My Mental Health is Not Your Marketing Strategy

“Self-care.”

“Treat yourself.” 

“You deserve it.”

How many times have you seen an advertisement including a phrase like one of these? From face masks to iced coffee, every brand wants you to think that their product is going to make your life better. An aesthetically pleasing Instagram photo of expensive skincare with “self-care” and some sparkle emojis in the caption promises to be the relief I need. A mindfulness app claims that it will help me become more “present” in my life. An overpriced juice swears that it will clear my body and mind of toxins. But despite engaging in all this self-care, I still end up where I started: overworked, stressed, and just plain exhausted by the downward spiral of our planet.

As of 2018, the self-care industry was estimated to be worth about $11 billion. The landscape is perfect for the explosive growth of self-care marketing tactics: young people are stressed now more than ever, and our insecurities about ourselves and the future of our world make us good targets to be preyed upon. Especially when professional mental health care is inaccessible for many people in the United States, self-care wants to fill that void as the quick and profitable solution. While some “self-care” products cost a pretty penny, the price is usually more reasonable than seeking professional treatment. Even for those who don’t face financial obstacles in healthcare, the system can be difficult to navigate. It’s much easier to grab that face mask from CVS than to try to find a nearby therapist.

Another piece of the self-care hype stems from the fact that young people in particular have trouble doing nothing. Although self-care is meant to be a relief from our overwhelming responsibilities, we often feel like we must be doing something in order for our lives to feel worthwhile. In a capitalist society that emphasizes productivity, we’ve been ingrained with the belief that idleness is not an option. As psychotherapist Whitney Goodman says, “Self-care has become another item on our to-do list, something we have to do in order to feel loved, worthy, healthy, or respected.” When we don’t accomplish the tasks we think will make us feel better, we ironically end up feeling more stressed than when we started.

This is not to say that you can’t find comfort in these tangible items. I do face masks, drink fancy teas, wear comfy clothes, and partake in so many other stereotypical acts of “self-care.” The question is, do you feel like you’re actually benefiting from doing these things? Or are you doing them because you’ve been told they’re supposed to make you feel better? Mary Sue writer Kate Gardner says, “There is always time for that Instagram post of your bubble bath and glass of wine, but there’s also time to make sure that your life isn’t falling apart as you apply mask after mask trying to pretend it’s all okay.”

Whatever your preferred methods of self-care are, make sure you’re actually, you know, taking care of yourself. Just because a brand claims that their product will improve your well-being doesn’t mean it actually will. We have to embrace the fact that, as Gardner says, taking care of ourselves isn’t always taking pretty pictures and using the latest hyped products. Sometimes it’s hard and ugly, like coming to terms with the fact that we need more help than that meditation app. Sometimes there aren’t clear answers. And even though true “self-care” might be a difficult journey, we owe it to ourselves to try.

• economy
• mental health
• self-care