Overcoming The Mental Health Industrial Complex
The mental health industrial complex is keeping us sick.
It's not just the archaic health system that is failing us.
It's not just the pharmaceutical industry profiting off of our illness.
Our entire culture is mainstreaming disease at an alarming rate.
We perpetuate a cycle where mental health issues (and health in general) are politicized, individualized, commercialized and over-medicalized.
We have regulatory systems that are fundamentally falling behind by the minute.
We have startups spinning up claiming to have all of the answers with fancy branding and exaggerated claims.
And every day there is more and more misinformation being spread throughout social media on what it takes to overcome our mental health challenges.
Being sick is SO profitable.
Chronic diseases and mental health conditions, which are often preventable through regular preventative care, account for 90% of the annual healthcare costs in the US alone. [1]
That's over $3.5 trillion dollars. (Yes, TRILLION)
Most of which goes towards treatment that manages symptoms, not root causes, keeping many people in a cycle of dependency rather than recovery.
Want to know what else is crazy?
1 in 5 adults live with a mental illness, but only 47% of people receive any form of treatment. [2]
That's not the crazy part. This is:
The average delay between the onset of mental illness symptoms and receiving treatment is 11 years! [2]
We are spending more than we ever have, on a system that doesn’t seem to really be helping, or isn't even there for us at all.
So… How do we fix this?
We stop relying so heavily on the system and we start to change ourselves.
Use the system for what it’s good for: band-aids.
Use your resources to empower yourself to create change.
We have more access to information than we have ever had in history, but our reliance on a system that is fundamentally designed to keep us sick strips away our natural desire to explore and investigate for the benefit of our own well being.
This is where the turning point is:
I believe that the only way to create and maintain a healthy, balanced and well-rounded lifestyle is to become as sovereign as possible and develop personal protocols and frameworks that create wellbeing in your life.
This takes time, and a willingness to explore.
It takes effort to find what really works for you.
It’s a skill you need to craft and hone for your entire life.
It’s the most important investment you can make.
You need to become a detective and investigate yourself.
You need to go into to the wild and take notice of the things that trigger you and make changes in real-time.
This is easier said than done for some of us, I understand, but what is the alternative?
You can see your therapist once a week and talk and talk and talk.
You can take a medication that dulls the symptoms and in turn dulls the potential for you to find an answer to what troubles you.
You can meditate for an hour each morning and still get rattled by an email as soon as you get to your desk.
You can go do psychedelics and bliss out for a couple weeks and hope everything is healed.
You can sit on the couch all day and self reflect.
Or
You can go out into the world and see what pisses you off and use that as a mirror to create change.
Use the system for what its good for: band-aids.
Use your resources to develop the skill of self exploration to build a personalized wellbeing framework that supports you at your core. Then adapt it and adjust to the flow of life.
Self exploration and wellbeing is a life-long journey, so strap in and try to have some fun with it.
The best way to do that is to shift your mindset from dependent to independent.
This is where the universal philosophy of wellbeing transforms and we break free from the mental health industrial complex.
When individuals are informed and equipped to take charge of their own wellbeing, we create a ripple effect of health, resilience and sustainable change across our communities.
5 Uncomfortable Truths
The best way to create change is to be honest with yourself. Here are 5 uncomfortable truths to empower you on your journey.
1. Your wellbeing is your responsibility, not your therapists.
While healthcare professionals can provide guidance, the ultimate responsibility for your health lies with you. Self-education, proactive lifestyle changes, and a commitment to self-exploration are essential for true sovereignty over your wellbeing.
2. Convenience is the enemy of empowered wellbeing.
Quick fixes and convenient solutions are often the most profitable for the system, but they rarely lead to lasting change. Sustainable well-being requires effort, discipline, and a willingness to be uncomfortable.
3. Most “wellness” trends are marketing, not medicine.
The wellness industry is filled with trends that promise quick results but are often more about profit than proven effectiveness. Critical thinking and skepticism are essential when navigating wellness advice.
4. You can’t heal in the same environment that made you sick.
If your current lifestyle, relationships, or habits are contributing to your mental or physical struggles, no amount of therapy or medication will help unless you address and change those root causes.
5. Resistance becomes resilience if you embrace it.
The discomfort you feel when facing challenges isn’t a signal to stop; it’s an invitation to grow. By leaning into resistance rather than avoiding it, you build the mental and emotional resilience needed to navigate life's toughest obstacles with strength and grace.
Start Today
The majority of people would rather be uncomfortably unhappy than uncomfortably uncertain.
Familiar discomfort often feels safer than the unknown. Many choose to stay unhappy rather than face the uncertainty of change.
Don’t be that person. The unknown is where the magic is.
The bulk of transformation lies within the ability to embrace the uncertain.
It's about empowerment, discernment, awareness and trust in our own abilities to transform.
In my experience, that isn't found on TikTok, in the therapists office or with emotionally-suppressive medication.
It's found
in a really deep conversation with a friend
in a long teary-eyed journalling session
on the floor of a sweaty yoga studio
on a long walk in the woods
While the pendulum swings on the mental health industrial complex from out-dated support to overwhelming information, we must find our own ways back to balance and seek support from those we trust to empower us with skills, knowledge and insight, rather than quick fixes and fleeting moments of subpar relief.
This gets worse before it gets better, because it takes a lot of personal accountability and ownership to acquire this type of self knowledge.
But I believe in better.