The "wellness" industry and chronic illness

[Leavesofautumn]

I just need to have a rant about this. It seems that the wellness industry is really for people who are already well in the first place. I have a chronic illness and I don't see how spending £50 on your bespoke, artisan vitamin supplements is going to make me feel any better.

Also, yoga doesn't cure serious diseases. HTH.

I have very serious medical conditions - have been housebound for the entire pandemic except multiple hospital admissions, am CEV, heart and lung issues, connective tissue, gastric and major allergy problems, etc. Some people will doubtless read that and think "ah, EDS!" - but it's actually much more than just EDS, to the point of being identifying if I were to give details. I'm also a wheelchair user and have spent long periods bedbound, so I promise I am coming from an experienced POV.

Anyway, I think YABU, at least a little bit, OP. I do agree that there are some significant issues within the wellness industry - that the population as a whole needs much better scientific and health education, and that the industry needs to be more regulated. But I think that apart from the obviously bad aspects, in general it's a good thing for people to take care of their bodies, try to tune into their physical needs and their existence as living beings. There's so much of life that encourages the exact opposite.

@Mulletsaremisunderstood ahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I remember that Moon Juice woman! That article still gets shared on various Facebook pages every so often. I'm assuming she gets it all free or cheap as she runs the place, but goodness knows how much this stuff would cost for real customers. Absolutely bonkers. Also I bet she sometimes has a Big Mac and fries when nobody's looking 😂

It's the charlatans, like the ones your father attracted but mostly, if I read her right, the 'ooh pop this pill, it's rejuvenating etc' sellers of basic nutrients - supplements as the Magic Bullet - with a price tag to match!

Yep it's partly that, and also about the implied victim blaming of people with chronic illnesses. If you'd eaten more hemp seed then you'd be in perfect health, and it just shows that you really want to be ill, etc etc.

the implied victim blaming of people with chronic illnesses. Oh god! Yes! The shit I can now tune out.

WE: Are you tired Curious. Get a good night's sleep [offer of all sorts of sleeping aids]

Me: No! It's ME. A good night's sleep could knock me out for weeks. Fuck Off!

WE: You just need to find the right thing, don't give up

Me: I did 6 years of higher education and 20 years lecturing on this shit - S O D O F F

WE: Oooh the negativity will be hurting you...

It can be relentless.

But the reality is, most of us only need the NHS when we're ill which is why I said it'slargelya national illness service. In the UK, it's not resourced to be as proactive as it can be to head off preventable conditions.

@Yogateacherherehello Yes, I already said that myself. But the cliched phrase "national illness service" is always said in a snooty, derogatory manner by self-important alternative health people. It's not just about the wording, it's about the implication, the implication of what wellness people are trying to convey about themselves, and the implication of victim blaming of people with serious illnesses. That is how it comes across every time, and that is why I've asked you to stop using it. Change your wording.

I do think yoga is really beneficial. Not that it can cure anything. I take a multivitamin and it makes me feel 'well'.

However, I do agree with you about the 'wellness' industry in general. It's like nobody ever thought of trying to be healthy before.

Activated cashews also bring you the gift of graceful poops, like a ballerina performing arabesques through your anus...

Hmm. Arabesques involve standing on one leg, the other out behind and raised, one arm in front and the other behind. Lots of hands and feet pointing out at the end of limbs. I don't want anyone doing that inside me, however graceful they may look while doing so. I want a nice straight dive, long, narrow and streamlined, with no limbs sticking out.

My director says I overthink things.

@lljkk

There is a lot of taking advantage of vulnerable, desperate people. :(

this is it. really.

snake oil sellers trashing 'big pharma' whilst making ££££ from unlicensed, untestest, unregulated 'remedies' that at best only harm the wallet.

Oh god, @Mulletsaremisunderstood, that's priceless

"I usually wake up at 6:30am, and start with some Kundalini meditation and a 23-minute breath set—along with a copper cup of silver needle and calendula tea—before my son Rohan wakes."

I bet she's a fucking riot to live with.

And the eating (or drinking?) bee pollen - she does know that the bees don't make that? Is she harvesting it from their tiny leg pockets with microscopic tweezers while Rohan has an organic power nap?

When you thought satire was dead.

Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates can prevent or reduce the symptoms of illnesses (including some cancers and even paralysis) - it’s why it’s recommended by GPs. The evidence base for it’s use is expanding now there is solid research behind it. I mean it’s common sense isn’t it that a calm, strong and flexible body would have fewer illnesses than a stressed / weak and stiff one?

As for vitamins - it really does depend on whether you have a serious deficiency or not. I can’t take vitamin D3 that you can buy - mine has to be a superstrong version in liquid form (with specific ingredients). I could import it with a prescriptioj but that would cost me approx £100 / mth without the NHS.
L

Or maybe she's brushing it of their little backs

The pollen mixed in with the nectar will be tainted. 😱

I usually wake up at 6:30am, and start with some Kundalini meditation and a 23-minute breath set—along with a copper cup of silver needle and calendula tea—before my son Rohan wakes."

I want to drink some out of a normal teacup to see if she tells me off for not using a copper cup.

Does she feed this stuff to her son? Is he allowed to go to other children's birthday parties where they might end up eating cake?

Amanda Chantal Bacon looks so Californially photogenic is because,

1. She's in her 30s
2. She's naturally, traditionally 'pretty'
3. She's wealthy
4. And she's thin because she eats fuck all

Not because, to quote her again,

“I sneak this tonic in, which is Sex Dust, Spirit Dust, Brain Dust, Collagen Protect, hot water and some cacao that actually fits in with the intermittent fasting rules.”

And I've just been offered a 'personal angel reading' on a pop-up ad.

Do I actually want to know what Sex Dust is? Hmm.

@Leavesofautumn

Do I actually want to know what Sex Dust is? Hmm.

Dragon fly pollen? Filtered through the sweat of a hundred mating thoroughbred Arab stallions?

@Leavesofautumn please don't try to police what others say about the NHS! Everyone has a different experience.

@SpindleWhorl

Oh god, *@Mulletsaremisunderstood*, that's priceless

"I usually wake up at 6:30am, and start with some Kundalini meditation and a 23-minute breath set—along with a copper cup of silver needle and calendula tea—before my son Rohan wakes."

I bet she's a fucking riot to live with.

And the eating (or drinking?) bee pollen - she does know that the bees don't make that? Is she harvesting it from their tiny leg pockets with microscopic tweezers while Rohan has an organic power nap?

When you thought satire was dead.

I know, the fact that she seems to be deadly serious makes it all the more weird. I don't think she realises how ridiculous she sounds. To me the whole article is a satirical take down of the LA wellness/ guru/ yoga girl scene. I keep thinking, where is the actual food? A few slivers of courgette, is that it? It looks like the scraps I would put in the compost bin! Do people in LA not chew food anymore?

There's a great Youtuber Abby Sharp (who is an actual dietician) who does funny video critiques of celebrities 'what I eat in a day'. Some of them are truly ridiculous, and they make all sorts of health claims that are just bollox. And yes Gweneth is on there!

One of the best episodes is Derek Hough and his wife (they are dancers I think so pretty healthy anyway) some of the health claims they make are ridiculous. They follow recipes from a guy called Medical Medium, who, you've guessed it, is not a doctor, but a psychic!

Here is the blurb from his website:
#1 New York Times best-selling author of Medical Medium, Life-Changing Foods, Thyroid Healing, Liver Rescue and Cleanse To Heal was born with the unique ability to converse with Spirit of Compassion who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information that’s often far ahead of its time.

Since age four, when he shocked his family by announcing that his symptom-free grandmother had lung cancer (which medical testing soon confirmed), Anthony has been using his gift to “read” people’s conditions and tell them how to recover their health.

I can't believe this guy hasn't been sued for fraud!

Anyway if you want to check out the episode here it is - Abby has what she calls the wellness bullshit bingo card .

[quote Innocenta]@Leavesofautumn please don't try to police what others say about the NHS! Everyone has a different experience. [/quote]
Oh dear! here be irony!

@CuriousaboutSamphire I don't think it's particularly ironic? Obviously you can call that 'policing' if you want to, but Leaves has repeatedly been chiding people who feel differently about the NHS to her... It's a forum. People are going to have different opinions, that's rather the point!

@Mulletsaremisunderstood That video is hilarious, thank you! Wellness bullshit bingo card! 😅

@Innocenta It's less about individual experiences of the NHS, and more about the implication that it carries for people in bad health, always said with a superior tone of voice by alternative health people who enjoy getting on their high horses in an attempt to blame people for being ill. It's become a trope which is trendy in certain circles.