Skip to Main Content

How To Practice Real Self-Care

In this episode, Pooja Lakshmin shares her expertise on the power of self-care. As a mental health practitioner, Pooja knows where many of us tend to fall flat and steer ourselves toward burnout. Here, she’ll share tips for how to set meaningful boundaries at work, how to recognize what priorities really matter, and how to rise up and stay soft in a world that doesn’t lend itself to gentleness.


Pooja Lakshmin

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is a board-certified psychiatrist whose private practice specializes in women’s mental health, as well as a clinical faculty member at George Washington University School of Medicine. Her debut book, REAL SELF-CARE: Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble-Baths Not Included, was named an NPR Best Book of 2023 and is a national best-seller. Dr. Lakshmin’s essays for The New York Times, including her 2021 essay “This Isn’t Burnout, It’s Betrayal,” have gone viral. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her partner Justin, their toddler, and their two cats.

Celeste Headlee

Celeste Headlee

Celeste Headlee is a communication and human nature expert, and an award-winning journalist. She is a professional speaker, and also the author of Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do ItDo NothingHeard Mentality, and We Need to Talk. In her twenty-year career in public radio, she has been the executive producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio, and anchored programs including Tell Me MoreTalk of the NationAll Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as cohost of the national morning news show The Takeaway from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel. Headlee’s TEDx talk sharing ten ways to have a better conversation has over twenty million total views to date. @CelesteHeadlee


Additional Resources

More about Pooja Lakshmin

More from Women Amplified

More from the Conferences for Women

  • If you’re in California, you can lock in some more uplift at the upcoming February 12th California Conference for Women at the San Jose Convention Center. Learn more and get your ticket now.
  • Join Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, and thousands of women around the country this Women’s History Month at the virtual National Conference for Women.
  • Check out the FREE Career Connections Program from the Conferences for Women for expert tips, connections, and career opportunities at companies that support women.




Get help navigating your personal and professional life from the nation's largest network of conferences for women in the workplace

No thanks, I don't want to learn
31837