A recent report commissioned by Lululemon – an activewear brand known for its now-exiled founder’s hatred of fat people – suggests “the constant pressure to improve our wellbeing is actually making us less well”. Its 2024 Global Wellbeing Report finds that nearly two-thirds of Australians are struggling with societal demands to maintain wellbeing “in specific ways”. Almost half of us, it says, feel pressure to pretend to be happy when we’re not.
It does feel as though we have approximately a zillion reasons to feel like garbage, and some have suggested social media is responsible. Physical wellbeing is represented online by staged, well-lit selfies, endless Strava updates and choreographed videos of perfect squats. But for me, in a world where pretty much everything has gone to hell, there’s joy to be found in those posts.
