This is so right on, Christina. Fellow yoga teacher here, and not a coach, although I've been tempted by the promises. Many want to have meaningful lives, but in a capitalistic society, what does that even look like? Appreciate you bringing this to light.
Thank you Ilona! I am a registered yoga teacher as well (although I do question the industry every day). I have also looked into coaching myself -- so I am definitely not trying to blame people here for wanting to do meaningful work. What I am trying to point to the fact that the rise of alternative health is pointing to larger breakdowns in the US, and it's more of a band-aid then a solution.
I agree with so much here, even though I'm getting certified as an Enneagram coach because I do believe people need help because of all the problems you outline, and perhaps the biggest one is that people have accepted all of this as normal and think they are the problem. If any client says something that suggests they have trauma, I make sure they are working with a therapist. I'll also say that I think the difference between a coach and a therapist is that therapists try to lead you to the solution whereas a coach can be more direct. Many of the people I work with are like me --- they did tons of therapy and that got them to where they are but now they need more practical help figuring out what kind of life they want and how to navigate their current job or find another job or whatever it is they want to change. I agree there are a TON of grifters but also I've been enormously helped by coaching and I know others who have too. I think it's just important to find someone who has not just a coaching certification but also a lot of life experience and wisdom. Just my two cents!
Hi Kristen! Thanks for reading and sharing your perspective with coaching. I am sure there are wise and skilled people in every industry, coaching not excluded, and that coaching can offer a useful service when done within its scope of practice. I am really happy to hear you found aspects of it to be helpful for you! My essay was meant to poke fun at the predatory nature of certain patterns going on in the wellness industry as a whole, the major one being the marketing of the idea that stress is something just in our heads, and that the solution is to just change our mindset, instead of considering how our environment might be ill suited for us and negatively impacting our health. From what I understand about the enneagram, is that it is a tool to better help people understand their strengths and weaknesses, and I think something like that could be very helpful in helping people let go of shame for not thriving in every working environment, especially ones that are unhealthy for *most* people. Like you wrote, Americans are almost brainwashed into thinking unhealthy working conditions are normal, and tend to blame themselves for the stress and burn-out they are experiencing as a result.
Honestly, I think people could benefit from more writing around how to discern between people who are skilled and worth the money in the coaching industry, versus those who are grifting. Sometimes it's obvious but not always. I was thinking of writing a similar piece regarding acupuncturists and practitioners of eastern medicine -- what qualities to look for and when to talk to a regular doctor before going to an acupuncturist or herbalist.
yes i agree people need guidance. I think that there are so many vulnerable people who are desperate for help and it doesn't occur to them that there are people who exaggerate and even lie about their skills and abilities and what they can deliver. I was watching the Netflix documentary Escaping Twin Flames and was heartbroken watching how people bought into these obvious grifters. There is a reason these kinds of cults catch on so often in the US! I'd love to see you write about acupuncturists and practitioners of eastern medicine.
So right. As an actual counsellor I stopped practicing publicly here in the USA - due to the over saturated market of grifters and snake oil salesmen...I mean life coaches.
I became a hippie permaculture food guy instead.
I moved to the USA from NZ and had to do a full year - unable to work - totally reliant on my new spouse. It was a culture shock for me in the USA... but likely a reverse one to Norway!
Just a clarification on terminology: when I say "traditional medicine" I mean eastern medicine, as well as indigenous medicine. I usually refer to mainstream medicine as western medicine or biomedicine. I agree that people have bad experiences with both kinds of medicine, and this newsletter explores the incompleteness and pitfalls of each system, while also sharing areas where these two lenses of looking at health overlap to offer some hope of a synthesis. I am exploring both positives and negatives here. My own journey to study eastern traditional medicines was motivated by the fact that I had a lot of trouble getting diagnosed and treated by western doctors for my own health issues.
A really important point you make that I want to acknowledge is that sometimes spiritual cults and other dubious wellness influencers do teach people healing or spiritual techniques that actually work. That is why some of them become popular and are able to attract so many adherents. It's a really complicated issue because we want to believe that things are black and white (that there are fakes and then there are real healers/spiritual leaders), but there do exist people who are genuinely gifted in healing and spirituality but who are also abusive, narcissistic, and take advantage of their clients/patients. I also know many people who have experienced both physical and spiritual healing from people who turned out to be abusive.
Health is complicated and I am glad you have found some things that have worked for you!
This is so right on, Christina. Fellow yoga teacher here, and not a coach, although I've been tempted by the promises. Many want to have meaningful lives, but in a capitalistic society, what does that even look like? Appreciate you bringing this to light.
Thank you Ilona! I am a registered yoga teacher as well (although I do question the industry every day). I have also looked into coaching myself -- so I am definitely not trying to blame people here for wanting to do meaningful work. What I am trying to point to the fact that the rise of alternative health is pointing to larger breakdowns in the US, and it's more of a band-aid then a solution.
I agree with so much here, even though I'm getting certified as an Enneagram coach because I do believe people need help because of all the problems you outline, and perhaps the biggest one is that people have accepted all of this as normal and think they are the problem. If any client says something that suggests they have trauma, I make sure they are working with a therapist. I'll also say that I think the difference between a coach and a therapist is that therapists try to lead you to the solution whereas a coach can be more direct. Many of the people I work with are like me --- they did tons of therapy and that got them to where they are but now they need more practical help figuring out what kind of life they want and how to navigate their current job or find another job or whatever it is they want to change. I agree there are a TON of grifters but also I've been enormously helped by coaching and I know others who have too. I think it's just important to find someone who has not just a coaching certification but also a lot of life experience and wisdom. Just my two cents!
Hi Kristen! Thanks for reading and sharing your perspective with coaching. I am sure there are wise and skilled people in every industry, coaching not excluded, and that coaching can offer a useful service when done within its scope of practice. I am really happy to hear you found aspects of it to be helpful for you! My essay was meant to poke fun at the predatory nature of certain patterns going on in the wellness industry as a whole, the major one being the marketing of the idea that stress is something just in our heads, and that the solution is to just change our mindset, instead of considering how our environment might be ill suited for us and negatively impacting our health. From what I understand about the enneagram, is that it is a tool to better help people understand their strengths and weaknesses, and I think something like that could be very helpful in helping people let go of shame for not thriving in every working environment, especially ones that are unhealthy for *most* people. Like you wrote, Americans are almost brainwashed into thinking unhealthy working conditions are normal, and tend to blame themselves for the stress and burn-out they are experiencing as a result.
Honestly, I think people could benefit from more writing around how to discern between people who are skilled and worth the money in the coaching industry, versus those who are grifting. Sometimes it's obvious but not always. I was thinking of writing a similar piece regarding acupuncturists and practitioners of eastern medicine -- what qualities to look for and when to talk to a regular doctor before going to an acupuncturist or herbalist.
yes i agree people need guidance. I think that there are so many vulnerable people who are desperate for help and it doesn't occur to them that there are people who exaggerate and even lie about their skills and abilities and what they can deliver. I was watching the Netflix documentary Escaping Twin Flames and was heartbroken watching how people bought into these obvious grifters. There is a reason these kinds of cults catch on so often in the US! I'd love to see you write about acupuncturists and practitioners of eastern medicine.
So right. As an actual counsellor I stopped practicing publicly here in the USA - due to the over saturated market of grifters and snake oil salesmen...I mean life coaches.
I became a hippie permaculture food guy instead.
I moved to the USA from NZ and had to do a full year - unable to work - totally reliant on my new spouse. It was a culture shock for me in the USA... but likely a reverse one to Norway!
Hi, thanks for sharing your experience.
Just a clarification on terminology: when I say "traditional medicine" I mean eastern medicine, as well as indigenous medicine. I usually refer to mainstream medicine as western medicine or biomedicine. I agree that people have bad experiences with both kinds of medicine, and this newsletter explores the incompleteness and pitfalls of each system, while also sharing areas where these two lenses of looking at health overlap to offer some hope of a synthesis. I am exploring both positives and negatives here. My own journey to study eastern traditional medicines was motivated by the fact that I had a lot of trouble getting diagnosed and treated by western doctors for my own health issues.
A really important point you make that I want to acknowledge is that sometimes spiritual cults and other dubious wellness influencers do teach people healing or spiritual techniques that actually work. That is why some of them become popular and are able to attract so many adherents. It's a really complicated issue because we want to believe that things are black and white (that there are fakes and then there are real healers/spiritual leaders), but there do exist people who are genuinely gifted in healing and spirituality but who are also abusive, narcissistic, and take advantage of their clients/patients. I also know many people who have experienced both physical and spiritual healing from people who turned out to be abusive.
Health is complicated and I am glad you have found some things that have worked for you!