Dollars From Disconnection

(Part 1 in the 5 part series “Things We’ve Been Sold That Weren’t Self-Care.”)

The farther you get from yourself, the more they profit.

The marketing geniuses of the world need you to be disconnected from yourself so they can prey on your insecurities to sell you the next quick fix. In 2023, the global wellness and self-care market was a $6.3 Trillion dollar industry. (Yes, that’s TRILLION - with a T.)

I was on a Disney cruise when it hit me how clearly this system works. In close proximity, it was easy to see how the same forces are selling you the problem AND the solution, creating an endless cycle of profits for their bottom line.

On the one hand, “It’s vacation! Treat yourself!” Everywhere you look offers another avenue for indulgence. All-you-can-eat buffets. Candy shops. Self-serve ice cream.

But at the same time, there were constant advertisements for wellness seminars to teach you how to lose weight, age in reverse, fix your double chin. I went to an exercise class at the gym and a body fat analysis was pushed on me aggressively even after I said that I wasn’t interested.

It was all one machine.
Create the problem.
Feed the insecurity and shame.
Sell the solution.

And it’s not just Disney. It’s everywhere.

We’re taught to believe this is self-care.
That buying something sweet or soothing or shiny will fix the ache inside.
But here’s the truth:

The system isn’t built to support your well-being.
It’s built to profit off your disconnection from it.

When you're disconnected from your body, your hunger, your emotional cues…
you become the perfect customer.
Easier to sell to. Easier to shame. Easier to convince that you are the problem.

This isn’t about sugar or shopping or face creams.
It’s about what happens when we’re conditioned to stop listening to ourselves.
When the voice of the system gets louder than the wisdom of the self.

This is the trauma of capitalism—it doesn’t just exhaust us.
It confuses us.
Numbs us.
Disconnects us from our own inner knowing.

Here’s what I want you to know:
You’re not broken.
Your body isn’t the problem.
Your needs are not too much.

The ache you feel might not be about what you’ve been taught to fix.
It might be the part of you that’s still trying to come home to yourself.

Try This Check-In:

When you notice a pull to indulge, fix, or purchase something to feel better...

Pause and ask:

• What am I actually needing right now?

• Is this hunger, or is it a need for comfort, rest, or care?

• Is this decision coming from self-trust—or self-abandonment?

Come back to you.
That’s where the real nourishment begins.

You don’t have to buy your way back to yourself.
You can listen.
You can reconnect.
You can choose something different.

And that is the kind of self-care that can’t be sold.