February 01, 2022

Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran on the self-help conundrum and finding true healing in hard times

1 hour 10 minutes

Be honest: how many self help books do you own? Do you actually feel any better as a result? In our earnest quest to take care of ourselves, to live happier and more meaningful lives, it can be too easy to let others set the bar for our success. Is this a mistake?

Enter Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran who recently wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail calling self help books the gateway drug to a trillion-dollar industry. In this week’s episode, we talk about the potential dangers of biohacking and how charisma gets mistaken for integrity.

The most powerful teacher we can access in our quest for healing is our own inner authority. We just need to use it to critically appraise the information in front of us—and to build our wellness tool kit.

About Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran:

Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran is an epidemiologist, physician, writer, speaker, and health-tech consultant. She's a proud alumna of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Toronto. She has also completed Fellowships in Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona and Journalism from the Munk School of Global Affairs. As a contributor to the New York Times since 2017, Amitha covers a diverse range of topics, from health and wellness to medical education in publications as varying as the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Wired, and The Atlantic. Her first book, On Healing (Random House) will be published in 2023.

On this episode we chat about:

How to build a wellness tool kit that’s reflective of our individual needs and rooted in critical thinking/science

Why sleep hygiene, nutrition, and stress management also deserve a place in medicine

The health benefits of social connection and the implication of community on our physical health

How the self-help industry takes advantage of trauma survivors or the financially distressed

Why there’s potential for danger in the tech bro biohacking phenomenon

The fact that ostensible health leaders are essentially just glorified marketers—and HOW to discern whether or not they’re reputable…or just charismatic

Dealing with the grief of a seemingly ongoing pandemic…and why Dr. Kalaichandran says we should allow ourselves to cry (tip: it calms our sympathetic nervous system!)

Why healing is not choosing between either Western medicine OR a holistic practice, like meditation, it’s both.

Learned something new? Have questions?

Keep the conversation going on Instagram! Have something to say about what you heard? Screenshot this episode and tag us @theallsortpod @dramithamd with your questions and/or comments!

You can also chat about this episode in our free online community, Nutrition with Desiree by clicking here!

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Connect with Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran:

Website: http://www.dramitha.com

Instagram: @dramithamd

Twitter: @DrAmithaMD

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By Desiree Nielsen RD

4.8

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