Rediscovering Self-Care: Beyond the $100 Billion Industry

By Caleb Green, LIMHP (Mental Health Reflections, October 2025)

The self-care industry in America easily clears one hundred billion dollars. It’s an enormous and ever-growing market—one that’s hard to even define. What exactly counts as self-care? Skincare? Daily coffee Concert tickets? Or a weekend away?

Yet, despite its size, when I ask American adults about self-care, the most common answer I hear is, “I don’t really do anything.”

This leads me to two possible conclusions: either the things people do for themselves have become so routine that they no longer bring joy, or self-care has been reframed as a necessity rather than a renewal. Both perspectives miss the essence of what self-care can be.

To me, self-care should be sustainable, repeatable, structured, and intentional—a ritual tattooed onto one’s own schedule, not a product to be purchased.

Self-Care in the Clinical Space

In the clinical setting, I explore self-care most often with clients processing trauma and grief. These individuals, perhaps more than anyone, tend to develop the most thoughtful and meaningful self-care routines.

They’ve lived for long stretches in emotional spaces they’d rather escape—and when they’re invited to design a “positive escape,” they often draw comfort from the past. I ask about their grandmother’s favorite recipes, and I think of my own—her fried chicken, a dish that always meant family, especially when my cousin came to visit.

In this way, self-care isn’t found in what the $100-billion industry sells us, but rather in the rituals and memories that already live within us.

The Balance Between Care and Indulgence

I often caution those looking to add self-care into their lives: be honest with yourself. Don’t let “self-care” become a rationalization for impulsivity or indulgence disguised as healing.

Instead, self-examine. Look backward. Revisit your history and reclaim the parts of it that once brought you peace. Learning a new skill, cooking an old family recipe, or picking up a forgotten hobby can all be acts of care.

And if you’re struggling to find time, start simple—check your phone’s screen time. With most Americans spending about seven hours a day on screens, the time is there. It’s just being spent elsewhere.

Small Shifts, Deep Meaning

So, I’ll leave you with a question:How do you define self-care?

Is it intentional time set aside to remind yourself who you are—and why you matter? Or has it become an indulgence that drifts you further away from that?

Even thirty minutes away from your screen—spent walking the dog, or reflecting on loved ones from the past—can change the shape of your day.

If not for you, then for the ones you remember fondly on that walk.