This article explores the societal obsession with self-improvement and its impact on mental well-being. The author, inspired by a TikTok therapist, questions the efficacy of traditional self-care practices in a culture that constantly demands more. Drawing a parallel to the lives of captive chimpanzees, the author reflects on the feeling of being trapped in a system designed for endless productivity and consumption.
I recently came across a TikTok therapist talking about the pointlessness of self-care. In a culture that worships hyper-productivity and infinite growth, they said, sheet masks and journaling can only ever be a Band-Aid over a festering, necrotic bullet wound. The hustle, the grind, the tireless chase of more and new and better: we aren’t designed for it, and attempts to assimilate will only treat the symptoms, never the cause. But we can’t just opt out.
There’s always more money to make, a better job to strive for, appliances to be replaced and new toys to feed our collective dopamine addiction. There is always news to analyse and discuss, bills to dispute, attractive vigilantes to gawk at, micro-trends to latch onto, gossip to consume, viral recipes to attempt, a muscle group we’re neglecting, shows to catch up on, calls to return, imperfections to vanquish, relationships to nurture, plants to water, another terrible habit to kick. But that’s just life, right? People aren’t some static thing; we’re never “done”. There is no “enough”. It’s always been this way. Why should it ever change?Maybe it’s because I just watched an insane documentary series about people who keep chimpanzees as pets and treat them like babies, but lately, when I look in the mirror or consult an ever-growing to-do list, I feel a little like an over-medicated, under-caffeinated chimp in lipstick, captive to an environment that I wasn’t made for. My enclosure is getting crowded. This primate is getting agitated. What if the TikTok therapist is onto something?So that’s it. I’m not striving for better in 2025. I’m hitting “unsubscribe” on the whole thing. First things first: I’m quitting the gym. I hardly go as it is, and when I do, it’s as an act of war against my nominally flawed body. Every time I leave my apartment in leggings and sneakers, a heartbroken howl from my dog puts more strain on my heart than any group fitness class ever did, anywa
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