By most standards, I’m not very well. After my third bout of Covid, my memory fell apart like a piece of muslin in a dusty attic; these days, I sometimes forget day-old conversations and accidentally use the wrong words without noticing. Just one flight of subway stairs can wear me out, working my heart so hard that I can feel its drumbeat in my skull.
I have great doctors and systems to help manage this – it’s fine. But the list doesn’t stop there. I was born with hip dysplasia, which made me arthritic in my 30s – someone once said I walked like a stiff-legged Curious George. Don’t even get me started on my pelvic floor.
That’s why the concept of wellness rankles: it assumes a goal of perfection that’s impossible to achieve. I’m already behind! I’ll never catch up.
Let’s say I aimed for complete health – if I managed to eat perfectly nutritious meals, stretch every day, exercise five hours a week and rest like a saint, how long could I maintain it? Just until the next unexpected illness or I fell and broke my arm, perhaps; then I would fall short again. And would all the effort have been worthwhile if the journey had made me miserable?
It’s not that I don’t want to feel good. Most of us want to feel “better”: to sleep, eat or behave better. But what is in our hands and what lies beyond our control?
This tension is what the Guardian US wants to explore in our new lifestyle and wellness section, Well Actually.
The wellness industry is a behemoth, estimated to be a $1.5tn market. As our lives remain crammed with stress, responsibilities and needs, it comes to the rescue with promises, offering countless products and ideas to people in need of something – anything – that will improve their lives. Sometimes, it can be helpful. Often, it’s quackery.
We’ll interrogate and challenge those health and self-care trends and identify the findings that matter. We’ll cut through the noise with thoughtful, actionable journalism, thorough reporting and moving personal perspectives about how to lead meaningful lives.
And we will celebrate what works along the path, highlighting the ways we get to experience joy. We’re told to meditate and do yoga, but deciding that you’re going to make your friends go rollerblading, picking up groceries for a frazzled neighbor or taking a nap in the sun can enrich our lives too. Sometimes it’s the simplest of things: when my dog’s lip catches on the bottom of her snaggletooth, she looks so ridiculous it can fix a horrendous day.
We don’t believe that one product or idea will magically make you feel happy or healthy. We get that it’s not possible for anyone to address stress and burnout on their own. We know that being a parent for the first time or being chronically ill can be incomparably lonely.
Our new section will recognize the responsibility for change shouldn’t just be yours. Sure, what you eat is important for your health. So are the effects of social justice, environmental concerns and the currents of political power. When we talk about solutions, we’ll discuss how they might affect you, and also your family, community and planet. And throughout, you’ll see that you’re not alone.
We’d love to hear from you with your questions and suggestions about how we can cover living well and publish content you want to read. Email us at wellactually.us@theguardian.com.
