staying well in an unwell world
no more cortisol for me
If modern wellness was a person, blocking her on social media wouldn’t suffice – you’d need a restraining order. She’s a stalker, a cheat, and a mean girl with no remorse, but at least she gracefully lets us pick our battles. Choose yours: aspirational thinness and its disciples ranging from recreational Ozempic to medical malnutrition, facial treatments that are unaffordable at best and scientifically ambiguous at worst, near-neurotic ageing prevention, hormonal regulation led by TikTok energy healers, raw milk for gut health, or leaning into your feminine energy via eerily far right ideologies… Forgive me for speeding to the conclusion that we’ve lost the plot and deserve whatever awaits us as a species. I understand the unstable world to excessive control over one’s body pipeline —jaws are tense and anxiety is peaking for very real reasons— but at some point we have to bite the bullet and own up to our individual contribution to the collective chaos. The conveyor belt of wellness tricks us into thinking we’re doing something noble and orthodox by “improving” our lives —spiritually, physically, and aesthetically— while merely setting up an environment in which we’re not allowed to eat, want, rest, or exist outside of the enhancement paradigm. It’s a self-antagonizing, insatiable vortex we willingly uphold. As though there’s something wrong with us. As though immortality is for purchase. What happened to joy? To pleasure?
I also hate the polarization of wellness in culture, which oscillates between neglect and obsession. You’ve got a tortured underdog creative who runs on coffee and Adderall, happily dabbles in substances, forgets to eat, smokes, and looks down on virtually any good-for-you activities. Dainty and sophisticated, of course, a real artist. Or, you’ve got a well-disciplined reformer pilates warrior babe with a suspiciously vacant agenda, and a passive income that allows for investing exorbitant $$$ into her wellness upkeep. Why is it unheard of to fall somewhere in the middle? To do your absolute best to take good care of yourself but in ways that are simple, actionable, not obsessive, and don’t require all the time and money in the world?
Luckily, finding wellness amid the noise is possible — ironically, it starts with both detaching from most contemporary wellness ideas and prioritizing your own health. It sure sounds like one, but in the best 2025 manner, it’s not a paradox. With a decade-long history of ED behaviors and mental health dips I have finally somewhat learned to tame and pacify, I don’t take my relationship with wellness for granted: my health is sacred to me. It’s the most important thing I have. I approach wellness on my own terms now, and reframing the end goal from vanity/aesthetics to longevity has been a game changer. Not only because I’ve stopped cutting corners or running through ready-made solutions, but the dangerous all-or-nothing mentality has gone away — without a moral compass and a timeline attached to wellbeing, there’s no unbearable pressure of perfect execution.
Rational wellness has been my self-invented modus operandi, and is 70% informed by science, 30% by intuition, and 0% by the advice from people with no credentials and/or with some seriously skewed view of themselves and the world. It’s a practice devoid of righteousness and glamour, but full of compassion and discernment.
Rational wellness, to me, is holistic, and encompasses every area of life – it’s mental and physical, but it’s also relational, financial, social. Being healthy is just as much about surrounding myself with well-regulated people and having sufficient savings as it is about fitness and nutrition. And though I’m no expert in any of these areas—please don’t take any of this at face value— here are some things I do to stay well & sane in an increasingly unwell, insane world.
1. i lift weights
I’m not exaggerating when I say weightlifting has been the most important addition to my life and the only thing that has successfully repaired my relationship with exercise, food, rest, and my body in general. I’ve been lifting consistently for about 1.5 years now, and this routine has established a certain bulletproof trust between myself and my health that withstands most wellness fads, unsolicited advice, and even the cruel thinness-at-all-costs renaissance. Plus, a lifting routine requires discipline and an unwavering commitment — showing up when you can’t be bothered. In that way, I believe it has reflected in other areas of my life, especially writing and creating.