Notes on Wellness
Wellness is to my generation what dieting was to the 90’s, or what cocaine was to the 80’s. There are countless new, and frankly exhausting, ways to go about it.
As a person who has grown up at the same time as social media, I lived through its many phases. First, it was cute. People posted photos of their homemade lunch, or new nail polish. It was a safe space to share what you were up to with friends and family, and possibly a couple of well-meaning strangers along the way. Then the dark ages came, where hate became common and people exposed their deepest and darkest secrets for everyone to read. During this time there was a lot of romanticising mental illness and vicious comments. But eventually, a couple of years ago, light arrived. Wellness took over, and it was a quick and painless takeover at that. Suddenly I started seeing people’s workout routines and matcha lattes. Fabulous New York City apartments, masked as inspirational posts but bound to make anyone resent their life, flooded my feed. The skincare tips, vegan recipes and yoga classes were inescapable. Although, to be completely honest, I didn’t try to escape them. I have to admit, I fed into the trend, and I fed into it hard.
It seemed so innocent, just a way for people to share their top tips for a happy life. But I quickly began to feel envious, insecure and burnt out. You read that right, the trend of all trends, the one that claims to be about reaching a happy and peaceful existence caused me major burnout.
This is because this type of content fuels the perfectionist in me, and because I’m as naïve as they come, I believe that the only way to have an accomplished life is by following all of these steps and tips. If I just buy that face serum or journal every day for 30 mins or drink a green smoothie every morning, my life will be perfect. But as soon as I do one of those things, my attention turns to all the other things I haven’t done, and before you know it, I’m playing catch up with a life that doesn’t exist. I mean, how in god’s name am I supposed to have a skincare routine (face and body), a haircare routine, an exercise routine, a mindfulness routine, a night-time routine, a morning routine, a stunning and spotless apartment, a booming social life going to all the best restaurants and bars, always look like a supermodel, dress impeccably, have a strong relationship and friendships, have multiple interesting hobbies and a career that I’m extremely passionate about that pays for all of this? Something’s got to give!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m part of the problem. I’m not coming at this from a moral high ground claiming to be rid of these falsities. Of course I post my aesthetically pleasing coffee and clean-for-once bedroom on Instagram. I do it because I’m insecure, just like everyone else feeding into the Wellness trend. I’m desperate to show that I’m enjoying my life as much as possible, because living a life that doesn’t fulfil you constantly has become one of my generation’s greatest fears. If I can show just how “perfect” my life is, and if I can make someone else envious of it, then all the other crap in it can’t be that bad.
But recently I’ve been thinking, what if I don’t want to go on a healing retreat? Or pay for something called “goat yoga”? Or go on an “dinner in the dark” date? What if all I want to do in my 20's is sit around with friends, catching up on a bit of goss with a bottle of wine? Is that considered unfulfilling?
Probably. But I’ll do it anyway.
