Numerous global surveys have found that wellness matters more to people each year post-pandemic. With today’s release of the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2024, there are hard numbers to prove. The research finds that the wellness market grew from $4.6 trillion in 2020 to $5.8 trillion in 2022, and reached a record $6.3 trillion by the end of 2023 (9% annual growth). Wellness continues to expand its share of the overall economy, now representing over 6% of global GDP, up from 5.75% in 2019.

Wellness markets across every global region have grown strongly from 2019 to 2023, with North America, Europe, and the Middle East-North Africa recording the biggest gains. Market sizes in nine of the 11 wellness sectors have well exceeded their 2019 levels (only thermal/mineral springs and workplace wellness have not yet fully recovered, but will in 2024). The sectors with the most powerful annual growth rates from 2019 to 2023 are: 1) wellness real estate (18.1%), 2) public health, prevention, and personalized medicine (15.2%), and 3) mental wellness (11.6%). To provide some context on the rising impact that wellness is having on the world economy, GWI researchers compared it to other vast global industries, finding it’s much larger than the pharmaceutical industry, sports, IT, tourism, and the green economy.

Are wellness trends a scam?

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a significant increase in scams related to health and well-being. With widespread fear and uncertainty, people were desperate for ways to protect themselves and their families from the virus. This desperation made them vulnerable to false claims and products marketed as solutions to the pandemic.

One notable example of this was the promotion of vitamin and mineral supplements as a means to boost the immune system and fight off the virus. While some vitamins and minerals play a role in immune function, their impact on COVID-19 specifically remains unclear. Nevertheless, supplement manufacturers seized the opportunity to market their products as essential for virus prevention, exploiting the public’s fear and lack of knowledge.

Wellness washing is a deceptive marketing technique that taps into the public’s desire to be healthy, and it can have detrimental effects on the consumers who fall for these scams. These tactics are especially harmful when they exploit people’s vulnerabilities, such as during times of crisis or when they are desperate for solutions.

The wellness industry is a carefully curated beast driven by the weight-loss industry, pseudo-science nutritionists, and Instagram influencers whose only credentials are that they look the ideal of what we’re conditioned to admire (which is usually thin, young, wealthy, cis-hetero, able-bodied etc) It’s a system that shuts down critical thinking by relying on ambiguous terminology like clean, detox, intuitive. Even ‘wellness’ simply means the opposite of unwell, which leaves a great deal of room for interpretation and hopefulness. It also preys on our vanity, our obsession with youth, and our fear of death, by packaging certain foods and products as ‘bad,’ and supplements and other merchandise as ‘necessary’ to be healthy, pretty, and thin. This can create a dangerous breeding ground for scammers and misguided zealotry.

Can wellness trends cause harm?

In recent years, wellness culture has exploded, with more people embracing self-care and health optimization. From tracking sleep patterns to fine-tuning nutrition with supplements, the journey to well-being has become more personalized and data-driven more than ever. However, in the quest for better health, some trends may be doing more harm than good. Ironically, certain wellness habits meant to relax and restore can actually spike your stress levels rather than lowering them.

Social media plays a huge role in this, flooding our feeds with the latest wellness hacks, routines, and “must-try” products. The rise of the wellness industry—now a multi-billion-dollar market—encourages constant trend-hopping, making it easy to feel like you’re never doing enough. The pressure to keep up can turn self-care into just another to-do list.

If the pursuit of health has turned into an obsession for you, it can be a warning sign. Instead of benefiting you, the constant need to optimize can lead to stress and anxiety, which will ultimately harm you. When stress levels stay high for too long, it can throw off sleep and your overall well-being, leaving you feeling drained instead of rejuvenated.

 Extreme Diets And Detoxes Cause Starvation Stress

Many wellness trends promote extreme diets, juice cleanses, or detox programs as a way to “reset” the body. While they may seem like a quick fix for health and weight loss, severely restricting calories or eliminating entire food groups can actually put the body into survival mode. When the body senses a lack of essential nutrients, it perceives it as a threat, triggering a stress response.

Additionally, strict dieting often leads to binge-eating cycles. After prolonged restriction, the body craves high-calorie foods for energy, which can result in feelings of guilt and loss of control. This cycle of deprivation and overindulgence can create an unhealthy relationship with food, making wellness feel more like punishment than nourishment.

Research published in The International Journal on the Biology of Stress found that extreme caloric restriction, particularly fasting, leads to an initial cortisol spike, which signals stress in the body. While this response may lessen over time, it could contribute to brain fog, mood swings, and metabolic changes, potentially making it harder to sustain long-term weight loss and increasing the risk of stress-related eating behaviors.

Wellness Wearables Cause Data-Induced Anxiety

Tracking health metrics like sleep, heart rate, and daily steps can provide useful insights, but when the data becomes an obsession, it can do more harm than good. The pressure to constantly “hit the right numbers” can create stress rather than ease, turning wellness into another performance-driven task.

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that some people become so focused on their sleep data that they develop anxiety, trying to achieve “perfect” sleep. This can lead to “orthosomnia”—sleep problems caused by worrying about sleep.

Sleep trackers use movement to estimate sleep, not actual brain activity. So, they can misinterpret things like reading in bed as “light sleep,” leading to false concerns. Some people trust their tracker’s data more than medical tests, making it hard to change their beliefs.

Constant Biohacking Causes Fear-Driven Health Anxiety

The obsession with optimizing health through supplements and biohacking can create hyper-awareness of bodily sensations, increasing health anxiety. People may constantly analyze how every supplement, diet tweak, or biohack affects their body, leading to stress rather than well-being.

This hyper-vigilance can trigger the “nocebo effect,” where simply expecting negative side effects makes people experience them. For example, if someone believes skipping a supplement will harm their energy levels, they may actually feel fatigued, even if the supplement had no real impact.

Research published in Obesity Reviews suggests that placebo treatments can sometimes help with weight loss by boosting the effects of real interventions. However, when a placebo is given in a medical form, like a pill, it can trigger the nocebo effect, where people experience negative effects simply because they expect them. This can make them rely too much on the “supplement” and ignore important lifestyle changes.

Solo Travel Causes Stress Of Hypervigilance

Travel is often seen as a way to relax and recharge, but solo travel is not the only way to do it. While it is often marketed as a path to self-discovery, solo travel can also trigger chronic hypervigilance, especially in unfamiliar or unsafe environments. ​​The stress of constantly being on guard—watching your belongings, navigating unknown streets, and ensuring personal safety—can make the trip more exhausting than rejuvenating.

On top of that, the pressure to make solo travel “transformative” can create unrealistic expectations, turning what should be a break into another source of stress. If things go wrong—like getting scammed, losing your passport, or falling sick—having no immediate support can make an already stressful situation worse. That said, travel does not have to be a solo journey to be meaningful. Taking a trip with a close friend or loved one can be just as fulfilling, providing both companionship and shared experiences while reducing the mental load of hypervigilance.

Toxic Positivity Causes Emotional Suppression

The pressure to “stay positive” at all times, especially in the self-help space, can lead to emotional suppression rather than true emotional well-being. When people believe they must always maintain a “high vibe” state to attract their desires, they may push away difficult emotions instead of processing them. This can ironically push them further away from achieving their desires, as unresolved emotional blocks may hinder their success.

Research published in the International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research highlights that bottling up emotions can lead to stress and other health issues, whereas acknowledging and processing emotions promotes mental clarity and well-being. Researchers suggest that healthily expressing emotions—whether through conversation, therapy, or self-reflection—is necessary for long-term mental and physical well-being.

A truly balanced approach to wellness involves embracing the full spectrum of emotions rather than forcing constant positivity. While optimism can be beneficial, suppressing negative emotions can create long-term stress and emotional roadblocks. True wellness comes from emotional authenticity and resilience, allowing for both growth and mental clarity.

Social media has become a powerful tool and a ubiquitous part of our lives. Millions of people from all over the world utilize platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook to connect, educate, and inspire others. These global networks offer a space for individuals to share their thoughts and lives, express themselves, collaborate on ideas, and stay informed. However, despite the many advantages and comforts of social media, there are some dangerous health effects associated with viral trends popularized by these apps.

While social media can easily and quickly disseminate accurate information to a large audience, it can just as easily and quickly spread misinformation. Some fads encourage extreme diets, exercise routines, and unrealistic body standards that can lead to destructive behaviors. These can result in malnutrition, physical injury, and mental health issues such as body dysmorphia, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and more.

Trends that pose serious health risks need to be closely examined, monitored, and moderated before they go viral. From the rapid circulation of misinformation to deadly pranks and increasing psychological stressors, social media has at times become a serious detriment to society’s health and well-being when used incorrectly and without medical guidance.