Rabbit Holes

I want to talk about Rabbit Holes. And Wellness Culture. And Diet Culture.

Before I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, and I was “just” working through my disordered eating habits, I listened to a podcast that talked about eating disorders called FoodPsych. It was really good and helpful for me when I first starting out in the realization of what eating disorders looked like (news flash: they don’t look like the stereotypical anorexic who is 90 pounds).

Something many guests spoke about was their descent into diet culture/wellness culture and eating disorder patterns were often prompted by a health issue. The host herself talked about her own issues with Hashimotos and a few other things, and how it became an obsession to “eat clean” to try and heal herself.

I didn’t really understand until I got my own diagnosis.

“Social media is rife with disinformation, harmful diet advice, supplement regimens, and ideas being pushed on people to optimize themselves and heal from their chronic health conditions that often don’t have great treatments or support in conventional medicine. This can really pull people away from conventional medicine and away from science—and there is good evidence [to show that] going down these rabbit holes is where some people can even get exposed to potentially life-threatening misinformation,” Harrison says.

The “Wellness Journey” starts out with good intentions (just like my weight loss journey did — it was a lifestyle change, it was a GOOD change, it was needed and I am happier and healthier for it) but then the Rabbit Hole opens up and it becomes an all-consuming, obsessive pursuit.

For me, it was super restrictive eating and rigid workout schedules. Never deviating from my workout plans, my calorie burn, never allowing myself to eat “extra” unless I “earned it.” That’s when it becomes less about health and more about obsession.

Bring to that equation a health problem. Like so many people, there is an allure of a “CURE.”

Social media is the worst at this. How many “influencers” sell their supplements and “cures” and “lifestyle plans” that are guaranteed to fix you?

“And when the true cause of inflammation is psychological distress, injustice, and yo-yo dieting, is eating more kale really going to help? We just don’t have enough good scientific evidence to be able to claim with certainty that a particular way of eating is the ticket to a disease-free life via lower levels of inflammation, because there are so many confounding variables. No food has definitively been shown to prevent disease by lowering inflammation in the human body over the long term, even if certain components in the food theoretically could.” ― Christy Harrison, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

When you have health problems–especially at the stage where they are undiagnosed–you just want answers. You go to the internet. You delve deeper and deeper into forums and subreddits and podcasts and WebMD and read about biohacking and cleanses and try to find answers.

Then you finally get a diagnosis? Time to research a “cure.” Are there “natural” ways I can treat this condition? Is Integrative Medicine/Naturopath the route I should try? What supplements can I buy? Is there a CLEANSE? A special DIET?

And there you are, at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole, overwhelmed by misinformation, false promises and you’ve spent a LOT of money on junk products.

When I started my weight loss journey my motto was “all about moderation.” And that is something that I got very far away from over the years. This applies to the wellness culture and the rabbit hole of health research. I take breaks from reading about my condition. I invest time in hobbies and friends that have nothing to do with it, especially when I feel overwhelmed and like I am focusing too much on it.

Something to remember is that there is no one-size fits all. What I’ve discovered in my Psoriatic Arthritis diagnosis is that every single person is different with this condition. There are SO many treatments and medications out there now to help but not everyone responds the same. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for YOU. This is something I try to remind myself when I *do* find myself going down medication website rabbit holes, reading about other people’s experiences on meds.

The urge to find a cure is STRONG.

Avoid the Rabbit Hole.