Individualism in Wellness Culture

If you’ve ever fallen ill and wondered “what did I do wrong?” – or had someone suggest that you brought your illness upon yourself – then this is for you.
 
A little personal story. Recently I was at the end stage of a cold and had to attend a community meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, I apologised for any disruption my cough might cause, that it was the tail end of a cold and I was no longer at the contagious stage but that I’d sit at the end of the table so as not to make anyone feel uncomfortable.
 
I was immediately told by someone that, “we only get sick when we’re not right in our body… when we’re not healthy.” 
 
Since we were at a meeting I dismissed this with “I don’t agree with that,” and continued with the meeting. The person later told me they were simply trying to say they weren’t worried about getting sick because they were healthy, that they were not a “germ phobe or a virus phobe” and that no offence was meant…
 
This “germ theory vs inner terrain” polarity is common in wellness culture and reflective of how individualist and over-simplified it has become.
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The “Germ theory VS Inner Terrain” false dichotomy

Really quick summary. Germ theory basically says that external bacteria, viruses and so on are what we need to think about and we need to focus our efforts into killing the germs. Whereas terrain theory (or "inner terrain" as it's sometimes referred to) argues that if the body is well and balanced, then germs that are a natural part of life and will be dealt with by the body without causing sickness.
 
Both theories are, in fact, important. But in many wellness circles there’s a pervasive belief that if we’re healthy and not stressed, we will never get sick. That pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungi, cancer, and so on can’t affect us if we just look after ourselves properly. And conversely, that if we do get sick, it is because we were somehow not “right” in body or mind. That somewhere, we dropped the ball. In this mindset, wellness is entirely the individual's personal responsibility and pursuit, with a focus on self-reliance, thinking positive emotions, that sort of thing.
 
This attitude is harmful. It’s health shaming. It’s wellness culture’s form of victim blaming. On a personal level, as an able and small-bodied cis-het woman under 40 who lifts weights, takes all the herbs, does all the yoga, doesn’t get sick often and has never experienced severe chronic illness, this was one of the rare times in my life I felt health shamed. And it sucked.
 
I can’t imagine what people with chronic illness, bodies that don’t adhere to the cultural standard, and people with disabilities experience every day when confronted with such an individualist attitude to wellness. I can imagine this health shaming attitude wouldn’t improve their health but have the opposite effect. To tell a sick person that one’s health outcomes are 100% the individual’s responsibility is - to put it lightly - not very nice.
 

health - it's complicated

It’s also inaccurate. Yes, our physical, mental and spiritual health can contribute to our susceptibility to illness. As a naturopath, dietitian, and yoga teacher I’m in the business of helping people with diet and exercise, determinants of health that are somewhat within our control. But it’s naive to think that keeping yourself healthy confers invincibility from the maladies of life.
 
People who do yoga, eat organic and exercise can still get head colds, depression, and cancer. Illness can and does happen to those who follow wellness culture’s rules, and this shouldn’t be an invitation to question what that person did wrong - or pat oneself on the back for “doing it right” and avoiding illness. Rather, it should be an invitation to empathise, remember our collective vulnerability and interconnectedness, and care about the person in front of you rather than blame them.
 
Inner terrain counts. So does germ theory. So do genetics, access to health care, social support systems, soil health, the public health environment, and disparities such as systematic racism, ableism, fat phobia, homophobia, transphobia, and many other factors out of our control.

We can do our best to look after ourselves. And we all want to feel like we are completely in control of our bodies and our health, but the truth is we never can be. And that truth is uncomfortable. Especially in an unpredictable world where our needs for safety and security are increasingly harder to meet.
 
Health is not a gauge of “rightness” in your body, of purity, or of how well you’ve performed wellness. It’s just not that straightforward. Individual health is tied to the health of our communities, the land and every part of our ecosystems. It’s not just about whether or not you grow your own vegetables and meditate.

I would love to see us redefine wellness so that it better serves the collective and is rooted in fairness, critical analysis, and access. We can start by not stigmatising people with acute or chronic illness by insinuating that their sickness is somehow their fault. By not stigmatising people in larger bodies by implying that their body size is completely under their control and they just haven’t tried hard enough to lose weight. By learning to accept, appreciate, and accommodate the needs of neurodivergent folk, rather than trying to ‘cure’ them or assigning blame for their neurodivergence.

I could go on.
 
Please, let’s embrace nuance and empathy. And maybe read up on the determinants of health. Because health is complicated, illness is complicated, life is complicated and unpredictable.

​And sometimes, people get sick for no discernible reason, simply because shit happens.