Wellness, in its truest form, is about returning to ourselves. It’s about remembering what it feels like to be nourished, connected, and rooted in our own rhythms. But somewhere along the way, wellness became something else, a brand, a performance, a checklist.

As someone who believes in holistic living, I’ve found immense healing in practices like mindfulness, movement, herbal medicine, and rest. But I’ve also learned to be cautious. Because not everything that looks like wellness is actually serving our well-being. In fact, some of it quietly pulls us further away from our bodies, our intuition, and our deeper truth.

This post isn’t meant to spark fear or cynicism. It’s an invitation to slow down and notice what’s real, what’s helpful, and what might be asking for a second look. Here are some signs that a “wellness” practice or message may not be as nourishing as it seems.

When Wellness Is Rooted in Control, Not Curiosity

There’s a big difference between tuning into your body and trying to control it. Some wellness routines encourage us to obsess over what we eat, how we move, or how “high vibe” we’re being. But healing isn’t about domination it’s about partnership.

True wellness asks: What do I need right now? Not What should I be doing to fix myself?

When It Creates More Shame Than Self-Compassion

A red flag I often see is when a wellness space leaves people feeling like they’re never doing enough. You skipped your journaling practice? Didn’t do your breathwork today? Forgot to take your adaptogens? Shame creeps in and that’s not healing.

Real wellness honors ebb and flow. It welcomes imperfection. It makes room for rest without guilt.

When It’s Disconnected from Community and Collective Care

Some wellness trends hyper-focus on the individual your diet, your mindset, your energy. But true healing doesn’t happen in isolation. We need connection. We need support. We need to address the systems around us, not just self-optimize within them.

Holistic wellness asks: How can we take care of ourselves and each other?

When It Sells You the Idea That You’re Broken

Many wellness brands lead with fear, pointing out “problems” you didn’t know you had and offering expensive products to fix them. The message, even when wrapped in pastel colors and gentle fonts, is: You need this to be okay.

But you are not a problem to be solved. Holistic living begins with the belief that your body holds wisdom not just wounds.

When It Ignores Root Causes and Deeper Layers

You can eat all the clean food in the world and still feel anxious. You can go to yoga and still carry unprocessed trauma. Wellness that focuses only on surface solutions, without holding space for emotional, ancestral, or systemic healing, misses the depth we need.

True wellness says: Let’s go deeper, gently. It honors all of you, body, mind, spirit, lineage, and community.

When It Prioritizes Image Over Intuition

Instagram-friendly wellness is often beautiful but beauty can be deceiving. When practices become more about aesthetics than embodiment, we lose the point. A green juice isn’t healing if it disconnects you from your hunger cues. A morning routine isn’t nourishing if it’s more about performance than presence.

Ask yourself: Does this practice bring me closer to myself or just closer to someone else’s idea of “ideal”?

Closing Reflection:

Wellness can be a beautiful doorway. But it’s not the destination it’s a path. One that requires discernment, compassion, and a willingness to listen inward, even when the world is loud with trends and promises.

Let’s keep choosing practices that feel grounding, not performative. Let’s remember that wellness is not a product or a trend, it’s a return. A remembering. A coming home.