I Thought I Was Being Healthy, But These 5 ‘Wellness’ Habits Were Secretly Exhausting Me: Global Wellness Day Founder Reveals the Habits She Quit – and the 5 She Now Swears By

London, UK | February 2026 – Waking up earlier, strict diets, saying yes to everything and ignoring jet lag are often praised as signs of discipline, success and ‘doing wellness right’. But according to Global Wellness Day (GWD) founder Belgin Aksoy, these supposedly healthy habits were quietly damaging her wellbeing.

As GWD marks its 15th anniversary on 13 June 2026, Aksoy is speaking out about the five wellness habits she followed for years, believing they would make her healthier, stronger and more productive – until she realised, they were steadily draining her energy, disrupting her sleep and placing her nervous system under constant strain.

“For a long time, I believed that more effort meant more wellness,” says Aksoy. “Waking earlier, pushing harder, doing more. In reality, that mindset slowly exhausted me. Wellness isn’t another achievement; it’s a relationship with yourself.”

Her reflections land at a moment when many people are questioning rigid routines, relentless productivity and the pressure to optimise every aspect of daily life, and are craving a more honest, human and sustainable approach to health.

The 5 ‘Healthy’ Wellness Habits Belgin Aksoy Stopped — and Why
1. Treating Wellness Like an Achievement
Belgin spent years believing wellbeing was something you arrived at through effort and discipline, only to realise that constant striving left little room for rest, emotional awareness or restoration – the very foundations of real health.

2. Saying Yes to Everything
She once took pride in being endlessly productive and available, mistaking busyness for purpose, until subtle exhaustion, poor sleep and emotional disconnection signalled a life completely out of balance.

3. Powering Through Jet Lag
Landing and heading straight into meetings felt professional and high-performing but repeatedly forcing her body to ignore fatigue placed her nervous system under chronic stress, leaving her wired, depleted and unable to properly recover.

4. Following Rigid Wellness Formulas
Strict diets, inflexible routines and constant self-tracking promised control and certainty but instead disconnected her from intuition and from noticing how her body actually felt day to day.

5. Feeling Guilty for Rest
Belgin had to unlearn the belief that resting or saying no was selfish, recognising that self-compassion isn’t weakness, it’s essential to long-term physical and emotional wellbeing.

The 5 Wellness Habits Belgin Aksoy Now Swears By
1: Daily Gentle Movement
Belgin now moves her body every day, not to burn calories or optimise performance, but to feel alive, grounded and present in herself.

2: Moments of Stillness
She intentionally builds moments of stillness into each day, even five minutes of breathing, gratitude or reflection, knowing that pausing can completely change the tone of her wellbeing.

3: Protecting Energy, Not Just Time
Rather than measuring success by productivity alone, Belgin protects her energy by balancing action with recovery, allowing ambition and gentleness to coexist.

4: Respecting Natural Rhythms
Especially during travel, she listens to her body’s biology by planning buffer time, staying hydrated, seeking daylight, avoiding aeroplane food, and prioritising restorative sleep instead of “pushing through.”

5: Prioritising Human Connection
Belgin believes meaningful connection, kindness, community and emotional support, is one of the most powerful and underestimated foundations of good health.

The Bigger Truth Behind Global Wellness Day
“Wellbeing used to feel like a destination,” says Aksoy. “Today, it feels like a daily conversation. Instead of asking, ‘Am I doing enough?’ I ask, ‘Am I listening, and am I living in balance?’ That shift changed everything.”

This philosophy sits at the heart of GWD, which was created to promote awareness rather than perfection. Celebrated every year on the second Saturday of June, the movement reminds people worldwide that wellbeing doesn’t require extreme routines or flawless discipline, just attention, balance and small daily choices.

Celebrating 15 Years of Global Wellness Day
Founded in 2012 and endorsed by celebrities, royalty and high-profile figures, GWD has grown into the world’s largest free wellbeing movement, bringing together millions of people across the globe in 2025 alone through community-led activities, landmark illuminations and inclusive wellness initiatives. GWD continues to inspire individuals, communities and organisations to reconnect with what truly supports a healthy life.

Media enquiries:
Belgin Aksoy, Founder of Global Wellness Day, is available for interviews
Media contact: Harry Cymbler, Hot Cherry PR, harry@hotcherry.co.uk

About Global Wellness Day
Global Wellness Day is a not-for-profit social movement founded by Belgin Aksoy in 2012, dedicated to living well and raising awareness of mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. Celebrated annually on the second Saturday of June, it offers free and accessible activities worldwide. Find out more at https://www.globalwellnessday.org