THE MISSION
At Golden Love Collective, we’re on a mission to help career-driven women reach for the stars without reaching their limit through body-mind de-stressing techniques, so you can navigate with more ease, transforming your ambitious life into
a radiant adventure of self-discovery and well-being.
hey there, ambitious soul!
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hey there, ambitious soul! ✦
Hi, I'm Dr. Lynette Santos Malik, MD: Woman, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Friend, Medical Doctor, Body-Mind Integrative Medical Doctor, Somatics Expert, Founder of Golden Love Collective, and The Dip Monster — because why taste the chip when you can experience the dip?!
The Alchemy of a Nervous System: Destressing for the Modern Goddess
The way society teaches women to handle stress can often lead you astray. It makes sense so many women are seeking ways to optimize their response to stress, uncovering powerful tools, strategies, and techniques for healing along the way. If you’re one of these women, prediction: you’re going to love it here!
modern women deserve real stress relief
♥
modern women deserve real stress relief ♥
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, struggling to maintain the energy to keep everything together, or simply a wise woman seeking a better way to navigate stress (because you know a better way is out there!) – you’re not alone!
Real talk: it’s 100% natural to have moments of internal unrest. What's also true? It’s 100% unrealistic to expect to manage everything life brings you in healthy ways without healing tools.
We live in a culture soaked in stress. And unsustainable ways to deal are everywhere – in books, movies, and the shows we're currently bingeing. In fact, our world is so stressful that it's easy to tick off all the ways stress gets handled; having another drink, imbibing drugs, playing video games, zoning out in front of a screen, partying, shopping, exercising intensely, gambling, having affairs, overeating junk foods... the list just goes on and on, doesn't it?
Yet, as part of a society that's so stressed out, how many healthy, sustainable, genuinely restorative ways can you think of to destress, calm the nervous system, and teach your body and mind to not get overwhelmed by external stressors in the first place? Uh.... soak in a bath, yoga, meditation, and... we're out!
What do all those stress solutions have in common? They take time. High-functioning career women don't always have time to wash their hair, let alone stand in triangle pose for an hour!
So, you're emotionally aware and perhaps identify as a recovering people-pleaser, hardcore doer, or a highly sensitive soul (even though you don’t want to admit it) – lean in because THIS IS FOR YOU!
Stress relief doesn't have to be a chore. Imagine flowing through life's challenges without the drama, escapism, denial, hiding, distraction, intensity, or burnout.
Stress is gonna happen. It's part of life, and that's okay! But with a sprinkle of practice, you can tackle stressors with grace and ease. (Yes, seriously!)
The more you embrace these simple techniques, the more resilient you become. That once-annoying situation? Becomes no big deal. Possible? Yes! Probable? Absolutely!
Every woman, teen, and girl deserves these tools – including you.
At this point, I’m sure you’re wondering how one cheeky doctor became a champion for stress-busting magic? Well...
experiencing stress is normal
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experiencing stress is normal ✦
Blooming in the Shadows:
A Journey Through Cultures and Courage
Coming from a tapestry of cultures as a Catholic Filipino family, the weight of first-generation immigrant experiences was woven tightly into our lives. My mom was a dedicated and caring psychiatrist, while my dad was an orthopedic surgeon who couldn't practice his craft after immigrating to America... and well, he had his own battles, ones that would profoundly shape me.
Growing up, there was a palpable sense of unspoken rules and a strong culture of expectation. My parents, navigating the challenges of a new culture, often left me feeling like I was straddling two worlds, one familiar and one profoundly foreign.
Being raised in an emotional minefield as a latch-key kid, I never felt like I had anyone to witness the struggles I was going through, and therefore, had to do it alone. It was on me to keep myself together, keep my grades high, and not make any major waves. There was very little room to make mistakes – big or small.
On the surface, I had what many would consider a good childhood in a middle-class suburban setting. There were bike rides on my Huffy to the park with neighborhood friends, plenty of opportunities to buy as much candy as I wanted, and always having the latest “it” trend, whether it was color-changing socks or colorful branded sports gear. By the time I came along, my parents were comfortable financially, and I enjoyed privileges many kids only dream of.
Yet the pressure to excel academically was ever-present, tightly balanced with encouragement for extracurricular activities so that I’d be well-rounded. (If you didn't grow up this way, being well-rounded is code for being more likely to get accepted into a good college.)
Despite the outward trappings of a happy childhood, I often found myself alone in my bedroom – staying up late devouring R.L. Stine books instead of sleeping or listening to grunge music so I didn’t have to hear my parents arguing.
Even as a kid, I’d push myself to my limits, striving for perfection in school and consistently driving myself to achieve more, more, more – but not consistently resting.
At home, I was usually alone, relying on my own ingenuity to fill the silence, secretly hoping to preserve any creative potential I felt I had like a fragile flower trying to stay alive in shadow.
Then, high school came around, and I made a discovery! A no-frills way to escape the confusing feelings battling inside me. Along with other kids from my Catholic school, I ventured into the thrill of sneaking out for some good old-fashioned underage partying.
The rebel in me was in full force. Yet, amidst the chaos, strangely enough, I found an inner compass that kept me from losing control. I knew my limits and somehow managed to steer clear of the deeper pitfalls that could have swallowed me whole. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I didn't want to party so hard that it prevented me from being “successful."
Meanwhile, in true over-achiever fashion with a seemingly limitless can-do attitude, I began volunteering in a sub-acute rehab facility.
Talking with those patients sparked something within me — a sense of belonging, purpose, wholeness, and a sacred opportunity to connect with people in a vulnerable way that I hadn't ever experienced before but felt very natural. Being there, I finally felt like I was doing something right. Naturally, I craved more of that feeling.
Having uncovered this new ambition, I applied to an accelerated medical school program. The program would mean two important things; one, it would enable me to reach my hoped-for doctoring destination two years early, and two, I could fulfill my parents’ dream and family legacy in this country – which would mean a comfortable life, more respect, and more autonomy. Win/win!
Little did I know that my journey would take a turn no one expected...
your story matters
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your story matters ✦
From Party Girl to Purpose Seeker:
A Whirlwind Journey Through Early College
I was accepted into the accelerated six-year program, which arrived with its own unique set of pressures. It was exhilarating but brought with it more loneliness. Honestly, there were moments when the pressure of it all felt crushing.
As I navigated the rigors of my education, I also grappled with the complexities of my upbringing.
Growing up in a traditional immigrant family and heavily influenced by my Filipino Catholic heritage, discussions around mental health – or even simply expressing emotions – were often taboo. My parents had their struggles, mostly tied to cultural expectations, which left me feeling disconnected, especially as a young woman trying to carve my own path.
Looking back, I see a vibrant and chaotic time. I had an uncanny ability to connect with people from all walks of life (Enneagram Type 7, The Enthusiast!) – I was everyone's friend, yet never truly tied down to one particular group. It was like I wore a thousand masks, trying to fit in everywhere, which, in hindsight, severely dimmed my inner authentic light. Some may say it was people-pleasing, and maybe it was. Still, I like to think I was also exploring the vast possibilities of connection – the threads that bind us together no matter how different we are on the surface.
At one point, after a breakup that rattled me to my core, my mom urged me to seek help through the school's counseling services, knowing I wouldn’t talk to her but that I needed to talk with someone.
I walked into that counselor's office saying, "I'm here to help my boyfriend." Little did I know the counselor would quickly turn the lens to my experiences, illuminating deep wounds and core beliefs shaping my future. In that little school office, the truth I'd tried to deny for so long finally hit me: My father was an alcoholic, and I was an adult child of an alcoholic. The realization shattered the silent sorrow I'd carried for so long. Shame had kept me quiet, but there I was, finally taking my first steps on a journey to unpack the childhood forces that shaped me.
I'd been turning away from that part of myself my entire life, but my mom wasn't. She could see herself in my actions – she'd chosen my dad, an alcoholic, and I'd chosen my now ex-college sweetheart, who, as it turned out, was an alcoholic, too.
That connection got me reflecting on my own experiences. Even without a name for what had been happening in my childhood home, deep down, I understood that my dad's battles shaped my own — crisscrossing through my heart in ways I was still figuring out how to comprehend.
Frankly, between my extreme school load and the intense inner work I was journeying into for the first time, I started to spiral.
My outlets for stress became partying, indulging in both party drinks and party food on most weekends when there weren’t exams – anything to escape the daily pressures I faced and the unresolved feelings from my childhood that were clawing at my insides.
From friendships to romances, I was in relationships that fed co-dependency. Despite the vibrant social scene, I felt profoundly isolated. At the time, my best friend and I shared a party-girl mentality. But when I grew to crave depth and authenticity? Our paths inevitably diverged. Another heartbreak. More pain building up.
Amid an active social life, many friendships, always having something to do, living fueled by pure adrenaline for exams, pretending exhaustion was a badge of honor, and late-night coffee runs to pull all-nighters, I was only getting more twisted up inside.
A drop of hope shone through when being so deeply dissatisfied started to open my mindset to personal growth. The more I learned, the more comfortable I became marching to the beat of my own drum and seeking something deeper in my relationships that I never quite found in those hectic, earlier years.
As the years went on, I pushed through medical school. I was deeply thankful for the opportunity yet only becoming more stressed, surrounded by constant reminders that I wasn't quite measuring up. Although med school isn't a cakewalk for anyone, it was clear my peers handled the pressure significantly more easily than me. While they were driving forward on a competitive swim, I felt like I was treading water, barely maintaining my head above the surface.
Looking back on that time, it's only clear to me now that I was navigating through the sort of fog that ensues when you’ve never been taught how to nourish yourself or cope with stress on a deeply biological level.
Without those tools, I lived with a constant sense of never feeling worthy, never knowing I was enough, and never experiencing peace. It was painful and disheartening. More shame arrived, bringing more pain to add to the pile.
Yet, with the small ventures I'd had into therapy and personal growth, I was determined that pile of pain wouldn't just sit there, slowly expanding until I was forced to pay attention to it whether I liked it or not – I'd find a way to heal, to light my world up, to awaken a life that felt good to live.
Sometimes, unpacking the past and unearthing the pieces of our lives that have made us who we are today is part of figuring out who we want to be tomorrow. Thankfully for me, the next part of my story brought me to a really good place: medicine…
healing is real!
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healing is real! ✦
Med School: You’re Already Stressed, Why Not Work Harder?!
(But Also, Making Dreams Come True Is Pretty Spectacular)
I knew I had to do things differently. I was almost through med school, wholly traumatized by the experience, and my nervous system was a mess.
Cue: 99% of the way to total burnout. I lived the work-hard-play-hard mentality to the fullest — pulling all-nighters to study for exams on the “work hard" side of things, then indulging in dirty martinis and dance music on the “play hard” side. Balance is sooo essential, right?! Ha!
Yes, I'm being real with you here — even with therapy and having a life coach way before it was cool, I continued to handle stress by distracting myself with all kinds of fun adventures — turning up the volume with weekend drinks or seeking stimulation from food.
Of course, I was struggling with my weight, never able to keep it steady. Of course, I was completely overwhelmed trying to build an unconventional career while working full-time as a doctor and showing up for my family. Of course, another drink wasn't really solving anything, helping me, or making me into the woman I wanted to be for the people I loved or for myself.
The turning point came during ongoing therapy sessions. There, I discovered new layers of my authentic self, such as how my ENFP personality traits made me a naturally exuberant, creative soul who craves meaningful connections and seeks stimulation.
This newfound knowledge opened doors to a different world. One filled with body-mind healing practices that were just emerging as I was learning them in the early 2000s.
As a medical student, I was especially excited by lectures from acupuncturists and introductions to traditional Chinese medicine. It was at this time I ventured to my first mindfulness meditation retreat. Yoga soon followed, and I found joy in linking my body and breath, something I'd never before realized I craved.
Amid this exploration, I met my now-husband and father to our incredible daughters, who saw me for who I was and celebrated every aspect of me even though he didn’t understand everything I was going through. His unwavering support helped me reclaim my identity and embrace the wonderful, messy parts of myself. With him, I crafted a safe space to share my experiences without fear of judgment. Together, we forged a powerful connection that blossomed my long-held lack-mentality and self-doubt into confidence and strength.
Even he would tell you straight up that back then, I was reactive AF, totally codependent on toxic family ties, and 100% hijacked by stress at all times, expending an excess amount of energy just trying to escape that stress any way I could.
It would be many years later when I’d realized I probably had undiagnosed ADHD. Ah, the things we wish we'd known way back when!
Then, the came a breaking point: it was time to pick my medical specialty. Because after all those years of study, hard work, late nights, and endless pressure... I just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t imagine signing up for some traditional specialty and living SO inside the box for the rest of my life.
I longed for a path forward in medicine aligned with my authentic core because I knew a conventional path wouldn’t fuel my inner fire. And I feared what life would be without that fire.
It started to click when I accepted that the coping strategies I’d learned from growing up in an alcoholic, addictive household weren’t going to cut it for the rest of my life.
I began to reject the competitive environment that was stifling my collaborative spirit, choosing to embrace a non-conformist path. Finally, I’d found a specialty that resonated with my heart: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Here was a realm of medicine that encouraged doctors to appreciate the beauty of small changes, work alongside diverse healthcare disciplines, and focus on holistic healing rather than solely prescribing pills. (Coming from a family with a psychiatrist during the Prozac era, I understood the positive impacts of medication but also felt called to something different.)
Pursuing rotations in Orthopedics, Neurology, and Physiatry at renowned institutions, I eventually landed a coveted spot at the world's top-ranked Rehabilitation Hospital, where, unbeknownst to me at the time, my chosen path would be illuminated even more. For the first time, I encountered teachers who embodied the very principles I had been reading about in body-mind books.
My brain was finally connecting the dots and getting more passionate about medicine with each discovery, particularly neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to physically change when given optimal conditions.
Once again, I wasn't just having lightbulb moments about healing; I was living them!
The guidance of those teachers, which included the lovely patients I cared for in those early days, awakened a vibrant aliveness within me I'd never known before, igniting a passion for helping others heal from their pain and stress, too.
Everyone deserves opportunities to heal! Wherever you come from and wherever you're going, you can create healing for yourself and the people around you anytime, anywhere…
success doesn't require perfection
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success doesn't require perfection ✦
From Stethoscopes to Soul Searching: Transforming Stress
into Spiritual Growth
After nearly two years of weekly therapy, I felt ready for a more advanced approach to healing change. It was time for a radical leap.
While most of my classmates were heading straight into high-paying jobs, I was resisting the backlash from my Filipino immigrant parents, following my heart to a golden adventure. Driven by the book Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, I took a wildly unusual gap year between medical school and residency — a Drops of Jupiter-style soul vacation.
Vagabonding proved an epic expedition — I was finding myself, connecting with my soul, and communing with nature like never before.
Dropping into the core of my essence, I tapped into something now known as deep parasympathetic activation. At the time, I called it a total spiritual transformation.
I had once silenced my voice because, as a teenager, I was voted Loudest Girl. No wonder I spent years suppressing my truth, never sharing how I truly felt inside. Being loud wasn’t considered “good,” — and the message I got was that my voice was just noise, nothing worth hearing.
Depression was never really my jam, but overeating was. High-functioning anxiety was my every day, but the intensely real peak experiences I was having (organically induced – not like the kids are doing it these days) were bringing me the freedom of self I'd been longing for my whole life.
Now that my energetic being was awakened — my heart and mind filled with wonder — thankfully, I'd never be the same again. My nervous system had officially transformed.
After the profound truth of a healing experience like that, the highs of the modern world (I'm looking at you, double martini!) just don’t do it for me anymore. And so, my journey to integration began. It was time to bring all I had learned and experienced – the painful and the powerfully healing – together…
learning new things can be fun
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learning new things can be fun ✦
Fast forward to now…
I get to wake up everyday and support the most incredible women in the world. Whether it’s through a coaching session, speaking at an event, connecting on social, or reading through countless emails showered in exclamation points about how much The Stress Vibe Quiz or a blog article helped someone see their truth, their power, their possibilities more clearly — it’s the experience of a lifetime to lead Golden Love Collective.
I’m sure your story is as unique as mine is, filled with twists and turns that changed you. Wherever you’ve been and wherever you’d love to be, my hope is something here stirs you, guides you, reminds you of how astoundingly capable you are. Real healing tools are here for you and I can hardly wait to see the magnificence you create with them!
you can reset your nervous system
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you can reset your nervous system ✦
The 5 Healing Pillars of Golden Love
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Body-Mind Medicine
An integrative, holistic approach to wellness that honors the physical, mental, and emotional realities that impact health.
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Focused Hypnosis
Unlocking profound healing by creating a safe space to access, acknowledge, and learn from your subconscious mind.
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Lifestyle Elevation
Bringing nature, the five senses, and daily habits into the fold to create advanced wellness at work and home.
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Neuroscience
Understanding how your nervous system functions, develops, and impacts your daily experiences.
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Somatics
Leveraging your mind to shift your body's experience in the moment with awareness, attentive breathing, and movement.