‘Wellness’ makes you feel bad. Our new section focuses on living a good life

By most standards, I’m not doing so well. After my third bout of Covid, my memory disintegrated like a piece of muslin in a dusty attic; Nowadays, I sometimes forget day-old conversations and accidentally use the wrong words without realizing it. Just one subway staircase can exhaust me and strain my heart so much that I can feel the drumbeat in my skull.

I have great doctors and systems to help manage this – it’s fine. But the list doesn’t stop there. I was born with hip dysplasia, which left me with arthritis when I was 30 – someone once said I walked like a stiff-legged Curious George. Don’t even get me started on my pelvic floor.

That is why the concept of well-being is so confused: it presupposes a goal of perfection that is impossible to achieve. I’m already behind! I’ll never catch up.

Let’s just say I was aiming for complete health. If I managed to eat perfectly nutritious meals, stretch every day, exercise five hours a week, and rest like a saint, how long could I keep that up? Maybe until the next unexpected illness, or until I fell and broke my arm; then I fall short again. And would all the effort have been worth it if the journey had made me miserable?

It’s not that I don’t want to feel good. Most of us want to feel ‘better’: sleep better, eat better or behave better. But what is in our hands and what is beyond our control?

This tension is what the Guardian US aims to explore in our new lifestyle and wellbeing section, Well Actually.

The wellness industry is a colossus, estimated at a $1.5 trillion market. As our lives remain full of stress, responsibilities and needs, it comes to our rescue with promises, offering countless products and ideas to people who need something – anything – that will improve their lives. Sometimes it can be useful. It is often quackery.

We will interrogate and challenge these health and self-care trends and identify the findings that matter. We cut through the noise with thoughtful, action-oriented journalism, in-depth reporting, and moving personal perspectives on how to live a meaningful life.

And we will celebrate what works on the path, highlighting the ways we can experience joy. We’re told to meditate and do yoga, but deciding that you’re going to take your friends roller skating, run errands for an exhausted neighbor, or take a nap in the sun can enrich our lives, too. Sometimes it’s very simple: if my dog’s lip gets caught on her snaggletooth, she looks so ridiculous that it can make for a terrible day.

We don’t believe that one product or idea will magically make you feel happy or healthy. We understand that it is not possible for everyone to tackle stress and burnout alone. We know that becoming a parent for the first time or being chronically ill can be incomparably lonely.

Our new section will recognize that the responsibility for change should not be yours alone. Of course what you eat is important for your health. This also applies to the effects of social justice, environmental concerns and the currents of political power. When we talk about solutions, we discuss how they could impact you, as well as your family, community and planet. And everywhere you will see that you are not alone.

We’d love to hear from you with your questions and suggestions about how we can discuss living well and publish content you want to read. Email us at wellactually.us@theguardian.com.