The 2010s was the decade that wellness shed its fringe, hippie-dippy connotations and exploded into mainstream consciousness. According to the New York Times, the term was first coined in the 1950s, which is apparently when people figured out that there was more to health than reactively treating illness. Now, the term is so ubiquitous it’s hard to imagine life without it. So what, exactly, is wellness? It's fuddy-duddy health's hot younger sister. “It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.” Fly to Bali for a meditation retreat, or slather yourself in skincare products that cost more than a new washer/dryer combo; that’s wellness, baby. Drink some water or just b r e a t h e sometimes (because, duh, your insurance doesn’t cover therapy!!), and that’s wellness too.
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It also happens to be incredibly profitable. Because “wellness” is so vague (it’s hard to argue with “listen to your body”) and also everyone feels kind of terrible all the time, wellness is fertile ground for entrepreneurial types peddling practices and products they insisted—with no real proof—would change our lives. In 2018, a non-profit called the Global Wellness Institute said the industry was booming (it grew 12.8% from 2015–2017), and valued at $4.2 trillion.But whether you engaged in wellness this decade in the pursuit of optimization or just in lieu of like, actual healthcare, it’s undeniable that you probably encountered some pretty wild trends along the way. Did you also almost pass out during CrossFit, or accidentally broil your vag with a Goop-recommended yoni steaming? Double fist bone broth and kombucha while furiously performing barre exercises to prepare for your next Tough Mudder? Fidget spin for hours to distract yourself from the teatox ravaging your insides? Catch measles from a wealthy, unvaccinated third-grader? Then help us pick the worst wellness trend of the past 10 years!
Between Dec. 16 and Dec. 20, you'll be able to vote via Twitter polls for the things you believe made us stray furthest from God's light. (Matchups 1-16 will happen throughout the day on Monday; matchups 17-32 will kick-off on Tuesday. You can revisit this post every day to see winners and links to the latest updates.) Ranging from the overhyped to the straight-up dangerous, the things we ate and did and wore “for our health” are worth taking a look back on—if only to laugh, and then make sure to never, ever do them again.
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Matchup 1
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Matchup 30
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