"Wellnessmaxxing": When Self-Care Leads to Burnout

"Whether it's answering work emails while doing a facial peel or attempting to meditate while running on a treadmill, the idea is that we can maximize our well-being and personal productivity by performing as many self-care tasks as possible at the same time. But this is inherently contradictory to the very idea of self-care, which has its roots in concepts like mindfulness and meditation, practices that extoll the virtues of slowing down and doing less rather than taking on more."

"The current dialogue around self-care is often driven by social media, influencers, quick-hit TikTok reels, and other less-than-scientific platforms. Trends have supplanted real, data-driven or evidence-based methods for coping with stress, fatigue, and burnout. So, all it takes is for one catchy-sounding idea to take off and the multiverse runs with it, disregarding its true merit or the possible drawbacks."

"If you are burned out, exhausted, or stressed, doing more is almost never the answer. Decades of psychological and scientific research support the conclusion that rest, restoration, and recovery-not adding more to our plates-are the antidotes to stress."

Wellnessmaxxing, a TikTok trend involving simultaneous self-care tasks like meditating while running or doing facials during work, fundamentally contradicts the core principles of self-care rooted in mindfulness and meditation. These ancient practices emphasize slowing down and doing less, not accumulating more activities. Social media and influencers drive unrealistic wellness narratives that replace evidence-based stress management with trendy but unscientific approaches. Decades of psychological research demonstrate that rest, restoration, and recovery effectively combat stress and burnout, not adding more tasks. The underlying message of wellnessmaxxing—that doing more improves well-being—contradicts scientific consensus and promotes harmful misconceptions about self-care.

Read at Psychology Today