Amy Larocca, “Why are so many privileged people feeling so sick?”, The Cut, June, 2017
The Wellness Epidemic
When Gwyneth Paltrow first launched Goop in 2008, it was a great place to find out where to eat the best tapas in Barcelona. It was straight-up celebrity-lifestyle voyeurism, and Paltrow, with her long blonde hair and aura of complete self-satisfaction, was irresistible. There’s the expression “living your best life,” and then there is Paltrow: best life manifest.
Through the WI lens
At the moment, wellness is a very amorphous idea that is everywhere, and as a result nowhere in particular. This is part of its financial and marketing appeal; but there is a bubble in the making, with many companies all too willing to sell snake oil to their gullible customers. A backlash is brewing, with an increasing number of researchers and practitioners warning about the excesses in some corners of the wellness industry and the shady science that underpins an increasing number of wellness products.
Nothing illustrates the wellness bubble better than Goop Health, the wellness summit organized by Goop – Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand. Her business, now financed by USD 10 million from venture capital, encompasses beauty products, skincare, vitamin supplements, accessories, clothing, a magazine (soon to be published by Condé Nast) and “experiences”. The “Wellness journey”, as Paltrow likes to call it, is all about investing in oneself to ensure that the body, the spirit and the mind operate at full potential. The word “journey” matters considerably: it signifies that wellness is not a state of being, but an aspiration or a personal transformation. Embarking on a journey means that prior to arriving at an elusive destination, the “wellness industrial complex” à la Goop will milk you at every single step. This article reinforces our view that in the coming years market discipline will separate the wheat from the chaff. There is nothing inevitable in wellness ascendency. At one stage, the bubble will burst, taking many companies and fads with it.
Pluses (and minuses) Of Positive Thinking
What this article goes on to explain is how positive thinking – described here as ‘thriving’ – can counter the effects that come from the negativity outlined above, from reduced memory to diminished performance. Based on studying people in a series of organisations in different industries, one of the authors has found that people who attain this state are more resilient, experience less burnout, and are more confident in their ability to take control of a situation
Working With Nature
“Behind the jargon what this is really about is how we address the challenge of biodiversity under threat, move away from fossil materials like plastic and concrete, and use nature in a sustainable way, all of which could be summed up by “living in harmony with nature”.”
Resetting Company Culture
“In the new ‘consensual contract’ between employer and worker, what’s required is a commitment from the employer to safeguard the wellbeing of their people, and a commitment in return from employees to take personal responsibility for their performance of their job.”
Countering Loneliness
“Could loneliness not only be damaging our mental and physical health but also be making the world a more aggressive, angry place? And if so, what are the implications for a cohesive society and democracy?”
Staking The Moral High Street
“On such fragile foundations are built the first steps towards a more ethical kind of business, and who knows what virtuous circles might result?”
Breathe Easy
“Scientific evidence recently emerged that, contrary to earlier beliefs, Covid-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that we breathe out when we respire, called aerosols.”
Why Obesity Needs Weighty Solutions
“Economic wellbeing is part of the story, but it is also about finding less stressful lifestyles, in which healthy diet figures as a meaningful measure of success.”
Pulling Together Out Of Lockdown
“The industry has every asset needed to be a guiding light in the shift toward personal health priority. Will that become a prevention legacy, a ‘phoenix rising’ from the Covid-19 ashes?”
Opening The Right Doors
“Looking at the bigger picture, putting the measures in this order represents a lost opportunity that the pandemic could have offered for a cultural pivot pivot towards getting people more focused on their health, a powerful statement of intent.”
Home (working) Truths
“Employment is necessary to fulfil our most basic human needs such as food and shelter. Any significant increase in long-term unemployment will spell a retrograde step for human wellbeing like no other.”