Ep. 59 | The Wellness Industry Is a Scam, Are You Healing or Being Hustled?
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00]
The wellness industry, wants you sick, scared, and dependent, because if you actually healed. they'd be out of business. Now this episode is coming from somebody, me who loves the wellness industry. But I am going to rip into it for a little bit. Because I think it's pretty bloody necessary. From crystal infused water bottles to a hundred thousand dollar retreats that are promising enlightenment. The wellness world has become a gold mine of overpriced bullshit.
And let's face it. Most of the healing that they call it, that they're selling. It's just snake oil wrapped in spiritual jargon.
And honestly, I think that they're banking on the fact that we all never actually figure it out.
The wellness industry thrives on our dependence. It thrives on our insecurity on false promises.
I want you to think about this for a second. I talk a lot about big pharma. Big pharma, once you pop in the pills, but the wellness industry, once you buying their [00:01:00] supplements, their moon water, their memberships. Different packaging, exact same hustle.
My issues with the wellness industry, stem from the message of you're broken, you're broken. You need fixing, you need us to fix you when you need us to heal you.
That's where my issue with the wellness industry lies. It's an industry that sells this idea that you're never enough, that you're always going to need the next product. You're always going to need the next ritual or retry. Retreat. And it's not actually healing to me. It's consumerism on steroids.
For instance, they're going to fear monger you about toxins and 5g and imbalances, and then conveniently sell you the $2,000 solution to fix it.
And yes. Nuance in this conversation. I am a wellness junkie. Let me be honest. I very much believe in taking care of our bodies. Health is my number one value in life. Again, I'm not against the wellness industry. I am against the fact that they prey on and by they, I just mean different people, no one specifically, [00:02:00] but let's say they, that they prey on the fact that people feel broken.
They prey on the fact that people feel like they need someone to save them. They need someone to heal them. It's with that context. So yes, of course there are toxins out there that are horrible. Yes. Five G is not great for us. Yes, we have imbalances. But my issues are when Your fears are preyed on.
And then you sold a solution that maybe you didn't actually need in the first place.
For example, it could be a $5,000 detox program. That's basically laxatives, but with a prettier label put on top of it.
Well, coaches who might sell. You know, thousand dollar packages to align your chakras. And there's actually no tangible results that you get from it.
This is where, in my opinion, the wellness industries, aren't here to heal you, it's here to hustle you. And as long as you keep buying into their bullshit, you can stay on that hamster wheel of I'm not enough of, I need fixing.
It's always something out there that I need to rescue me to heal me, to fix me.
Because let's be honest, fear sells. And I think the wellness industry [00:03:00] has mastered the art of making people feel broken to actually keep them buying.
Because the wound is industry, isn't just selling products. It's actually selling fear at this point.
Could be fear of toxins, fear of aging, fear of being out of alignment.
And it's no longer about empowerment. It's actually about a constant sense of dependency.
It's like detox, your body, or these toxins are going to destroy your health or without this particular supplement, your hormones are never going to, to balance themselves. Or if you don't protect your energy, your life is going to stay in absolute chaos.
And you're going to be stuck forever. It just preys on people's fears.
So they're not just actually selling you a product. They're selling you the fear that without this product, your life is going to fall apart. And then as long as you're scared, you're going to keep buying.
And you feel so called healer is more focused on scaring you then actually empowering you. They're not actually your healer. They're essentially your dealer.
I actually can see a lot of what is called healing. These days in the [00:04:00] wellness industry is actually just hiding. Wellness culture has become this socially acceptable form of escapism.
it's avoidance.
If whatever they're selling is actually working for you, then it's a tool. It's not a trap. But if it's not actually working for you, you are in a trap.
So I want to be very real with you right now. If you're just throwing money at every single retreat out there, every new crystal, every ceremony, but you're actually refusing to deal with any of the deep shit within you. You're not healing. You're actually hiding. And this is what I'm seeing a lot of in the wellness industry. Wellness has become a mask.
It's just actually a massive distraction from the hard work that we are avoiding. And then we get stuck in a loop of feeling busy without actually moving forward. And I'm saying this because it comes from my own experience. This was me. This actually was me. I was just on a hamster wheel. I was on this loop of feeling very busy of like, oh, I'm healing.
I'm. Um, I'm doing the work when really nothing was actually driving me [00:05:00] forward, nothing was actually changing in my life. I was just simply hiding.
There's a big healing, junky phenomenon out there in the the wellness industry. You know, the type, these are the type who will go to every workshop. They'll be booked out. Their entire calendar is booked out with workshops. They'll be talking about every single new modality under the sun. But then life is a complete and utter fucking shit show.
They're not actually chasing growth.
What they're chasing and they don't realize it is the high that they get. It's that dopamine hit that they get from feeling like they're doing something and the wellness. Industry thrives on these individuals. It thrives on the addiction because it keeps you spending.
So I want to call it for what it actually is.
It's a business model and I'm not, by the way. Let me make it clear. I am not dissing anybody who runs a business in the wellness industry. I am going to be launching spinal energetics services very, very soon as a service to the general public. I'm in the wellness industry. That is me as well, but I want to make a [00:06:00] distinction and pay attention to who you follow online, who is in the wellness industry.
Also. Are they telling you you're broken? Are they telling you that without this service that you're fucked. Are they telling you that you need fixing, you need healing. You need a saviour type of messaging. Or is it that you're actually awesome, but this can also add another layer to your life.
This can also help you go deeper within, but you are already whole, you're already a whole human. That is a total different message.
Because the business model of you're broken, you're a broken little bird. It banks on you needing the next thing continually. You need the next guru. You need the next fix. So you're always one purchase away from, to enlightenment. Spoiler alert. It's never actually enough.
You are not going to reach enlightenment. Like it's, it's an illusion. Whilst here on earth as a human.
I don't give you an example of these. These are the type of individuals who may have done 17 iowaska [00:07:00] ceremonies, but they still can't even hold down a fucking job.
Or, maybe there are people who are on their 12th life coach. Like they're hopping around different life, coach, different mindset coaches, constantly chopping and changing. But they still take zero responsibility for their choices or the type of person who's done every single personal development course out there, but they're a horrible human to be around.
Sometimes our wellness looks productive.
It's all about the rituals. It's all about the practices.
But it's actually a big fat form of avoidance.
So I'm going to point out here is how.
You're actually hiding behind the process rather than actually doing the real work that's required. Maybe you are constantly booking retreats, but you're never actually implementing anything that you learn in those retreats, by the way, that's not on the person running the retreat. That's on you.
Maybe you're the type who's collecting a million different certifications but.
You can't manage basic accountability in your life. Maybe you're talking about all the different energy blocks that you're moving through, but [00:08:00] you haven't actually addressed any of the emotional baggage that you refuse to actually unpack. You refuse to go there.
And this is where my issue with the wellness industry lies healing. Isn't about how many workshops you've attended.
Like you don't get a gold star for going on a million retreats. And by the way, I love retreats. I love all this. I want to do a trip to Peru. I want to do all of it. So I'm not dissing that, but we don't get a gold star for that. And healing. Isn't about how many workshops we've attended. It's actually about the hard choices we've made when nobody's watching. It's about the shit that goes down in our everyday life.
It's in our everyday routines. It's in our everyday decisions, our everyday thoughts, behaviors, actions, how do we treat other people? How do we speak to other people? How do we speak to people who can do nothing for us?
How do we treat waitstaff? How do we treat people that are in lines in front of us that are taking a long time?
Like. This is where our real healing shows up. Our real healing shows up in the dysfunction in life, in the [00:09:00] disagreements we have with people. How do you handle it when you get criticism? How do you handle it? When a troll writes something online, I hate that word troll, but you know what I mean? How do you handle it in your intimate relationships when your intimate partner disagrees with you?
How do you handle that shit? Cause if you've gone to 17 iowaska ceremonies, but you can't even function with human beings in your everyday life, you are not healing. You are hiding. You're feeling productive.
But it's not actually getting to anything deep within yourself.
There's a difference between engaging in all of these things, because you have a genuine love for them, like going to different retreats and doing different rituals and doing different personal development courses just light you up and they're actually creating tangible changes in your life.
That's me. I love personal development courses. Knowledge is one of my top values in life. I love to learn. I love to grow. I love to understand humans better and myself better. And the human psyche. I love it. It comes from pure passion. But what I am learning, I'm also implementing in my [00:10:00] life and I'm sure it's the same for you.
Whereas in the wellness industry, it is thriving on people that adjust.
Wellness junkies who won't implement anything. Cause then they keep coming back. They'll keep spending the money. There's no actual, tangible changes in their lives. That's very different.
Because when it's making tangible changes in your life, you are the person who's actually doing the work. You're the person who's Doing an implementing what you've learnt and it's changing things for you. It's producing results for you.
So here are some signs that maybe you might be using wellness as a tool, rather than a trap.
You're not just learning. You're actually applying. And you becoming more self-responsible.
Ask yourself, these questions, every time you've done a retreat, a personal development course, you've hired a new coach, whatever it is. Are you becoming more? Self-responsible are you becoming more self disciplined? Do you trust yourself more now than you did say six months ago? Cause that's the difference between progress and procrastination.
That's the difference between I'm actually implementing what I've learned [00:11:00] as tools in my life. I'm not bypassing.
Because, as I said before, there is a difference. If you're choosing tools and practices that resonate with your personal goals, they resonate with your personal values. Not because they're trendy or because someone said that they're essential for you. You're choosing them because they resonate with you.
You're not just following the herd, then you're actually following your own needs. There's a difference.
Ask yourself. Is your life feeling more grounded? Are you relationships healthier? Are you showing up for yourself in ways now that you didn't before.
If, so then what you're doing is working period. That is awesome. You're not being hustled to you. Don't have a dealer in the wellness industry. You're actually implementing what you're learning. So I want to talk about how to choose the right guides or the right tools. One, and this is one of the biggest things.
I cannot scream this one enough. Look at them life, not just their pitch. People get to look fancy online and get to. [00:12:00] Parade. Through beautiful imagery and I'm all for that beautiful colors. I'm all for that. Like branding, I'm a branding nerd. I bloody love branding I froth it. But we can hide a lot of our shit behind our branding.
I would encourage you to go deeper into that human being. Maybe listen to how they speak. If there's some way of seeing, like maybe they have a podcast like this actually listen, pay attention. How do they show up to life? How do they move through dysfunction and chaos? And how do they speak to people?
What's their daily habits. Like all of these things, if you're considering working with a coach, a mentor or a so-called healer, I don't like that term, but I'll use it because it's common. here's the deal. This is what I want you to pay attention to. Don't just buy into the Instagram aesthetic. Look at their actual life.
Are they walking their talk? Remember, it's palpable. You can feel someone's energy. Are they walking their talk? Are they disciplined? Are they self trusting? Are they self responsible? Do they actually live their life in a [00:13:00] way that you respect? Because if not, I would not buy into their programs. I would not buy into them as a coach.
I have a coach. I highly respect her. I highly respect how she shows up to life, how she shows up to her intimate relationship, how she shows up as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, I respect herself trust. I respect herself responsibility. I respect how she treats people. I respect her boldness her audacity.
I respect how she moves through fear. I respect her health and how, and her physique, her discipline, her consistency. So many things like so many things, I am so fussy with who I would hire as a coach. Because if their life doesn't match, what I respect, why would I hire them? I know this is controversial, but I would not hire a mindset coach who is obese. Because to me, that's a mindset issue. I'm not saying I wouldn't hire them in some other realm.
but as a mindset coach. No, because that to me is a mindset flaw. Look at that individual's life. [00:14:00] Are they walking their talk? Do they live in a way that you respect? Watch the energy. Do they exude qualities that you actually admire?
Are they self-lead and grounded?
Or they just regurgitating cool buzzwords online and trying to sell you a vibe or does their life actually match up with what they're saying and what they're trying to sell to you?
Have you actually seen real measurable results in their life or in the lives of the people that they work with. If they're brand new to something, that's going to be a little bit hard to see the results in other people.
So then look at their life. Look at them.
Because if there is no measurable results in their own life, Why are you trusting them with your growth?
I would think of it this way. If you've been following that individual for awhile. Are they the exact same person now, as they were say, three years ago, or have they grown exponentially within themselves within their self-trust their self-responsibility within how they show up? In the face of fear in the face of discomfort, in the face of [00:15:00] criticism, whatever it is.
Have they changed and grown through that? Or are they still the exact same person from three years ago? Because why are you trusting your growth with that individual? If they haven't grown?
Because a real guide a real coach helps you to step into your own authority. They don't pedestal themselves above you.
They don't act like you need them to heal you. They actually encourage you to step into your own authority. They don't just keep you hooked on this.
If they're not actually teaching you to trust yourself, run. I would not engage in their services at all.
And at some point, you've actually got to ask the question, are you doing all this? Because it's helping you grow.
Or is it just easier to feel like you're doing all the things to feel busy than actually doing the hard shit?
And if you want to work with someone, ask yourself, are they the Rue du or are they just cashing in on your hope?
There are a lot of social media influencers out there who are the foot soldiers of the wellness scam. They're pushing toxic [00:16:00] positivity and overpriced BS that actually has zero tangible results. There's also the rise of the Insta healer. Again, I'm not mocking you. If you are in the wellness industry, I'm not mocking you.
If you even use the word healer, I don't give a damn, it's not a word I use. I do not care if somebody else uses it. But what I'm saying is they're actually selling a lifestyle that they can't even afford without sponsorships. That is very common in the social media influencer world. Half of them don't even believe their own hype.
There's a lot of them that don't even believe what they're selling or that what they're selling hasn't even worked for them. Their life doesn't even match up with what they're selling.
What you tend to see evolve over time is a lot of these influences. They push this idea, this false narrative of if you're not just glowing with gratitude 24 7, that you're doing life wrong.
And then you find out down the track that there had multiple breakdowns or you know, that their life just went to absolute shit. And what they were selling couldn't even help themselves. Wellness influences [00:17:00] often will present themselves as absolutely flawless. They've got the most perfect skin. And the most perfect life they've got the most perfect answers for everybody.
Everything's just perfect. It's like everything's perfect. Life never goes wrong. There's no chaos in my life. If someone is coming off that way, perfection is a mask. If you start to dig deeper, you will find cracks. Nobody has a perfect life.
These are often the ones that are like the gurus that will sell minimalism, but they live in like some multimillion dollar match and which by the way go you, but don't then preach minimalism.
If you're all about a big flashy life.
Or it's the body positivity coach. Who's all about accepting yourself exactly as you are, but then they're heavily filtering their photos and making sure that they erase any signs of cellulite on their legs. Like it's just utter bullshit or it's a influencer who's preaching authenticity while curating this absolutely Insta perfect life that nothing ever goes [00:18:00] wrong.
If someone is selling. Perfection 24 7. They're not selling you the truth. They're selling you an illusion and therefore what they've packaged up for you is likely in illusion also. And they often will just prey on people at their absolute lowest they'll promise. Quick fixes for. Deep issues that aren't just going to be solved in an instant.
You often see fitness gurus are not often, but they are out there.
Fitness gurus who will be promoting, you know, $200 a month memberships, but then they're taking steroids.
Well, one of the biggest ones you see at the moment is the, was it the Brazilian butt lift? So there'll be girls that are selling their booty programs. But their butts don't match up with their leg muscle. It's like the Kim K, but it's. Obviously, everybody knows that's a fake ass. Like her leg muscle doesn't match up with her actual, but. That's how you tell us.
I know this is how you tell the difference. Look at a woman. If she has really muscly legs and a big ass, it's [00:19:00] likely her ass. If it matches up with the leg muscle, if someone, as they stick thin little legs, and then all of a sudden this massive balloon ass, it's clearly not her ass. It's fake and look, go for it, do it.
But then don't go and sell a $200 a month booty program. If your booty is actually fake, I'm not speaking to you listening. I'm talking to this pretend guru in my head.
I just want to remind you that often. Who ever is your favorite wellness guru or wellness influencer? They're not your healer. They're your salesperson, their job. Isn't to actually help you. It's to keep you hooked. If they aren't in integrity, I'm not talking about the good ones. There are some incredible ones out there.
But real healing comes from accountability. Real healing comes from taking radical self-responsibility it's not from overpriced. Products or from spiritual fluff and spiritual jargon, it comes from you looking within and being like, what the fuck is within myself that I'm not ready to accept or that I haven't accepted for a very long time.
And it's time to, [00:20:00] because healing is not sexy. It's messy, it's uncomfortable. It actually requires real work. It's not just manifesting. Although I love that. It's not just journaling. Although I love that. It's not just meditation, although I'm a big advocate of meditation. It's not just that it's messy.
It's not sexy where I. I actually do find it sexy, but it's not sexy work. It is so much easier to go and buy a beautiful crystal than to take a real hard look at the patterns that are still within ourselves.
It is so much easier to book a retreat than to have that hard conversation that we need to have in our lives, either with ourselves or with someone close to us.
The root tree. These healing is quite ugly. It is very uncomfortable. It's not Instagrammable. But it is also where the magic happens.
To me. A sign of someone actually healing is when they have the courage to admit that they've been wrong, that they've done wrong and they're doing the work to actually change it. Or it's letting go of relationships that no longer align with your values, even if it is difficult [00:21:00] and isolating and the most painful thing you'll ever go through. Or it's taking ownership of your finances of your health, of your relationships instead of blaming circumstances. That's a sign of growth.
That's a sign of real healing to me. It's not that they've gone on 17 Iowasca trips and bought five crystals and, and, uh, packaging, moon water.
He's the real truth that I want to say. The wellness industry cannot sell you accountability because it's not a product. It's a goddamn decision.
It's not about the latest wellness trend. It's actually about consistency. It's about self-reflection it's about self-awareness it's about making the really tough decisions that we just don't want to face.
For instance, it's actually about owning our mistakes and owning our shadows within ourself. Instead of blaming it on an energy imbalance, maybe it's about choosing to go and see a therapist instead of just doing a $5,000 sound bath retreat.
That feels amazing. I've been to sound [00:22:00] bath experiences that awesome. Feels amazing, but then there's no actual tangible changes in your life. If you don't implement anything.
Maybe it's about having the hard and difficult conversations within your relationship that you don't want to have instead of blaming it on them.
Because honestly, tree feeling isn't found in a smoothie bowl. I got down love smoothie bowls. It's also not found in a sound bath. I love them too. But true healing is found in a mirror.
So I want to encourage everybody to stop outsourcing our healing to the wellness industry and start taking more responsibility for our growth. And yes, taking responsibility for our growth could mean booking particular services. It could mean hiring a particular coach, but then implementing what we learned from that experience.
Because what is common in the wellness industry is that they're actually wanting people, maybe not consciously unconsciously, but stuck in an endless loop of not enough. Just not enough.
But if we're really honest with ourselves, we don't need another ritual, another guru [00:23:00] and other self-proclaimed healer to tell us what to do. We need the courage to stop running. That's the truth. We need this courage to stop running, to stop running from ourselves and to face the shit within us and to actually start to do the real work.
So I've got some questions for you to finish this episode.
Are you healing or are you being hustled?
Again, if there is tangible changes in your life, you're doing it well. If there isn't, if you're the exact same person now, as you were three years ago, whenever you face fee, whenever you face criticism, whenever you face disagreements, if you are doing everything exactly the same as three years ago, you're being hustled.
You're not healing, there's no growth. There's no tangible changes in your life. There's no evidence and proof of what you've bought of what you've paid for.
What would your healing look like if you stopped spending and started taking responsibility? This is for the ones that are the healing junkies. Are you chasing wellness because it actually works or because it's easier than the truth.
And I want to encourage you. If this episode has [00:24:00] hit a nerve. First of all good. That's a good thing. Maybe it's time to question everything that the wellness industry has sold to you. Also, I want to encourage you to share this episode because often it will start uncomfortable conversations with friends, with family, with people that, you know, I remember though, true healing cannot be bought.
You cannot buy true healing. It has to be earned and it comes from facing ourselves deeply. Then. With everything I say there is always nuance. That's why I wanted to make it clear that if you are actually growing, if you are actually changing and evolving, You're doing healing, right? You're in the wellness industry for the right reasons.
You're showing up to it with courage and actually looking in the mirror and facing yourself. If you reflect and you're like, actually I have not changed at all. I've not changed anything. I would encourage you to stop buying and to actually just start going within and start implementing what you've already learned in the thousands of retreats and the thousands of personal development courses from the thousands of coaches or [00:25:00] whatever it is that you've bought into start going within.
And then you can add to it after. With more. But we'll leave it there. I love your guts as always. Thank you for tuning in, give me your feedback on this episode, you may see it completely different. Let me know. I will discuss whatever feedback I get, whatever comments I get in the next comment, chaos episode.
I love your guts. Legends. Have a great week. Bye.
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