On 'Wellness'
12/12/2021: On 'Wellness', The Days of Afrekete, TJ's peppermint marshmallows & more ...
I’m sitting at a cafe in Larchmont across from a table full of twenty-somethings sipping pulpy, green juices.
“Have you guys tried the new turmeric oat mylk latte at that stand in Malibu I was telling you about?” One girl types frantically on her iPhone, barely looking up.
“Ugh, dude, no, not yet, I haven’t had time, but I saw a recipe for this CBD matcha on TikTok that we have to try.”
Growing up in Los Angeles, I am no outsider to these conversations. I am embarrassed to admit that I have dipped more than a toe into the enticing world of “wellness” myself. I have driven absurd distances to try the best goji berry smoothie and stocked my fridge full of collagen creamers and adaptogenic ginger juices. But recently I’ve noticed that overhearing talk on B12 shots and HIT workouts no longer feels like just fun and games.
Talk on “wellness” has been stirring some deep, existential anxiety in me.
Over the past five years, I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals. Throughout college, my mom was in and out of blood cancer treatment at UCLA and I went through two random medical traumas.
Now, sirens whir past my busy street corner in Los Angeles and I’m brought back to those hospital rooms -- the fluorescent lights, the antiseptic smells, the endless beeping of monitors.
Medicine is all about cold hard facts. If doctors can’t find proof through X-rays, MRIs, or ultrasounds, then your pain doesn’t exist. Most doctors practice by the phrase “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But there is a lot that can’t be seen -- trauma, anxiety, depression.
Enter: Wellness.
“Wellness” is an undefinable term -- one day it’s an eight dollar chia seed bite from Kreation, the next it's intermittent fasting and 42 minute power naps, the next it's microdosing on LSD. “Wellness” is fleeting and ephemeral.
It’s no wonder that the world of wellness emerged as an alternative to Western medicine. With detached doctors, insanely high prices, and harsh physical therapies we needed something to fill the gaping holes that western medicine leaves.
But the wellness industry has become a toxic vice itself. Instead of providing patients with helpful alternatives, the wellness industry sells us an idea of perfection and immortality which promotes denial and ultimately harms the very people who cling to it for help.
Wouldn’t it be cool if you never had to acknowledge the fact that you are in a human body that deteriorates? Do you want to stop the natural process of aging? Would you like to stuff away your existential fears and deny death forever?! Great! Just try the keto diet. Veganism. Paleo whole 30. Acupuncture. Vagus-nerve breathing. Transcendental meditation. Juice cleanse Number 6.
I make fun of these things, but it is only because I have experienced how insidious they can be and it is terrifying.
As my mom’s cancer got worse, she became more and more fixated on this idea of “wellness.” She always used health and exercise as something to focus her anxieties onto, but as her cancer progressed, her fixation with ‘wellness’ became more intense. She’d take papaya pills and drink lemon detox waters every morning. She’d stress over cutting out carbs and sugars.
The world of wellness preys on people like my mom. When you are sick, you will cling onto anything for safety and security. All you want is an anchor. Something to make you feel safe and secure when your body is quite literally retaliating against you. Religion, philosophy, spirituality. But the anchor that society sold to my mom made her sink.
“Wellness” is a dark art form - it sells us the belief that we have control over our bodies. It sells us the tempting illusion that if we drink green smoothies and use retinol creams, if we cut out red meat and do enough breathing exercises, we will not get sick or die. This belief has consumed our cultural landscape and stops people from confronting their fears around mortality.
The products that “wellness” sell seem harmless when they are isolated -- “sure, I’ll try a boost of biotin immunity in my Erewhon smoothie.” “yeah, let’s order one of those Goop Jade egg.” -- but we can no longer view ‘wellness’ rituals as isolated experiences or short-lived fads.
The global wellness industry was estimated at $4.2 trillion in 2021. The industry has grown almost 7% in the last four years alone. “Wellness” has become as influential as big tech and big pharma. We need to evaluate the effects of its economic success and cultural capital on society.
In 1948, the World Health Organization redefined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” That last part is so crucial -- “not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
I realize now that even if my mother had terminal cancer, if she was encouraged to look inwards and find acceptance around sickness and dying, her death would have been so much less emotionally painful. If she could confront her deterioration and death, she would have been able to be present with us at the end.
As of 2021, the federal government gave about $11 million to mental health. Comparatively, this is a shockingly small number. If we put the same amount of resources and faith into mental health and therapy as we put into the ‘wellness’ industry, the world would be a stiller, quieter, more peaceful place to live out our days.
Trader Hoes --
Tangerine Juice -- Last week I recommended grapefruit juice. This week I’ve been shaking things up with tangerine. Tangerines are such an undervalued fruit! I think it’s far more refreshing and tangy than orange juice. This juice will surprise you with its bursting flavor. Try it with some champagne in a mimosa if you’re feelin frisky.
Peppermint Marshmallows -- A holiday special. Get them before December ends. Light, fluffy, and sweet, but they leave you with that refreshing minty, peppermint taste. I think they are better in hot chocolate than just solo. Get yo holiday on!
“Just chicken” -- Alright this rec is kind of a cop out, but if you’re feeling lazy for one week, just pick up some of this moist flavorful chicken to throw into salads and on top of rice.
Media Recs --
The Days of Afrekete -- Just started reading this new book by Asali Solomon (author of Disgruntled). It takes place over the course of one day. It’s about two Black women finding themselves again in middle age. If you like Viriginia Woolf and/or Audre Lorde, check it out!
High Maintenance on HBO - this show originally premiered as a web series. It’s about a man who delivers weed around Los Angeles and it follows the ‘character per episode’ anthology structure, but it is surprisingly deep and grapples with intense emotions. Strongly recommend!
Will shout out my own article in BUST mag this week as well. Check herrrr out :)
Much love,
Bex