Elizabeth Gilbert takes 2-3 baths a day ‘baths are a big part of my mental health’

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Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, has an interview with NY Mag’s The Cut for their “How I Get it Done” feature, which I’ve mentioned many times that I love. I’m really into schedules, routines and planning and love to learn the habits of successful people. Elizabeth has been open and very over the top about her relationships. The last time we covered her she was waxing poetic about how awesome her new boyfriend is and how happy and in love she is, a year after losing her girlfriend to cancer. (She dumped her husband for her best friend, but that’s another story.) That sounds decent on the surface but she has a very hoaky, cloying style of writing and comes across as self-obsessed. That’s her brand I guess, but I end up rolling my eyes whenever I read something from her. So I was surprised to actually enjoy this interview, probably because she talks like a normal person and not the way she writes. Elizabeth wakes up at 5, which is when I wake up too, she loves to dance (me too!) and she takes two to three short baths a day, which seems a little strange to me. They are relaxing and meditative for her, and she does short meditations as well.

She wakes up at 5am when she’s writing
When I am [writing a book], my day is very simple. I get up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. and I write nonstop until midmorning. Then I spend the rest of the day staring at a wall because my brain is like a fried egg. I’ll have an early dinner and an early bedtime, by 7 or 8 p.m., and I’ll do it again the next day and the next until the book’s finished. It’s a very militaristic thing, the early hours. But I really want to be uninterrupted and the world doesn’t wake up in a way that bothers you till about 9 a.m.

She loves dancing
I started dancing every morning as part of my grief recovery plan about a year ago. I will put on my upbeat dance mix and I’ll hit shuffle and I’ll dance to whatever comes up. It just seems to be a really good way to move energy through your body and start the day.

Why she posted about her new boyfriend
Sometimes I use social media to share certain things because, frankly, it makes my life easier. I recently posted that I was seeing somebody — more than seeing somebody, that I loved somebody — largely because I’m out in the world a lot in public, and I would much rather tell you who I’m with than have people speculating and gossiping.

She’s a very light packer
My great gift from God is my ability to pack lightly. I’m a fascist about trying not to check luggage. My greatest packing achievement ever was a seven-week-long trip that involved three countries, a wedding, a book tour, speaking at a TED conference, and a range of temperatures from Vancouver in the winter to Santiago in the summer. And I did it all in a carry-on. The magic trick is to figure out the shoes. If you only bring two pairs of shoes, you can wear one pair on the plane and bring the other pair in your suitcase, and of course black is the answer.

She loves baths
I take two or three baths a day. Baths are a big part of my mental health. It’s like, “Ah, I’m stressed. I’m scared. I’ve got 20 minutes, so I’m going to take a really quick bath and read a novel and disconnect.” I’m not a bath-salts person or anything. It’s a snap treatment when you don’t have time to go away.

[From NY Mag]

Again, she sounds kind of relatable in this interview, as opposed to the drivel she writes. I wonder how people who write like that get published. Note to writers – write the way you speak. Cut the extra words, cut the pretension and strive to be readable. I know I don’t always succeed at this, but I practice every day. Getting back to Elizabeth, her schedule is enviable, I agree about waking up at 5, and if I was more of a bath person I think fitting in two to three twenty minute baths would be easier than taking a full hour one. That’s how I am with exercise. It’s easier to do little workouts throughout the day than block off a whole hour. As for her packing skills, I’m not like that at all. I need an entire large suitcase for a week of travel. I want fashion options and all my toiletries.

Gilbert is promoting her new book, City of Girls.

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62 Responses to “Elizabeth Gilbert takes 2-3 baths a day ‘baths are a big part of my mental health’”

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  1. ByTheSea says:

    It must be nice not have anything more pressing to do…

    • Wow says:

      Not just having the time to spend with nothing more pressing to do than have a bath, but also to be so self absorbed that wasting 250ish gallons of water is something she considers essential to her mental health.

      How wasting that much water on something so frivolous when people in our own country struggle with clean drinking water and paying their water bills in general would keep me up at night.

      I’m all for conversations about mental health, but this type of stuff hurts and trivializes the conversation.

      • DaggerIsle says:

        This. A million times.

        And how conceited that she feels she needs to share her private life to avoid gossip. I’m sure her dead girlfriend’s family were thrilled to read all about it.

      • MarcelMarcel says:

        Agreed!
        I can see why having a bath once a day or once a week can be soothing but whoa three baths is such a waste of water.

        I grew up in drought ridden Australia and my mother always encouraged me to be water conscious. I can’t imagine three baths a day every day. Surely there’s another alternative like having a swim?

        I don’t want to diminish her mental health struggles but it’s such an environmentally unfriendly way to self soothe.

      • Ctgirl says:

        @WOW, you nailed it. I find Ms. Gilbert to be a self-indulgent twit with a distinctly unappealing written voice.

      • lucy2 says:

        That was my first thought too – that’s incredibly wasteful.

        Also, I’m still baffled that she thinks people will gossip about her if she doesn’t announce her relationships. I mean…no one really cares, right? I’ve read a few of her books, and I wouldn’t recognize her.

        I HATED Eat Pray Love, completely self absorbed and selfish, but Signature of All Things was OK, and Big Magic, about creativity, was 50/50 helpful and eye roll inducing.

      • MrsPanda says:

        Yes!! Has she not heard of a spa pool or a jacuzzi? It’s an incredible waste of water and very clueless. Of course if it keeps her mentally well it’s important, but there are alternative options she could employ!

      • Lua says:

        Thank you! That was my thought too. What an absolute waste of water. Take a damn yoga class.

      • Betsy says:

        This is what I thought, too. Like hip baths? Fine. Full tub baths? Thrice a day? Nope. Learn to manage yourself better.

    • Seraphina says:

      @ BYTHESEA and WOW,

      This!!!! I know women who swear by baths. I tried this in my 30s. Even added rose petals to help relax. My husband laughed his arse off because when I finished I told him that it sucks having to clean petals out of a tub and waiting for the bath to fill is not only a huge waste of time but also if water. I much prefer a quick hot shower at night with some good eucalyptus bath shower gel.

      • kgeo says:

        I hate to be the one, but unless you’re taking a VERY short shower, i.e. 5-7 minutes, you’re using more water than the average bath. I still prefer showers to baths. It’s weird to get sweaty while sitting in a pool of water, and you can’t really lay back and relax.
        ETA: the stats I was familiar with estimate a smaller tub than average. So, maybe a 10-15 minute shower would save more water. I don’t know, but I only shower every other day with a ‘whore bath’ in between, so I don’t have to wash my hair. Hopefully that’s helping a bit.

      • Spicecake38 says:

        Kgeo,you took the words ‘whore bath’right from my mouth!I have super thick hair and am never going to wash it every day,so I do probably two-three super fast wash offs in front of the tub faucet,I’m just as clean and using so much less water,and my skin would be sooo dry if I took long soaking baths or long showers!

      • minx says:

        I do both. I’m a bath person because growing up we lived in an old house that didn’t have a shower. So I take quick baths when I’m busy and longer ones when I have time. Then I stand up and rinse off briefly with the shower. I never, NEVER would waste all that water on several baths a day, that is just a terrible waste of water and bad for your skin.

    • Cine Johnson says:

      I’d much rather wake up at 9 ish and skip the baths than wake up at 4. It’s her priority and she gets to choose it. I’m not on board with water waste however. There are lots of people who have time to spare – I’m one of them, and I’d wager these commenters have some as well. Would we be as bitchy if she said she hopped into a hot tub 3 times a day ? Doubtful. She seems to work hard and obviously supports herself financially. Where’s the harm ?

  2. Valiantly Varnished says:

    Everything about this woman reeks of rich white lady privilege. I hated Eat, Pray Love for this very reason.

    • Annaloo. says:

      My grandmother survived ww2 in Japan and the Korean war. She is the most resilient, resourceful and grounded person I know. People like Gilbert obviously have their own paths to follow, but in comparison to my grandma who is just tough as nails, how does Gilbert need so much self care and self reflection. I think she’s a narcissist.

      • Spicecake38 says:

        My husbands father was in WW2 and as he got older he told us some of what it was like to be a soldier and the horrors he saw.I can only imagine what a tough lady your grandmother must have been.
        On a lighter note he wanted to bath much less as he aged,and my husband would try to convince him he needed to shower more,and he would say that back in the war you were given a canteen full of water every day-he said the smart ones drank it and the dumb asses took baths in it!🤣

    • I'm With The Band says:

      +1. It was the most insufferable, self-indulgent piece of drivel I’ve ever partly read. After about two chapters, I was like, “Nup, FTS”. I get that it was about her personal “authentic” journey (albeit subsidised by her publisher with a big fat book advance… insert side eye here) but jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, it would have been less painful to pull my eyelashes out one-by-one than continue reading that book.

  3. Annabel says:

    I get why people find her cloying, and she makes me roll my eyes too sometimes, but I actually mostly like her. A big part of her overall message seems to be about self-acceptance, which I feel is something that women generally don’t have enough of.

    Also, yes, #teamcarryon. A few years ago I realized that the most annoying thing about traveling is dealing with luggage, so now I’m militantly carry-on only. It saves a ton of time at airports and makes me more self-sufficient when I’m traveling—it’s no big deal to carry my suitcase up the stairs.

    • 1979 says:

      Agree, overall I like her even if I roll my eyes at her occasionally.

      Leandra Medine of Man Repeller does traveling only with carry on well.

    • lucy2 says:

      Carry on is the way to go. If you have the basics and a few outfits, with the ability to wash and hang clothes as needed, you’re good.
      I backpacked for a month in college, that was rough but we did it. Now I can do 2 weeks in Europe in a carry on, and I love it, so much easier than checking a bag, and you don’t bring unnecessary things. I bring a small fold up bag too, and then I can always check my carry on going home if needed if I bought stuff while traveling.

  4. Vauvert says:

    1. If you need three baths a day as part of your mental health… I’d suggest stop being selfish and consider the environment a tiny bit and 2. You need real mental health. (Not being snarky. As someone who has dealt with personal issues and those of close family, i understand that different things work for different people, but this smacks of “security blankie” to me).

  5. Thea says:

    That’s such a waste of water. I hope she doesn’t live in SoCal.

    • Bunchita says:

      I heard that a bath, depending on how deep and the size of the tub, can actually be more economical than a shower, but I might be wrong.

      • Wow says:

        A standard tub is 80 gallons. A standard 15 minute shower uses 30 gallons with a traditional shower head, but if you are in a position to be able to afford to change your shower head to a water saving one you can use as little as 10 gallons and I say this as a black woman who has 32 inches when stretched, natural 4b hair…. turn the water off while you shampoo and condition.

        Its 2019, I have no time for over privileged water wasters. We KNOW too much for anyone to excuse 3 baths a day at 80 gallons a pop minimum. There is literally no excuse for this amount of waste or trivializing actual mental health issues.

      • onerous says:

        @Wow – that’s not true. The standard bath – the tub/shower insert type you find in most bathrooms – holds just 25-30 gallons of water. I have a very large soaker tub and it holds 75. I agree that 3 baths a day is excessive water usage, regardless.

      • Wow says:

        @ onerous

        “Bathtubs are available in many sizes, a typical size being 30 inches wide and 60 inches long. The inside measurements of this tub could be 23 inches wide, 15 inches deep to the water level and 54 inches long. This tub holds about 80 gallons of water.”

        Both Google and basic math back me up. 80 gallons is for a STANDARD size tub. 110 gallons is for a deep soaker. I went with 80 gallons as a conservative measurement because it is the STANDARD and I have not been in her tub.

        So yes its true, its 80 gallons of pure wasted fresh water that becomes a non potable rich white women soup 3 times a day.

      • Kebbie says:

        “Standard” tubs in the US do hold 80 gallons. I think it just depends on where you’re living, how new your home is, etc. A house in the suburbs will have bigger tubs than a small apartment in a city. Standard seems to be a relative term.

      • Betsy says:

        @Wow – hip baths. That’s all I take when I take baths. I didn’t know filling the whole damn thing up was a thing until I was in my 20s.

  6. Bunchita says:

    I used to work on cruise ships, so I used to carry my whole life in a suitcase. It taught me to pack lightly. These days I travel a LOT for work and rarely check in a suitcase.

  7. OriginalLala says:

    Just a pet peeve of mine, but I cringe when people say they are “fascists” and “nazis” (IE: “grammar nazi”) when they mean they are fastidious and controlling about something. Those words have pretty specific and terrible histories, they are not cute terms of endearment for yourself .

    • elimaeby says:

      Thank you. I came here to say the same. It’s like people saying they are chocolate/tea/reality TV “addicts” or “have OCD” like they don’t realize that addiction and mental health are serious. Raises my hackles every time.

    • Lillian says:

      Also “militaristic”, unless your early-rising comes with a potential side of death

  8. Snazzy says:

    But what about the creams?? For those alone I will check in a suitcase instead of carry on

    • Kate says:

      I just take a small bottle of jojoba oil. I have dry skin and it doubles as a cleanser/moisturiser. It’s wonderful stuff!

  9. Tris says:

    I can’t stand her, but I do love taking baths and could definitely take several a day before I had kids (too busy now). If I lived near water or had a pool I’d be in constantly!

  10. Jp says:

    Nice to hear water is such a dispensable commodity for her. Her comment is right up there with Kanye’s jumbo jet for just his entourage-just a disgusting level of wastefulness.

    • Wow says:

      I wish we had the same energy holding people accountable for stuff like this as we do for continuing to flog people decades after they apologize and change patterns of behavior.

      • Lillian says:

        @Wow, Thank you for this comment- I’ve recently realized I absolutely continue to trash people (to their faces) AFTER they’ve acknowledged and corrected behaviour (the goal) and I need to stop myself as I’m, in the process, ruining some good energy turning toward some right paths (which is a humbling realization)

  11. sommolierlady says:

    This woman is a narcissistic twit and I absolutely loathe her writing. Plus, having lived with years of drought, that is an incredibly selfish waste of water.

  12. Sunny says:

    I’m *definitely* not on board with the multiple baths a day (the waste!!), but I am really excited to read City of Girls. I love her novels and my copy is supposed to be delivered today–excited for a good summer read 🙂

    • FilmTurtle says:

      Yeah, the bath stuff is indulgent. But I really loved her novel “The Signature of All Things.” It stayed with me a long time. I’ll have to put this new one on the list.

  13. Summer says:

    I’m a student of self improvement, so I’m quite familiar with Gilbert and her pals. I believe in what they preach — the power of intention, setting goals, creating boundaries, etc. But sadly, the more they self-actualize, the more these people become unbearable, self-centered and completely out of touch. Which ultimately reveals that the teachers are way more insecure and unhappy than the students.

    They’re experts because they’ve worked so hard to justify their innate selfishness as empowerment. They tend to constantly reinvent, sell the process more than actual results, and claim to have *finally* achieved happiness despite having claimed to achieve it multiple times before. In short, they refuse to accept some mediocrity in life as normal and are never satisfied. And those people are exhausting to follow/read/hear, much less be friends with or married to.

    • lucy2 says:

      Great post.

      • happyhumpday says:

        I agree with Lucy2 but will add she started out as a “serious” writer who published a couple of books few people read before finding a profitable niche with this type of stuff. I think she’s very pragmatic.

    • FilmTurtle says:

      Terrific summation of how these self-improvement usually trend.

    • dlc says:

      After reading some of Gilbert’s stuff I definitely agree with the justifying innate selfishness as empowerment!

  14. Snowslow says:

    Celebitchy, I’m with you. Always fascinating to read about people’s schedules especially because a routine is way too systematic for me so it’s more of a vicarious thing. Although with age I’m getting more into some routines that I rotate.
    What really gets me is the 5-9am thing: she is absolutely right. In the UK the sun rises super early in Summer so I am awake at around 5am. It’s so easy to get things done in the wee hours of the morning, and anxiety doesn’t get you because you have a feeling that everyone else is asleep…

    PS: agree with everyone about the selfishness of having three baths unless it’s a baby bath with 5cm of water….

  15. stinky says:

    Pretty sure people of all colors take baths & waste water.

    • Marigold says:

      Statistically speaking, the white people in the world take more baths and waste FAR more water than the brown people of the world. There is no question.

  16. CharliePenn says:

    I would love to live in the bath. It indeed does soothe my mental health. But … I’m aware that water is a resource. I don’t take a bath every day, I take a bath when I’m having a bad time with back pain or if I have very painful ovulation or if I have bad cramps. Basically I use baths medicinally, maybe eight per month. And even that feels quite excessive at times and I have to tell myself no when I want to take a bath just to soothe my nerves or whatever.
    It can be a lifesaver though, for example I woke up with terrible ovulation pain this morning, and I have two little kids to keep up with. Twenty minutes in a hot bath and I’m so much better. But I do reserve it for when I really need it.
    Also who the hell has the time to bath and then dry off and get dressed again over and over? Doesn’t she have to moisturize after every bath? She looks very fair skinned like me, I have to do a whole moisturizer slathering routine from head to toe after a bath or I’m all itchy and dried out.
    She seems like an excessive personality. Sure take a bath, but do you really have to take it to this silly and wasteful EXTREME. Eyeroll.

  17. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I get most of my day accomplished early as well because I want to do what I want to do mid-afternoon on. My youngest is in junior high so early mornings are a must during school, and I like being available when he comes home. It’s been this way forever. Get kids up, dressed, fed and chauffeured. Get busy. Relax until I’m again chauffeur, cook, maid, therapist and available warm body perfect for pranks, video games, torture and ignoring lol!

    We do many things at home including a concerted effort to reduce waste, gas, etc. We recycle, upcycle and reuse practically everything. We downsized everything when the two older kids moved out. I say this because I love baths!! After reading so many negatives, I felt like inserting states of relativity into a singularity concern. Baths can and do help mental and physical health issues and so much easier and cheaper than gassing a car for a trip to a waiting room.

    Whether silly aromatherapy bubbles or lifesaving magnesium, salts, herbs, vinegar, etc. for pain and/or inflammation should be celebrated instead of chastising women because they use water. Not only do I LOVE baths, I recommend them. My doc recommends them. And when I’m feeling particularly bad, I take several baths! After 29 years of motherhood, baths do wonders for children too…on many levels. So bathe people and revel in an ancient secret thousands of years in the making. ;D Let the hate begin lol.

    • Lillian says:

      Haha. Your last paragraph was really nice. For the record, when I was taking a stay in a mental hospital, we were encouraged to hot-shower for as long as we wanted, because it was in fact deeply restorative. So there’s that. I get the conservation of it, and felt guilty, but a hot soak can heal some sh!t, if you need it.

  18. Kylie says:

    Gilbert is insufferable. Her treatment of the woman in Eat Pray Love was just gross.

  19. Sassy says:

    I wonder if her new boyfriend knows that he is disposable for her next great book.

  20. Naan says:

    Yeast infections. That’s all I’ve got.

  21. happyhumpday says:

    Does she have a water recycling system like Cate Blanchett had (in Sydney house)? So wasteful! Find another way to relax. Also can’t be too good for the skin to soak so much! She needs to get herself one of those saunas and use that to chill instead of the bath.

  22. Valerie says:

    Yeah, that’s just… So white. I like to relax in the tub for as long as possible, but ONCE a day.

  23. Reeta Skeeter says:

    But this is nothing new. The rich, wealthy and famous have always used up more than the average person. Whether it’s water, air miles, food, land. She’s not the only one, she’s just being honest about it. Plus plenty of normal people waste water, still use plastic, still buy products with palm oil in or products made from cheap labour. This isn’t excuse that it’s water waste, but I am sure most of us are being hypocritical if we think we are exempt from being wasteful. Arguably even showering every day is considered wasteful to many.