to find your
- 00:13:40answers through somebody else it it
- 00:13:43always just has to come down to you in
- 00:13:45your own life making your own choices
- 00:13:48and that's what real self-care
- 00:13:51is we come back we're going to talk
- 00:13:54about pua's four principles of real
- 00:13:56self-care learning to set a boundary is
- 00:14:00the only way that you can ever make
- 00:14:02space for yourself and what practicing
- 00:14:05that actually looks like in the real
- 00:14:07world she actually decided to take a
- 00:14:09risk and take a leave of absence from
- 00:14:11her job um a medical leave that's coming
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- 00:16:12I'm Parker this is cod switch and I'm
- 00:16:15back with Dr Pua lakshman and we're
- 00:16:18finally going to talk about her
- 00:16:19definition of real self-care I think
- 00:16:22what is different about this work is
- 00:16:24framing it in the context of our
- 00:16:26oppressive systems yeah yeah and that
- 00:16:29very much comes from folks like Audrey
- 00:16:32Lord right one of my favorite quotes of
- 00:16:35hers is actually what I use at the very
- 00:16:37front of the book for the Master's tools
- 00:16:39will never dismantle the Master's house
- 00:16:42they may allow us temporarily to beat
- 00:16:44him at his own game but they will never
- 00:16:46enable us to bring about genuine change
- 00:16:50MH so I can't tell you the answer for
- 00:16:53what your real self-care is because
- 00:16:56everybody's real self-care is is
- 00:16:58completely different but I have to say
- 00:17:00that's such a psychologist answer I love
- 00:17:01that so much I can't give you I can't
- 00:17:04tell you what to
- 00:17:06do as like as a therapy girl I'm like o
- 00:17:09that I feel that well and it's important
- 00:17:12right because I think that like part of
- 00:17:14the reason that we get caught up in the
- 00:17:17wellness stuff is because someone is
- 00:17:20when it's not a therapist or a
- 00:17:22psychiatrist talking to you it is
- 00:17:24somebody usually who's saying here's the
- 00:17:25thing that you should do and here's the
- 00:17:27step-by-step way and there might be some
- 00:17:29pieces of that that's useful right but
- 00:17:31in reality everybody has a different
- 00:17:34answer right yeah um so the four
- 00:17:37principles of real self-care um and I'm
- 00:17:40going to also just say upfront like
- 00:17:42these aren't anything revolutionary so
- 00:17:44the four principles are setting
- 00:17:46boundaries and learning to deal with
- 00:17:48guilt so that is step one and the reason
- 00:17:51why that is step one or principle one is
- 00:17:54because learning to set a boundary and
- 00:17:58and coming to terms with your guilt
- 00:18:02about that boundary is the only way that
- 00:18:05you can ever make space for yourself so
- 00:18:07that has to be principle one principle
- 00:18:10two is developing self-compassion and
- 00:18:13when I talk about self-compassion what I
- 00:18:15mean is the way that you talk to
- 00:18:18yourself like actually paying attention
- 00:18:21to how you talk to yourself that's
- 00:18:23principle two principle three is getting
- 00:18:25clear on your values and we can come
- 00:18:28back to this because it's an important
- 00:18:29one um this is the decision- making
- 00:18:31right that you were just talking about
- 00:18:32Parker like this is this is the hard
- 00:18:35part right this is the I mean it's all
- 00:18:36hard let's be clear but like this is the
- 00:18:39part where it's like the Crux of like
- 00:18:41you you need to use an internal lens to
- 00:18:45make the big choices in your life who
- 00:18:47who are you going to choose as your life
- 00:18:48partner are you going to have a life
- 00:18:50partner um what's your job what is your
- 00:18:53career what do you really want for your
- 00:18:55life do you want that to change are you
- 00:18:57happy in that oh my it's 11:30 in the
- 00:19:00morning and those all of those questions
- 00:19:02just stressed me I'm so sorry I'm so
- 00:19:04sorry well that's why you got to do the
- 00:19:05boundaries and the self-compassion first
- 00:19:08and then you can come to those values
- 00:19:10questions and here's the other thing
- 00:19:12there is not one right answer to any of
- 00:19:14those questions and you will not know
- 00:19:17the answers in a week a month or even a
- 00:19:21year right like the real self-care
- 00:19:23process is one that takes years and
- 00:19:25years because there's always going to be
- 00:19:27new questions
- 00:19:29right every twist and turn in your life
- 00:19:31every transition there's going to be
- 00:19:33another new thing so I think what I like
- 00:19:35to do I think when you're in that place
- 00:19:37of like H there's so much I have to
- 00:19:40figure out instead of believing that
- 00:19:42there's going to be one right answer
- 00:19:44that's like handed down remind yourself
- 00:19:47that it's
- 00:19:48actually hundreds and thousands of small
- 00:19:51decisions that's going to get you to
- 00:19:54your answers M and that takes some of
- 00:19:56the pressure off I think hopefully it's
- 00:19:59not adding to your stress but I think
- 00:20:00it's like there's less of this like well
- 00:20:02I need to make the right choice and more
- 00:20:04of like no there's actually just
- 00:20:05thousands of small different micro
- 00:20:07decisions that you're going to make and
- 00:20:09that's what you're doing as you're
- 00:20:10moving through boundaries and
- 00:20:11self-compassion and even values and then
- 00:20:14the fourth piece the fourth principle is
- 00:20:16that this is actually power like this is
- 00:20:19power and if you were somebody that has
- 00:20:22privilege if you are somebody who has
- 00:20:24lighter skin if you have Financial
- 00:20:26Resources if you are able Ed um knowing
- 00:20:30that the power that you get from this
- 00:20:32that you have a responsibility to put it
- 00:20:34back into your communities um that's the
- 00:20:38last principle like really coming back
- 00:20:40to how we Center self-care real
- 00:20:45self-care an
- 00:20:46[Music]
- 00:20:50agency um you're a psychiatrist and in
- 00:20:54your book you write about many of your
- 00:20:56different patients and what they're
- 00:20:57going through and you work with them to
- 00:21:00create a different
- 00:21:02framework so can you tell us about
- 00:21:04Michaela and her situation in the book
- 00:21:06yeah absolutely um so Michaela was a
- 00:21:10patient that came to originally see me
- 00:21:12for her obsessive compulsive
- 00:21:15disorder um and so we treated that with
- 00:21:17Psychotherapy and with medication and
- 00:21:20during the course of working together um
- 00:21:22her dad got really sick and so she ended
- 00:21:26up well it was was actually her mom
- 00:21:28passed away but then her dad was also
- 00:21:30not doing well so her dad had to move in
- 00:21:31with her basically and so she had two
- 00:21:33teenage daughters and um was
- 00:21:34co-parenting with her ex-husband and
- 00:21:37prior to this happening prior to this
- 00:21:39crisis in her life through kind of
- 00:21:41working together she was really excited
- 00:21:44to start to put more energy and time
- 00:21:47into herself and had signed up for these
- 00:21:49like Community classes and but then this
- 00:21:51crisis happened she's a black woman she
- 00:21:53came from a family of all brothers and
- 00:21:55like she was always the caretaker right
- 00:21:57she never set boundaries in her family
- 00:21:59she was always the one to kind of Step
- 00:22:01In do the thing take care of everything
- 00:22:04lend people money plan on the holidays
- 00:22:06right and so this all kind of came to a
- 00:22:08head while we were working together and
- 00:22:10her OCD got a lot
- 00:22:12worse so what her decision- making you
- 00:22:16know was she actually decided to take a
- 00:22:18risk and take a leave of absence from
- 00:22:20her job um a medical leave during that
- 00:22:24time was able to um you know see me more
- 00:22:27regular L we were able to get a handle
- 00:22:29on her anxiety also figure out a plan
- 00:22:32for taking care of her father and and
- 00:22:34asking actually her brothers for some
- 00:22:36money to chip in um all these different
- 00:22:38pieces but you know the fear of making
- 00:22:41that choice especially as a black woman
- 00:22:43she was really worried about how she
- 00:22:45would be perceived whether she would
- 00:22:46lose her job whether she would you know
- 00:22:48not get that next promotion right all
- 00:22:51this stuff and then what actually ended
- 00:22:53up happening is through this process
- 00:22:56when she came back and she connected
- 00:22:58with another person at her workplace who
- 00:23:00actually had a family member with OCD a
- 00:23:02kid and they started these little kind
- 00:23:05of like
- 00:23:06um talks at work that were kind of a
- 00:23:10support space for others at the company
- 00:23:13who were dealing with mental health
- 00:23:15issues and when she was up for like her
- 00:23:17next performance review she actually was
- 00:23:20praised for this and um and they started
- 00:23:23kind of like something that was similar
- 00:23:24to like an ERG where she actually got
- 00:23:26some funding for okay and so the thing
- 00:23:29that she was really worried about that
- 00:23:32would hold her back and that she would
- 00:23:34be penalized for ended up actually being
- 00:23:37something that was fully celebrated in
- 00:23:39her
- 00:23:40workplace and none of that would have
- 00:23:42happened unless
- 00:23:44she like the first thread in all of that
- 00:23:48for her was starting to set boundaries
- 00:23:50inside her family
- 00:23:53actually so I guess I want to say two
- 00:23:55things on that you know there's parts of
- 00:23:57the book book where I I have these
- 00:23:59little sections where like that are sort
- 00:24:00of like yeah sounds great but which is
- 00:24:02like my patients who are like yeah
- 00:24:04sounds great Dr luxman like okay awesome
- 00:24:06but like my employer is never going to
- 00:24:07like do that for me you know my family
- 00:24:10is terrible they're not gonna you know
- 00:24:12and so I'm not saying that it all works
- 00:24:14out great like you know she still is has
- 00:24:17struggles right it's this is all hard
- 00:24:19stuff but I think that and especially if
- 00:24:22you're somebody who is a person of color
- 00:24:23or in particular a black person in
- 00:24:26Corporate America we do know that you
- 00:24:29will be penalized right like that's not
- 00:24:31imaginary right that's not in your head
- 00:24:34like that's a very real thing so you
- 00:24:37have to figure out when is it worth
- 00:24:40taking the risk and
- 00:24:43um what are the potential costs of the
- 00:24:47risk and there will be times where it's
- 00:24:49not worth it and there will be other
- 00:24:51times where it is so when I talk about
- 00:24:53boundaries actually it's worth
- 00:24:55clarifying here um
- 00:24:58so my definition of boundaries is a
- 00:24:59little bit different I think about
- 00:25:02boundaries as the
- 00:25:04pause and then you can say yes you can
- 00:25:07say no or you can negotiate and then in
- 00:25:10the case of Michaela it's like doing the
- 00:25:12calculus of like okay yeah my mental
- 00:25:14health is really really bad and yeah
- 00:25:18it's a risk for me to ask for this leave
- 00:25:20but if I don't I'm probably going to
- 00:25:22deteriorate to the point where like I
- 00:25:25might get fired yeah because 's this
- 00:25:28great line right in one of your chapters
- 00:25:31it's like our entire system is built on
- 00:25:34the premise that women's time especially
- 00:25:36the time of black and brown women
- 00:25:38doesn't belong to them and setting
- 00:25:40boundaries is how to take time energy
- 00:25:44and attention back and that really
- 00:25:46struck with me and I was like oh no um
- 00:25:50and I really love the examples that you
- 00:25:53gave of two black female athletes Nomi
- 00:25:56oaka and Simone biles mhm for those who
- 00:26:00need a reminder Naomi Osaka is a
- 00:26:02professional tennis player Simone biles
- 00:26:05is one of the most decorated American
- 00:26:07Olympic gymnasts and they both stepped
- 00:26:09away from their Sports at very
- 00:26:11high-profile moments in 2021 like when I
- 00:26:14win I don't feel happy I feel more like
- 00:26:17a relief um and then when I lose I feel
- 00:26:22very sad and I don't I don't think
- 00:26:25that's normal but I I think I'm going to
- 00:26:29take a break from playing for a while I
- 00:26:33say um put mental health first because
- 00:26:36if you don't then you're not going to
- 00:26:37enjoy your sport and you're not going to
- 00:26:39succeed as much as you want to could you
- 00:26:41tell us about how you see them as
- 00:26:43practicing real
- 00:26:44self-care yeah yeah so for both of those
- 00:26:50spectacular female athletes on one hand
- 00:26:52you can think of it as like oh these are
- 00:26:54huge Superstars you know they have tons
- 00:26:57of money Etc but on the other hand the
- 00:26:59way that I think of it as a psychiatrist
- 00:27:01as W these are two young black women who
- 00:27:05have the weight of the world on their
- 00:27:07shoulders like in so many people
- 00:27:10depending on them to bring in money
- 00:27:12right and he such high expectations that
- 00:27:15other people have and and that they have
- 00:27:17I would imagine they have for their
- 00:27:18careers and then to step back and say
- 00:27:21you know what my mental health matters
- 00:27:23my mental health is the most important
- 00:27:25thing and to do that on a global stage
- 00:27:29while all the eyes are
- 00:27:31watching you know I don't again I don't
- 00:27:34know anything about their own internal
- 00:27:35processes but that looked so much like
- 00:27:39real self-care to me and that also I
- 00:27:41feel like was just
- 00:27:43such a poignant example of the power
- 00:27:47Dynamic there these are again two young
- 00:27:50black women athletes um and and there's
- 00:27:53plenty of non-black folks who are making
- 00:27:56lots of money off of their performances
- 00:27:59right and again but for them to say like
- 00:28:02I matter I matter and I'm going to trust
- 00:28:06that I can come back and I can do
- 00:28:10whatever I want right that that this
- 00:28:12isn't a failing like that this is power
- 00:28:14to do this yeah the thing with real
- 00:28:17self-care is there
- 00:28:19is a cost like there's like an emotional
- 00:28:23cost sometimes monetary cost societal
- 00:28:26cost and there is
- 00:28:29also Ian you have these high-profile
- 00:28:31people like Naomi Osaka and Simone BOS
- 00:28:34who are out here doing real self-care
- 00:28:37knowing what the like you say weighing
- 00:28:38the
- 00:28:39risks um and I think about someone who
- 00:28:43may not be in like the spotlight or in a
- 00:28:47like even me I'm in a position of
- 00:28:48privilege where I can say no to certain
- 00:28:51things or be like I'm going to take the
- 00:28:53afternoon off and go see John Wick or
- 00:28:55something like I think about about
- 00:28:57people who are in a less privileged
- 00:29:00situation is it possible for them to
- 00:29:03exercise real self-care I think it is um
- 00:29:07I think it looks different everywhere in
- 00:29:10every different sort of station of life
- 00:29:13um when
- 00:29:15I talk about this question the thing
- 00:29:18that always comes to mind for me is when
- 00:29:20I was a medical student and I know that
- 00:29:23obviously even being able to be a
- 00:29:25medical student in America is a hugely
- 00:29:27privileged position to be in and the
- 00:29:32reason that I use it as an example is
- 00:29:34because I felt at that time like I had
- 00:29:37zero choices and I was at the bottom of
- 00:29:39the ladder because I was in the medical
- 00:29:41hierarchy and this was back in like 200
- 00:29:46Nish maybe um and I was a third-year med
- 00:29:49student on my surgery rotation at a
- 00:29:51hospital in North Philly um and my team
- 00:29:54didn't know my name what yeah yeah like
- 00:29:57it was just like hey med
- 00:29:59student you know can you grab this yes
- 00:30:02and so for me in that time of my life
- 00:30:05real self-care was asking to be called
- 00:30:07by my
- 00:30:08name oh and that's why boundaries are a
- 00:30:11pause right you take the pause and then
- 00:30:13you yeah like you might be working three
- 00:30:15jobs and you might have to work three
- 00:30:17jobs in order to make ends me and there
- 00:30:20isn't a place that you feel like you can
- 00:30:22say no yet right but if a boundary is
- 00:30:26the pause at least you can take that
- 00:30:27pause and start to think briefly of like
- 00:30:31okay what needs to change so that I
- 00:30:34could get to a place to say no and
- 00:30:38usually that is something economic and
- 00:30:40usually that is something that is social
- 00:30:44and Collective yeah um but I just want
- 00:30:46to ask like when you're pushing for
- 00:30:48something like saying your actual name
- 00:30:52I'm getting called your name is that
- 00:30:54changing the overall Dynamic cuz it
- 00:30:56Doesn't
- 00:30:58feel 100% that way that's a good
- 00:31:01question I mean the medical system still
- 00:31:03is absolutely terrible and abusive and
- 00:31:05traumatic so no me saying my name did
- 00:31:08not go very far but for me personally
- 00:31:13that was part of a journey of figuring
- 00:31:15out deciding to become a psychiatrist
- 00:31:17too right so you don't know where it's
- 00:31:20going to kind of take you in terms again
- 00:31:23that's why real self-care isn't
- 00:31:24prescriptive and why I keep saying that
- 00:31:26it's sort of like it's a thousand small
- 00:31:28decisions it's not just like one big
- 00:31:30thing you right that the problems
- 00:31:34affecting women of color are structural
- 00:31:37like I've been in positions where like
- 00:31:39the microaggressions come at you left
- 00:31:41and right and and you're trying to like
- 00:31:44there's like pay issues there's like all
- 00:31:46of these things are really in our
- 00:31:47control but these changes need to be
- 00:31:51internal and have you found ways to kind
- 00:31:54of circle that square how can you Circle
- 00:31:57that square yeah you know I have
- 00:32:01probably a depressing answer to this um
- 00:32:04I'll take
- 00:32:05it which is I don't I have probably lost
- 00:32:11faith in sort of the establishment like
- 00:32:14I think the answers have to come from
- 00:32:16people that are outside of the
- 00:32:19systems um because I think inside the
- 00:32:22system whether we're talking about
- 00:32:24healthc care academics whether we're
- 00:32:26talking about
- 00:32:27law banking whatever all the different
- 00:32:30Industries um when you're inside the
- 00:32:34system as a person of color the cost of
- 00:32:39trying to change that particular system
- 00:32:41is so so high yeah on your own mental
- 00:32:45health it's funny that the self-care
- 00:32:47that you're talking about does seem
- 00:32:49deeply communal and not the classic like
- 00:32:53quote unquote self that we think of yeah
- 00:32:57because real self-care is interpersonal
- 00:33:00and communal I know we hear a lot about
- 00:33:03Community Care and maybe in writing this
- 00:33:07book it's a little bit of a troan horse
- 00:33:09in that I feel like more people will
- 00:33:11read it when it's
- 00:33:13called real
- 00:33:15self-care as opposed to calling it
- 00:33:17Community Care even though what I am
- 00:33:19really speaking to is taking care of
- 00:33:21each other too but I think that you got
- 00:33:26to take care of yourself first like that
- 00:33:29has to be step one I mean again it's
- 00:33:33it's so
- 00:33:35hard it it it involves like maybe five
- 00:33:38extra brain cells that I don't know if I
- 00:33:40have right now it's also for lack of a
- 00:33:44better word it's not it's like it's not
- 00:33:46sexy how do we like you give me like
- 00:33:49bath salts if you give if you give me
- 00:33:52like one of those like huge like I got a
- 00:33:54bath bomb for my birthday that's like
- 00:33:56the shape of the like the Earth like
- 00:33:58things like that how do you sell this
- 00:34:01version of self-care to the people who
- 00:34:04need it the most yeah yeah are you
- 00:34:06telling me do I'm doing a terrible job
- 00:34:08of selling it right now no you're doing
- 00:34:10great you're doing great I me it's still
- 00:34:13a little Bleak but that's kind of what
- 00:34:15you expect cuz like you also like you
- 00:34:17say like you start at the idea that we
- 00:34:19suffer and we try to improve this like
- 00:34:22despite the suffering so already we're
- 00:34:26this bleak but it's okay I'm already I'm
- 00:34:28with you well you know what like I think
- 00:34:31my answer to that would be that I'm not
- 00:34:34trying to sell it like I think you come
- 00:34:38to it when you've done everything else
- 00:34:40and it hasn't worked right and this is
- 00:34:43like this is you need a
- 00:34:47companion to get through right and maybe
- 00:34:51what I'll say is I don't have the
- 00:34:52solution like all the answers and all
- 00:34:54the solutions what I do have is the
- 00:34:56begin beginning of a new
- 00:34:59conversation that's what this is it's
- 00:35:01not the answer it's the beginning of a
- 00:35:03conversation and I think you're asking
- 00:35:04me like is it even worth having this
- 00:35:06conversation and like I'm just saying
- 00:35:08yes yes
- 00:35:13yes okay my last question is my raiki
- 00:35:17real self-care or faux
- 00:35:20self-care I don't know about whether
- 00:35:22like there's anything actually specific
- 00:35:25about that specific thing but to me this
- 00:35:29actually sounds like the practice of
- 00:35:33taking that time out having it once a
- 00:35:36week having it feel like it's something
- 00:35:37that you're doing for yourself is the
- 00:35:42value yeah so then I would wonder if you
- 00:35:46can you figure out a way to do that for
- 00:35:51yourself that's not raiki but that is
- 00:35:54maybe looking at places in your life
- 00:35:56where you want to set a boundary and
- 00:35:59giving yourself maybe 30 minutes to
- 00:36:02think about what is that boundaries
- 00:36:04practice going to look like what is that
- 00:36:05first thing that you're going to set a
- 00:36:06boundary with now you made it less
- 00:36:09[Laughter]
- 00:36:12fun right it's it is less fun it is less
- 00:36:15fun but it's putting it back into your
- 00:36:18own
- 00:36:22hands that's Dr Pua lakshman she's a
- 00:36:25practicing psychiatrist and the author
- 00:36:27of the new book real self-care crystals
- 00:36:29cleanses and bubble baths not
- 00:36:38included and that's our show you can
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- 00:38:02thanks this episode was produced by DEA
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- 00:38:28Williams Jean dby and ly leaga I'm ba
- 00:38:31Parker
- 00:38:36hydr you can't just keep going to
- 00:38:38sensory deprivation tanks don't do it I
- 00:38:41mean you can if you want to but I
- 00:38:43imagine they're really expensive and I
- 00:38:45did it wrong I thought I was doing it
- 00:38:46wrong the whole time and I was mad at
- 00:38:48myself that I did was wasn't doing it
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