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By Caroline Bergin
Every time I open my phone, I feel like the concept of “self-care” is being thrown at me. It pops up in ads, newspaper articles, and it is a constant topic of conversation on social media. Influencers are constantly sharing the newest wellness fad, claiming it will be the most essential tool in your self-care arsenal. You just have to buy it, and it will work its magic. With the constant chatter surrounding self-care and wellness, it would be hard not to fall for it, and believe me, I have. I’ve been prone to the occasional sheet face mask, and I even sleep with mouth tape in the pursuit of ever better sleep (I sleep really badly y’all).
When I think of self-care, I think of luxurious spas, long baths, saunas, extensive skincare, green juice, and red light therapy. However, that isn’t what self-care is truly meant to be. Rather, the concept of self-care was created as a radical resistance against systemic oppression. In the 1970s, the Black Panther Party popularized the concept of “self-care” by providing essential resources to communities, including nutritious food and health clinics that addressed health issues, such as sickle cell anemia, that disproportionately affected African Americans. It was also championed as a revolutionary tactic when facing oppression and systemic racism, as the act of caring for oneself was essential to sustaining the capacity to continue the fight for liberation. Over time, as one can see, self-care has devolved into the hyper-consumerist industry that we see today.
Currently, the self-care industry is estimated to be worth almost 450 billion dollars, and it will continue to grow, with the global wellness industry, the umbrella self-care falls under, currently being worth an estimated 4.5 trillion dollars. This growth in “non-essential industry” is highly connected to the trend I see of hyper-consumption and “treat yourself” culture. Among younger generations, there exists the idea of always needing to be ahead of the curve and constantly in on every trend, which changes as fast as week to week. We can see this with the boom of industries such as self-care and fast fashion.
This issue is especially relevant to younger generations due to the prevalence of social media use, but no one is immune to this issue. American culture has completely bought into the idea of excess and the constant search for more, because it acts as a sign of success. Having the newest trend means you are perceived as having “made it”, and that's what we all want, right? But maybe it’s time we consider what overconsumption truly means.
Overconsumption results in the overproduction of material, depletion of finite resources, enormous amounts of waste, and environmental destruction. Consumer-driven industries such as fast fashion are contributing to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions every year, and the wellness industry is no different, with excessive use of plastic and high amounts of waste. With this hyper-consumerist culture, the impact is bound to rise. The relentless manufacturing of goods, paired with their rapid disposal, generates significant pollution, from toxic emissions during production to the accumulation of waste in landfills and oceans. This cycle strains ecosystems, accelerates climate change, and leaves a lasting ecological footprint, highlighting the urgent need for more sustainable consumption practices.
Furthermore, overconsumption places excessive strain on the psyche. It has been linked with increased anxiety and dissatisfaction, as individuals are caught in the constant cycle of never feeling “enough”. This feeling of having a void that can only be filled by more goods reaffirms this dangerous cycle, and it has the potential to harm mental well-being and cause deep feelings of unfulfillment.
I am not attempting to say that you should never buy anything and that the occasional splurge on products or clothes is evil, but I do encourage you to think more deeply about the things you do buy. Ask yourself if it will truly improve your life in meaningful ways? Will you use it for the foreseeable future? How might the production of this be impacting the world around you? I also urge you to think about self-care in a more rounded way. Before turning to catch all products and supplements, consider what it would look like to implement self-care in your daily routine. Could you apply daily movement to your routine and focus on eating more nutritional foods? Could you find ways to make time for yourself that will be lasting?
The goal is not the total end of consumption, but rather more sustainable consumption. So, use a face mask every once in a while if it brings you joy, but don’t forget that there is more to life than the things that you buy. True fulfillment comes from inside yourself, and no trend or overflowing cabinet can get there for you.
Caroline Bergin is a McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville in the class of 2028. She is studying political science.