The Conspirituality Delusion

My Journey Unraveling Misinformation, Conspiracy, and the Search for Truth

When COVID-19 struck, it disrupted nearly every facet of society, exposing cracks in our social frameworks and revealing vulnerabilities in even the most trusted spaces. For me, nowhere was this more shocking than within wellness, self-help, and New Age metaphysical circles. I watched in disbelief as respected voices—medical doctors, psychiatrists, and renowned health and wellness experts—abandoned science, fueling a growing wave of disinformation.

This collision of QAnon ideologies and wellness culture birthed something unprecedented: a powerful, polarizing movement steeped in conspiracy, fear, and even violence. The "Deadly Dozen," a group identified as responsible for spreading the majority of vaccine misinformation online, included primarily wellness and New Age influencers—people once seen as beacons of altruism and compassion.

How did we get here? Were these shadows always lurking beneath the surface? How did communities grounded in environmentalism, altruism, social justice, advocacy, and healing become high on their own supply, polarized, and dangerous? Most importantly, how do we sift through the chaos to separate the baby from the bathwater—retaining the true essence of wellness and New Age spirituality while discarding what is destructive?

Personal Importance

As a holistic coach for over two decades deeply invested in fostering real transformation, witnessing the wellness and New Age industry—an area I've long valued for its potential to promote healing and empathy—descend into disinformation and conspiracy felt deeply personal. The betrayal of trust by leaders in this space, those who were supposed to guide others toward health and personal insight, was disheartening. It challenged my own beliefs and forced me to reckon with the shadows lurking within an industry I have dedicated my career to.

It became clear that genuine transformation cannot coexist with distortion or fear-driven conspiracy-etched narratives. This realization reinforced my commitment to finding the truth behind effective change and ensuring the tools I offer clients are grounded in integrity, evidence, and authenticity.

Collective and Professional Importance

From a broader perspective, the wellness industry's vulnerability to disinformation reveals a collective blind spot—our cultural tendency to prioritize "feel-good" ideologies over critical thinking and accountability. The allure of quick fixes, charismatic leaders, and oversimplified solutions can lead even well-meaning individuals astray. This is especially dangerous in a coaching and therapeutic context, where clients seek guidance during vulnerable periods in their lives.

Coaches, like all mental health professionals, have a unique responsibility to hold space for truth and transformation, not manipulation or falsehood. The fallout from these ideological shifts underscores the need for ethical, evidence-based practices that prioritize client well-being over dogma. It's a call to evolve as professionals and ensure the work we do fosters clarity, empowerment, and resilience, not disinformation.

We live in an era defined by profound challenges—pandemics, climate change, social inequality, and political polarization. These are complex problems, and they demand equally complex solutions. Yet, in the face of such uncertainty, the human mind often seeks refuge in simplicity—polarizing narratives, convenient explanations, and even conspiracy theories that offer false clarity. In truth, human minds are easy to hijack. This tendency has only deepened the fractures in our collective ability to address real issues. It also calls for a reckoning in supportive circles. With the power of influence comes immense responsibility.

In both personal and collective transformation, denial in any form is the ultimate barrier to change. To find real solutions, we must confront problems as they are, not as we wish them to be. This requires a willingness to live with complexity, to hold contradictory truths, and to abandon the comfort of binary thinking. Conspiratorial or overly convenient narratives may feel reassuring, but they obscure the full picture, making real understanding and solutions impossible. Data also suggests that those who fall into the initial simplicity of conspiracy theories, in the long run, end up more anxious and afraid.1

From a coaching perspective, this truth is crucial. Real change starts with an honest self-assessment, which involves recognizing the shadows, biases, and blind spots that cloud our perception of reality. This principle also applies to society as a whole: we cannot tackle systemic issues without first understanding them clearly and completely. How can we find solutions if we cannot agree on the facts?

Our work as helpers must reflect the need to understand and stand up against the gravity of conspirtuality, disinformation, and misinformation. The path forward requires us to embrace the complexity of our shared reality, seek evidence-based solutions, and hold space for both personal and systemic accountability. This also suggests we must take a stand against what is unethical and untrue and those that peddle falsehood.

And That Goes for Us Too

To fix anything we first need to understand it. Thus, as we dive into unpacking the solutions to these challenges, it's essential to start at the very beginning: Why do we believe what we do? What drives our beliefs, our fears, and our choices? To navigate these turbulent times, we must confront the deeper psychological forces that shape our understanding of reality.

Conspiracy theories, for example, don't arise in a vacuum. They often make sense to people because they provide certainty and order in a chaotic world. They offer explanations for the unexplainable, a sense of control when we feel powerless, and a community to belong to when traditional structures seem unreliable or alienating.

Adding to that is the undeniable reality that conspiracies do exist. History has repeatedly shown that governments, corporations, and institutions have engaged in deception for power, control, or profit. Some of the most well-documented conspiracies include Watergate, MKUltra, the Iran-Contra Affair, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the Big Tobacco cover-up, the Enron scandal, the 2008 LIBOR scandal, the leaded gasoline cover-up, the Catholic Church's abuse scandal, Bayer's HIV-contaminated blood products, the Gulf of Tonkin deception, Operation Gladio, NSA mass surveillance, and the CIA’s influence in media through Operation Mockingbird.

At the same time, acknowledging real conspiracies does not mean embracing cynicism or assuming all institutions are inherently corrupt. Big Pharma, for example, is a profit-driven industry that has exploited public health crises for financial gain—but it has also been responsible for life-saving medical advancements. Governments have engaged in secrecy and deception, but they also provide essential public services and infrastructure. Religious organizations, corporations, and media entities have all harbored both corruption and contributions to society. The truth is rarely black and white—it exists in the tensions between ethical responsibility and systemic flaws.

And let’s not ignore the wellness industry, a multibillion-dollar market that claims to offer alternatives to mainstream medicine and institutions. While it has helped many people reclaim their health, it is also rife with grifters, pseudoscience, and opportunists preying on fear and distrust. Exploitation is not confined to one sector; it exists wherever power, money, and influence intersect

Understanding this complexity is key to addressing why people—and entire movements—gravitate toward conspiracy narratives. When institutions betray public trust, skepticism is a rational response. But when that skepticism is weaponized by disinformation, it can lead people down a path of deeper deception. Real solutions require more than just exposing falsehoods; they demand a clear-eyed, nuanced approach that acknowledges both systemic failures and the need for discernment in an age of uncertainty.

Recognizing that real conspiracies exist is only part of the equation. The deeper challenge lies in understanding why people are drawn to conspiracy theories, even when the evidence doesn't support them or directly contradicts them. In an age of information overload, misinformation and disinformation thrive, amplified by cognitive biases, emotional responses, and the sheer volume of competing narratives. Even well-meaning individuals can fall prey to these forces, as confirmation bias and motivated reasoning push us toward beliefs that feel right, even if they aren't true. Unpacking the origins of belief—our own and others—is critical to finding solutions. If we don't understand why misinformation spreads so effectively or why certain narratives take hold, we can't hope to address these issues meaningfully. Moreover, confronting our own blind spots and biases is equally essential. As coaches, leaders, or simply individuals striving for change, we must practice what we preach by examining the assumptions and beliefs that drive our actions.

Before we can solve the challenges we face—individually or collectively—we must first recognize them with clarity and honesty. Only then can we craft solutions that target root causes rather than merely treating symptoms. In a world as complex and interconnected as ours, this depth of understanding isn't just valuable—it's essential. Without it, we risk reinforcing the very problems we seek to overcome. But with it, we open the door to real change—change that is informed, intentional, and lasting.

As I continue my journey pursuing a graduate in this arena, my focus remains on understanding the psychology of belief, the allure of conspiracy theories, and the broader implications of misinformation in the New Age and Wellness fields. This work is both academic and deeply personal—driven by my commitment to helping others navigate the complexities of truth, trust, and transformation. If you are questioning narratives that once felt certain, disentangling yourself from conspiracy-driven thinking, or simply seeking clarity in a world filled with conflicting information, I welcome your questions and conversations. You are not alone in this process, and finding truth—while often uncomfortable—is ultimately liberating. My hope is to offer insight, support, and evidence-based guidance to those reclaiming their critical thinking and agency. Please feel free to reach out.

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1 Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. (2017, December). The psychology of conspiracy theories. Current directions in psychological science. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5724570/