Former Goop CCO Elise Loehnen talks seven deadly sins - The Little Things

Elise Loehnen is a former Goop employee and now author of On Our Best Behaviour.

Before 2020, Elise Loehnen seemed like she had it all - and definitely thought she had.

As the chief content officer of Goop - the lifestyle brand created by Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow - Loehnen was helping lead the way at one of the most talked about brands in the world.

Yet, she was finding herself dealing with chronic hyperventilation, an issue she had been struggling with on and off for years.

“I was convinced that I could outrun it, that as I had more control over my life, as I achieved more, that I would finally feel good enough, thin enough, smart enough, successful enough - all the enough - and that I would escape this anxiety disorder and feel safe, secure, at peace,” she said.

And while Loehnen had achieved a lot by the age of 40, including a successful marriage and raising two boys, she was unable to escape her anxiety and realised something had to change.

“I have to turn and face these voices that are telling me that if I just keep proceeding with this quest for goodness that I’ll be okay, and it’s really such a lie. And it was taking my life away from me.”

That sparked Loehen to quit her job with Goop and dive in to writing her book, On Our Best Behaviour: The Price Women Pay to be Good.

Speaking to Francesca Rudkin and Louise Ayrey on The Little Things, the Herald’s lifestyle podcast for women, Loehnen said that exploring the seven deadly sins (envy, pride, lust, gluttony, greed, anger and sloth) sparked the basis for her research into the societal conditions put on women.

“One of the big insights that pushed me to write this book is the recognition that so many of these voices in our heads as women, I think we’re taught to believe that they’re internal or unique to us or directly from our family of origin or from our partner or parents, whatever it may be.

“And I think one of the insights that pushed me to write this book, which sounds really obvious is, ‘oh, wait, these are cultural voices and this is much bigger than any single story’. These voices haunt us all.”

Envy was the one Loehnen came to first, after talking to her psychotherapist, who tells clients to pay attention to those feelings of jealousy as it shows them want they want from life.

“There was something about that very simple statement that really stuck in my mind because, one, I noted that I had this almost visceral reaction to the word envy, where I was like, I’m not envious. I just completely disowned that idea, which to me signalled, maybe there’s something to this.

“And then I also in that, in the same breath realized, as a woman, I couldn’t really even say what I want. If envy shows me what I want, what do I want? I’ve never actually really taken myself through that process.”

Listen to the full episode of The Little Things for more from Elise Loehnen on how these toxic traits can damage a women’s relationship with herself and the world around her.

The Little Things is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. The series is hosted by broadcaster Francesca Rudkin and health researcher Louise Ayrey. New episodes are available every Saturday.