According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy was $6.3 Trillion in 2023. As the industry matures, there’s a necessary pruning that needs to happen, like the dendrites in our brains that get snipped away as some neural pathways strengthen while others fade. As I’ve been reading 2025 Trends articles, I thought I’d share an alternate view — the trends I’m personally letting go of. I don’t speak for anyone else — these are just my opinions, formed through years of being a wellness guinea pig.
1. Tracking Yourself
Remember when we just… lived? Now we’ve got rings and watches and apps measuring every breath, step, and heartbeat. For some people, though, self-tracking can increase anxiety levels and lead to obsessive behavior. My experience has been the more I measure, the less I listen to my body’s signals. My attention is pulled out of myself. I don’t want to be a walking spreadsheet. Introspection is my new Fitbit.
2. Sunglasses
I know this might sound crazy, but hear me out. Sunlight is our friend, even helping children’s eyes develop properly. There are scientists researching whether sunglasses may be linked to depression. Their hypothesis: although those Gucci shades look great, “the amount of sunlight reaching the brain from the eyes…is reduced in sunglass users, because sunglasses screen out 75% to 90% of visible light. In people wearing sunglasses, the antidepressant effect of sunlight may be reduced and circadian rhythms may be distorted…” It’s just a hypothesis but explore it for yourself. I’m not suggesting you stare at the sun like a lizard on a rock, but maybe we don’t need to treat sunlight like it’s our mortal enemy and we can spend some more time outside au natural.
3. Low Fat Foods
Oh, how we’ve tortured ourselves with fat-free everything. We know that the human brain is around 60% fat. Expecting it to function optimally on a low-fat diet is like trying to run a Ferrari on watered-down gas. I guess the people pushing for low-fat foods have forgotten our ancestors thrived and their brains grew on bone marrow and organ meats. And although we’ve built mega computers and sent satellites into space, our brains are now smaller than they used to be. We have lost 11% of our brain volume in the last 10,000 years since we adopted agriculture and this trend is not abating. I need every bit of brain power I can get so I’m avoiding low fat and feeding my brain what it needs.
4. Punitive Wellness
Like many of you, I’ve done it all. I’ve walked into that ice-hole at Crystal Lake outside Boston in February, feeling like a hairless polar bear. And yes, there’s research supporting hormesis — that sweet spot where controlled stress makes us stronger. But author and dietician Christy Harrison found that people who approach wellness through restriction and punishment may develop disordered relationships with food and exercise. I’m letting it go. I’ve punished myself enough. I’ve come to believe that a well-nourished body will naturally optimize towards health. We don’t need to starve it or freeze it. I’m for bringing old-fashioned pleasure back to my wellness experiences. Give me a steamy, eucalyptus-scented sauna over a cold plunge any day.
5. Fixing Ourselves
After 15 years in the wellness industry, I’ve reached a place of okay-ness that feels revolutionary. For me, the constant pursuit of optimization seemed to increase my cortisol levels and decreased my self acceptance. A morning without a supplement stack felt empty. An herbalist I recently worked with told me, “You’re basically healthy.” I was shocked. Could it be that I don’t really need anything? Being so deep in the wellness industry, I do love trying new tools, supplements, techniques and will continue to explore them but I’ve changed my mindset. I’m doing it because it’s fun, not because there’s something wrong with me that I need to fix.
In the old days, we all watched the same show at the same time, ate similar foods, shared collective experiences. Now, personalization has made us all an N of 1 — which isn’t necessarily bad, but it means that the future of wellness isn’t about prescribing universal solutions. The path to well-being isn’t paved with trends. Rather, it’s about creating the conditions that support genuine well-being, whatever that means for each person.
Going forward, I plan to replace these trends with some of my own which I haven’t seen on any Trends reports:
- Disagree Better (Thanks Dad for this idea.)
- Make some art every day (see image above from my recent trip to Istanbul).
- Eat more organ meats.
Ultimately, my wellness goal is to die healthy, the way my Korean grandmother did at 96 in her sleep. No meds. No chronic diseases. No pain. Just a full life behind her and a comfortable rest ahead of her. I believe that letting go of these trends — this endless hamster wheel of optimization — might help me get there. Or at least help me enjoy the ride a bit more.
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Previously Published on Medium
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