the irony of being unwell in wellness

(and why it all needs to change)

There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. ~ Audre Lorde

I've been working in the wellness industry for over 20 years. Even though ironically I'm not that well.

And I definitely do not fit the “thin white woman laughs at salad” mould.

I have c-PTSD, PCOS, ADHD and migraine.

I've been in therapy for years to deal with trauma and dysregulation.

Migraine steals weeks of my life every year due to debilitating pain and illness.

My ADHD makes executive functions like planning & organising very difficult.

And PCOS makes it difficult to lose weight. So I’m fat. A cardinal sin in many wellness halls.

These compounding challenges make it hard to consistently run a business. My energy fluctuates wildly.

And if I'm honest sometimes I hate resting. It's boring and I have to do it a lot even though I'd rather do other things.

It feels disingenuous to admit how much I struggle on a daily basis when I have a business that promotes restful wellness.

But after working in wellness for decades, here’s what I know. 

The image of wellness is performative. It weaponises a standard of health that is often unattainable.

Which is why wellness needs to be truly intersectional to be of real, genuine use.

We need to undo the ableism, misogyny, racism and classism that create upstream impacts that lock so many of us out of true well-being.

We need to embrace community care (not just self-care) to build resilience and flourishing.

We need to let go of “normal”, embrace neurodivergence and give people flexible support that suits their needs.

Because at the end of the day, there is no single right way to be well.