Wellness Culture And Mental Health: Benefits And Drawbacks Of The Wellness Industry

The challenges of modern life can lead to serious mental and physical health concerns, causing many people to seek out new ways of fostering well-being. Wellness culture—an increasingly popular movement that involves holistic approaches to healthcare—has proven alluring to individuals who are burned out or stressed due to work and other obligations. 

The wellness movement is connected to a massive industry that has a positive underlying goal but potential adverse effects, including the promotion of diet culture and toxic positivity. Below, explore an overview of wellness culture, including its benefits and drawbacks, as well as options for fostering wellness in your own life. 

What is wellness?

The wellness movement gained prominence during the 1970s, as a response to work-related stress and burnout. Individuals who were experiencing mental and physical health challenges wanted proactive solutions that didn’t center around medication. The wellness movement focused on mind-body approaches, such as yoga and meditation, that served as healthy coping strategies and acknowledged the connections between emotional, spiritual, and physical health. 

Today, wellness is a broad concept that encompasses a diverse range of practices, including skincare, physical activity, and spirituality. Wellness culture has become a prominent aspect of the social landscape, promoted by health-focused brands and social media influencers. Many employers are also implementing wellness programs, which enable employees to focus on self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

Understanding the wellness industry

The proliferation of the wellness industry has led to a substantial amount of marketing on social media platforms, magazines, and other outlets. Gen Z has been particularly attuned to the importance of wellness, focusing not only on avoiding illness but also on optimizing their lives. This focus has led to a significant increase in demand for a wide array of products and services designed to enhance mental and physical well-being. 

Wellness companies sell a range of products, from cold plunge tubs to red light masks and nutritional supplements. Meditation courses, bodywork, life coaching, and energy healing are common service-based offerings. Wellness influencers have become highly popular due to the aesthetically pleasing, curated lifestyles they often portray through social media platforms. This surge in interest in wellness has led to it becoming an estimated $480 billion industry in the United States. 

Benefits of wellness culture

Wellness culture encourages individuals to adopt a holistic approach to their health, focusing on the interconnectedness of emotional, physical, spiritual, and cognitive well-being. These links can often be experienced through physical activity, meditation, deep breathing, and other mind-body practices. A health-centric approach to life can help Gen Z (and other generations) navigate life challenges, manage stress, and avoid burnout. 

The widespread dissemination of information on healthy living, which wellness culture can help facilitate, is vital to public health. Focusing on wellness can prevent disease and psychological disorders. For this reason, health education is particularly important for people in vulnerable communities. 

Criticisms of wellness culture: Promoting diet culture, focusing on weight loss, etc.

While the overall aims of the wellness culture are positive, there are several potential negative effects associated with the movement. Understanding the drawbacks of the wellness industry can help you adopt a holistic approach to your health, avoiding potentially harmful practices. 

Association with diet culture and emphasis on weight loss

Diet culture has long been criticized for creating unrealistic expectations regarding food consumption and body image. Many people believe that wellness culture has repackaged diet culture to make it seem like a more positive approach to nutrition. 

Often, wellness culture promotes “clean eating,” which many perceive as a way to attach value to the food they eat while also encouraging weight loss. Specific body types are often idealized by wellness companies and influencers, which can create unrealistic expectations and negatively impact body image. Additionally, some entities in the wellness space demonize certain foods to sell supplements, nutritional programs, or other products and services. 

Contribution to health anxiety 

According to Christy Harrison, author of The Wellness Trap, the wellness culture equates wellness with moral goodness. Additionally, wellness often eschews realistic expectations in favor of idealized lifestyles and extreme forms of self-improvement. So, when individuals believe they have failed to foster wellness in their lives, they may experience challenges like health anxiety, a negative self-image, and other mental health concerns. 

Connection to pseudoscience

Some wellness practices promoted as healthy alternatives to conventional medicine lack a solid scientific foundation. Many products and services in the wellness industry are marketed with health claims that independent studies have not substantiated. Because it’s difficult for regulators to verify such claims, consumers can be manipulated into trusting the efficacy of supplements, fitness products, and other offerings. 

Some individuals in the wellness space have sown doubt about the efficacy of conventional treatment modalities, allowing them to sell products or services that they claim are more effective, often without providing proof. This misinformation can cause people to forgo traditional medicine, potentially leading to an exacerbation of symptoms. 

Promotion of toxic positivity

Research suggests a connection between a positive mindset and good health. However, at times, the wellness industry places an emphasis on positivity that ignores the serious challenges faced by society and individuals. Toxic positivity can make people feel guilty or shameful for experiencing normal emotions like sadness, anger, or fear. 

Appropriation of cultural practices

The wellness industry has been criticized for monetizing practices associated with marginalized communities or practices that are traditionally closed. For example, yoga studios and clothing brands have been criticized for misusing Buddhist iconography. Cultural appropriation in the wellness industry can further reinforce systems of oppression that affect the communities from which these practices are taken. 

How to foster mental and physical wellness

If you’re interested in cultivating wellness in your life, there are several steps you can take. The following are self-care strategies that can help you prioritize your mental and physical well-being. 

Regular exercise

Physical activity has been shown to offer numerous benefits for mental and physical health. Exercise can boost your mood, alleviate pain, help you sleep better, enhance cognitive function, and improve blood circulation. If you’d like to engage in this wellness practice healthily, consider participating in activities you enjoy, such as hiking, playing team sports, or gardening. 

Consistent sleep

Sleep hygiene can be crucial to your ability to foster wellness. Research suggests that going to bed and waking up at similar times each day can lead to high-quality sleep. Additionally, developing a consistent nighttime routine can help you fall asleep faster by signaling to your body that it’s time to rest. 

Nutritious meals

Incorporating nutrient-dense foods into your meals can help you ensure you’re consuming the vitamins and minerals your body needs. To avoid the adverse effects of diet culture, many experts recommend intuitive eating, which involves eating when prompted by hunger signals and stopping when you feel full. This allows you to avoid the pressure of eating on a specific schedule or in certain amounts. 

If you’d like to develop a nutrition plan, it can be helpful to focus on adding healthful foods rather than restricting certain foods. Consider following a plan that includes a variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, healthy fats, and lean meats. You can also consult your doctor or a nutritionist to learn which foods are best for your unique body. 

Cultivating wellness with online therapy

Psychological care can be a vital component of wellness, helping individuals address psychological concerns, navigate career challenges, or work through relationship conflicts. Online therapy is a convenient and flexible form of mental health care that can provide you with the opportunity to cultivate wellness and live a healthy, productive life. 

Utilizing an online therapy platform like BetterHelp, you’ll be matched with a therapist from a massive team of mental health professionals based on your needs and preferences. Online platforms provide convenient scheduling, enabling you to participate in therapy sessions at times that suit you, thereby promoting mental wellness. 

There is a large body of evidence pointing to the effectiveness of online therapy for common mental health conditions. In a systematic review that included 15 studies and over 1,600 total participants, researchers concluded that online therapy led to significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety. Additionally, the results of many of the included studies showed that the interventions reduced depressive symptoms. The researchers also noted that online therapy platforms “offer an opportunity for patients to overcome help-seeking barriers.”