Therapy culture has replaced traditional religion for many young women. It mimics religious structures—affirmations as prayers, 'healing journeys' as salvation—providing a sense of order and consolation. However, it omits the demanding aspects of religion, like restrictions on freedom or being held to behavioral standards.
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When terms like "setting boundaries" escape the clinic and scale on social media, they lose their clinical meaning. This "therapy speak" becomes a cultural currency, used by those who suffer least to frame minor disagreements as trauma, weaponize emotional reactions, and promote a culture of fragility rather than genuine healing.
People may use therapeutic labels like 'anxious attachment' not to heal, but to gain a sense of control over a painful situation. It's easier to diagnose a partner as 'avoidant' or oneself with a 'disorder' than to confront the simpler, more painful reality: the relationship is terrible and years have been wasted.
You cannot think your way out of perfectionism with worksheets or intellectual exercises. Recovery is like learning to ride a bike: it requires a safe, experiential process. The therapeutic relationship provides a space to practice vulnerability and build a new, healthier way of relating to oneself, which information alone cannot achieve.
The wellness industry markets well-being as a product or lifestyle to be purchased. Author Christine Platt argues true wellness is relational—defined by how your life feels and how you connect with yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually, rather than by external appearances or purchases.
Humans have a "God-shaped hole"—a fundamental need for shared values and community, historically filled by religion. As formal religion wanes, the internet facilitates the creation of new tribes. These online groups provide belonging but are often pathological and based on grievance.
A psychologist agrees with Scott Galloway's critique of the therapy industry, highlighting that structural issues like poverty are key drivers of mental distress, and that not all therapy is accessible or ethical. This counters the simplistic social media backlash against his views.
For individuals, particularly high-achieving women, who are the 'glue' in their communities, the most powerful step toward healing is admitting they are not okay. This act dismantles performative pressure and creates space for authentic recovery, often revealing a shared struggle among peers.
The modern online discourse around therapy has devolved from a tool for healing into a competitive sport of self-optimization. It uses buzzwords to reframe bad days as generational trauma and sells subscription-based "cures," ultimately making people weaker and more divided.
The cultural fixation on therapy as a panacea turns a useful tool into a 'comfort industry' that obscures the root cause of much modern anxiety: economic instability. The most effective mental health intervention for many would not be individual counseling, but rather massive structural changes that provide affordable housing and stable jobs.
The speaker's mother began therapy at age 66 for caregiver burnout, not a major crisis. She'd previously avoided it, thinking her problems weren't "that bad," revealing a common misconception that therapy is only for catastrophes rather than for ongoing personal development at any age.
