Stop Trying to Fix Yourself

You are not toxic. You do not need a cleanse, or a detox. There is nothing wrong with you.

You are being sold a false premise. The “wellness” industry wants you to believe that you and your body are inherently dirty, filthy, unclean and definitely in need of some sort of process of eliminating all kinds of toxins. As a “wellness” professional and as someone who struggled over the years with orthorexia (the fear of eating anything that wasn’t deemed “clean” or “healthy”), these concepts can be incredibly unhealthy and even harmful. There are companies making billions of dollars off the premise of your perceived inability to detoxify. But really, what does that mean?

Your body does the incredible job of moving waste without you even knowing. Are you pooping regularly? Do you pee at least 3-4 times a day? Then you are detoxified. I know that what I am saying is VERY unpopular in the world that I work in, but I feel that the whole conversation is another way to make us feel badly about ourselves. It doesn’t seem that dissimilar to saying that you need to be “better”. Better than what? What’s wrong with you right now? And once you are “clean”, then what? Is it a lifetime of making sure that every item of food that you eat is unsullied in some way? What happens on the day you want a potato chip? If you eat it, do you then have to engage in a detox because certainly now your body has been polluted? Are you “good” when you eat “clean” and “bad” when you don’t?

Listen, everybody has something they are dealing with. Maybe you suffer from anxiety or depression, maybe you have some social anxiety or a sense of doom every time you fly, or drive, or step into an elevator. There are as many maladies and ailments as there are human beings. But here’s the good news; if you believe that you are inherently whole, complete, and just right, just as you are, then you are going to start ahead of the game. Sure, there are all kinds of things to work on in our lives. But we are not “things” that need to be fixed, cleansed, or repurposed. My wish is that people would spend more time “detoxing” their minds than their perceived toxic bodies. The world would benefit far more from people cleaning their minds of negative thoughts, beliefs, and emotions than from removing potato chips from their diets.

I’m not trying to say that it isn’t worth making the effort to remove unnecessary chemicals in your life. By all means, pay attention to what you are putting in and on your body. But do you have to live your life in fear of the world around you in order to stay detoxified? At what point is it enough?

What I mean to say is that you are incredible as you are, right this minute. Get outside into the fresh air and take a deep breath, your lungs are “detoxifying” the air that you breathe naturally. Move your body in a way that brings you joy and makes you feel alive; this is your natural way of moving waste through your sweat. Eat foods that make you feel vibrant and connected to the pure pleasure of delicious taste, smell and nourishment that our food provides. And then pay attention to your poop! That is your body’s way of “detoxing” every single day. Drink water when you are thirsty and more when it’s hot or you are exercising. Try not to stress out about it. Make decisions that support your best health, knowing that every day may be a bit different. Tune into the practices that bring you closer to your intuition so that you can listen to what your body is telling you.

You are not toxic. You do not need a cleanse, or a detox. There is nothing wrong with you. You are whole and complete as you are, right now.

In your best health and with love,

Betsy