5 'Wellness Trends' That Could Be Impeding Your Well-Being

Does keeping up with 'wellness trends' feel more exhausting than it does helpful? Here's why they could be backfiring.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | March 14, 2025

In recent years, wellness culture has exploded, with more people embracing self-care and health optimization. From tracking sleep patterns to fine-tuning nutrition with supplements, the journey to well-being has become more personalized and data-driven more than ever. However, in the quest for better health, some trends may be doing more harm than good.

Ironically, certain wellness habits meant to relax and restore can actually spike your stress levels rather than lowering them.

Social media plays a huge role in this, flooding our feeds with the latest wellness hacks, routines and "must-try" products. The rise of the wellness industry—now a multi-billion-dollar market—encourages constant trend-hopping, making it easy to feel like you're never doing enough. The pressure to keep up can turn self-care into just another to-do list.

If the pursuit of health has turned into an obsession for you, it can be a warning sign. Instead of benefiting you, the constant need to optimize can lead to stress and anxiety, which will ultimately harm you. When stress levels stay high for too long, it can throw off sleep and your overall well-being, leaving you feeling drained instead of rejuvenated.

Here are five wellness trends that might be harming you.

1. Extreme Diets And Detoxes Cause Starvation Stress

Many wellness trends promote extreme diets, juice cleanses or detox programs as a way to "reset" the body. While they may seem like a quick fix for health and weight loss, severely restricting calories or eliminating entire food groups can actually put the body into survival mode. When the body senses a lack of essential nutrients, it perceives it as a threat, triggering a stress response.

Additionally, strict dieting often leads to binge-eating cycles. After prolonged restriction, the body craves high-calorie foods for energy, which can result in feelings of guilt and loss of control. This cycle of deprivation and overindulgence can create an unhealthy relationship with food, making wellness feel more like punishment than nourishment.

Research published in The International Journal on the Biology of Stress found that extreme caloric restriction, particularly fasting, leads to an initial cortisol spike, which signals stress in the body. While this response may lessen over time, it could contribute to brain fog, mood swings and metabolic changes, potentially making it harder to sustain long-term weight loss and increasing the risk of stress-related eating behaviors.

Rather than extreme dieting, try taking a balanced approach to nutrition—one that includes a variety of whole foods and allows for flexibility—which supports both physical and mental well-being without putting unnecessary stress on the body.

This way, you can make your health journey more sustainable and enjoyable rather than a cycle of deprivation and guilt.

2. Wellness Wearables Cause Data-Induced Anxiety

Tracking health metrics like sleep, heart rate and daily steps can provide useful insights, but when the data becomes an obsession, it can do more harm than good. The pressure to constantly "hit the right numbers" can create stress rather than ease, turning wellness into another performance-driven task.

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that some people become so focused on their sleep data that they develop anxiety, trying to achieve "perfect" sleep. This can lead to "orthosomnia"—sleep problems caused by worrying about sleep.

Sleep trackers use movement to estimate sleep, not actual brain activity. So, they can misinterpret things like reading in bed as "light sleep," leading to false concerns. Some people also trust their tracker's data more than medical tests, making it hard to change their beliefs.

People who rely too much on trackers may change their habits in unhelpful ways, like spending extra time in bed just to meet sleep goals. This can actually make insomnia worse.

Researchers found that sleep therapy (CBT-I) can be less effective for those obsessed with their sleep data. Some patients resist techniques like "sleep restriction," which means limiting time in bed to improve sleep quality, because they fear it will lower their tracker's sleep score.

While health trackers can offer valuable insights, excessive reliance on their data can lead to anxiety and counterproductive habits. The pressure to meet specific metrics can turn self-care into a stressful and performance-driven task. In some cases, this obsession can even undermine the very well-being these tools aim to enhance.

3. Constant Biohacking Causes Fear-Driven Health Anxiety

The obsession with optimizing health through supplements and biohacking can create hyper-awareness of bodily sensations, increasing health anxiety. People may constantly analyze how every supplement, diet tweak or biohack affects their body, leading to stress rather than well-being.

This hyper-vigilance can trigger the "nocebo effect"—where simply expecting negative side effects makes people experience them. For example, if someone believes skipping a supplement will harm their energy levels; they may actually feel fatigued, even if the supplement had no real impact.

Research published in Obesity Reviews suggests that placebo treatments can sometimes help with weight loss by boosting the effects of real interventions. However, when a placebo is given in a medical form, like a pill, it can trigger the nocebo effect—where people experience negative effects simply because they expect them. This can make them rely too much on the "supplement" and ignore important lifestyle changes.

If you are obsessed with biohacking, you might place excessive trust in certain supplements and health tracking. The nocebo effect might kick in, and you may feel worse if you miss a supplement or believe a minor bodily change signals harm.

You should instead prioritize foundational lifestyle factors like quality sleep, regular movement and stress management. Cultivating a more intuitive approach—where you're attuned to your body's overall well-being rather than obsessing over every small change—can reduce anxiety and improve long-term health.

4. Solo Travel Causes Stress Of Hypervigilance

Travel is often seen as a way to relax and recharge, but solo travel is not the only way to do it. While it's often marketed as a path to self-discovery, solo travel can also trigger chronic hypervigilance, especially in unfamiliar or unsafe environments.

The stress of constantly being on guard—watching your belongings, navigating unknown streets and ensuring personal safety—can make the trip more exhausting than rejuvenating.

On top of that, the pressure to make solo travel "transformative" can create unrealistic expectations, turning what should be a break into another source of stress. If things go wrong—like getting scammed, losing your passport or falling sick—having no immediate support can make an already stressful situation worse.

Additionally, travel does not have to be a solo journey to be meaningful. Taking a trip with a close friend or loved one can be just as fulfilling, providing both companionship and shared experiences while reducing the mental load of hypervigilance.

That said, if solo travel truly excites you, the key is to approach it with realistic expectations, proper preparation and a mindset that prioritizes well-being over the pressure to make every moment profound.

5. Toxic Positivity Causes Emotional Suppression

The pressure to "stay positive" at all times, especially in the self-help space, can lead to emotional suppression rather than true emotional well-being. When people believe they must always maintain a "high vibe" state to attract their desires, they may push away difficult emotions instead of processing them. This can ironically push them further away from achieving their desires, as unresolved emotional blocks may hinder their success.

Research published in the International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research highlights that bottling up emotions can lead to stress and other health issues, whereas acknowledging and processing emotions promotes mental clarity and well-being. Researchers suggest that expressing emotions in a healthy way—whether through conversation, therapy or self-reflection—is necessary for long-term mental and physical well-being.

A truly balanced approach to wellness involves embracing the full spectrum of emotions rather than forcing constant positivity. While optimism can be beneficial, suppressing negative emotions can create long-term stress and emotional roadblocks. True wellness comes from emotional authenticity and resilience, allowing for both growth and mental clarity.

Wellness Should Feel Like Freedom, Not Pressure

At its core, wellness should be about feeling good rather than meeting unrealistic expectations or following trends. If self-care starts to feel like another task to perfect, it's time to reassess. True well-being is not about rigid rules but about balance, self-awareness and flexibility.

Instead of getting caught up in the latest fads, focus on practices that genuinely support you. Listen to your body, honor your emotions and most importantly, allow yourself space to rest. The best wellness journey is one that feels natural and aligned with what truly makes you feel your best.

Has the endless pursuit of a "perfect diet" impacted your relationship with food? Take this science-backed test to learn more: Eating Attitudes Test

A similar version of this article can also be found on Forbes.com, here.