By Ashley Garcia Abarca

If the whole point is to feel better about myself, then why do I feel worse?

What was supposed to be a journey about improving my mental and physical health had turned into a never-ending spiral of feeling overwhelmed at the thought of not doing enough.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been consumed by these negative thoughts and emotions while embarking on a wellness journey.

It’s impossible not to, especially when social media is bombarding our feeds with videos of unrealistic diet and workout routines, warping our perception of a successful wellness journey. Yet these videos seemingly only appear while we’re doomscolling, almost as if the algorithm is trying to mock us during our laziest moments.

To put it bluntly, we were never meant to be exposed 24/7 to the curated bits and pieces of each other’s daily routines, especially influencers. It trains our mind into believing that we must be perfect, planting seeds of self-doubt before we even begin our wellness journey.

In my personal experience, I stressed about having the “right” product or routine down in an attempt to emulate the influencers on my feed. I blindly followed their lead while abandoning my own needs because to me, not following their advice to a T meant failure.

I, like many others, had become obsessed with the idea of wellness.

How is any of this healthy? When did a wellness journey stop becoming about our own betterment and instead turn into another means of seeking external validations?

Instead of focusing on what makes us feel good, we’re putting on this performance based on the internet’s expectation of what wellness should look like.

But we shouldn’t let social media dictate what marks a perfect wellness journey, because there isn’t one.

We only get one life, so why are we wasting it lying about the things that make us feel good based on what we see online.

Your wellness journey shouldn’t be dreadful but rather a journey of personal enrichment uniquely tailored to your needs and wants.

I’ve learned to accept the fact that my wellness journey will never be as glamorous compared to what I see online nor will it ever truly be fixed. And that’s perfectly okay with me, because why would I want it to be?

I always joke that I’m not the same person I was five minutes ago, so why would I want my wellness journey to be any different?

An ever changing wellness routine is a good thing, because it means we are growing and with that comes different needs and wants. And isn’t that exciting?

Next time you think about your wellness journey, remember that it’s your own special way of showing love and care to your body.

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