Don't be fooled by "cure-all anxiety" claims! As the healing economy faces frequent chaos, please check the official consumption guide.

Against the backdrop of modern society’s fast pace and high pressure, the “healing economy” is emerging as a force that cannot be ignored. Singing bowls, meditation, yoga… Today, various healing methods have been integrated into people’s lives, becoming channels for easing stress and finding inner strength. However, when massive healing demand creates a huge market, it also gives rise to certain industry irregularities. Recently, the Shandong Provincial Consumers Association released the “Healing Economy Consumption Education Guide (2026 Edition),” which sorts and summarizes the current mainstream types of healing-economy consumption and their risk points, and offers guidance and suggestions regarding rights protection.

This is an era of paying for emotions. Data shows that China’s emotional consumption market size has grown from 1.63 trillion yuan in 2022 to 2.31 trillion yuan in 2024, reaching 2.72 trillion yuan in 2025, and is expected to surpass 4.5 trillion yuan in 2029. More than 90% of young people recognize “emotional value,” and nearly 60% are willing to pay directly for emotional value. A 2025 survey by Nandu indicates that over the past year, more than 80% of respondents have engaged in emotional consumption. Seeking “companionship” and “emotional resonance” is its core motivation (accounting for 97.34%), and those born in the post-2000s generation show stronger willingness to pay.

Healing consumption is centered on “physical and mental soothing, emotional regulation, and spiritual nourishment,” covering a diverse consumption model of “goods + services + digital.” From “treating oneself” to “healing oneself,” consumers are generously spending money on emotional companionship, self-healing, and identity affirmation. Yet behind the boom lies danger: men’s Hanfu clothing that can’t be tailored to fit properly, a pet acupuncture practitioner who’s “fully trained in three days,” AI toys that eavesdrop on privacy, emotional counseling thousand-yuan package deals that end up wasted, and so on. When “loving you, old self” becomes a consumption consensus, the schemes of “tricking you, old self” are also upgrading.

When consumers participate in healing consumption, they should focus on the following six major risk points to enhance awareness and avoid damage to their own rights and interests.

Prevent the risk of “false advertising.” This is the most common risk in healing consumption. Some merchants take advantage of consumers’ emotional anxiety, exaggerating the healing effects of products or services and misleading consumers. Specific examples include: making absolute and deceptive claims such as “cures anxiety,” “rapid decompression,” “100% success rate in emotional reconciliation,” “stem cell therapy,” and “blood nourishment course”; using fake packaging and personas of “experts” and “mentors,” fabricating work experience and credentials; using low-price lines such as “free consultation” and “experience starting from 9.9 yuan” to attract customers, then charging more step by step while the services fall short of the promises.

Please remember: “healing is supplementary, not treatment.” Any healing product or service cannot replace legitimate medical care (especially for the treatment of mental disorders and physical illnesses); stay highly alert to absolute publicity such as “guaranteed effects,” “cure,” and “fast results,” and do not let emotional anxiety sweep you along. Proactively verify the authenticity of merchants’ promotional content—check practitioners’ credentials and institution registration information, learn about user reviews through multiple channels—so as to avoid being misled by fake personas and marketing lines.

Prevent the risk of “missing qualifications.” Some healing services (such as psychological counseling, TCM therapeutic care, and pet healing) require a high level of professionalism, but currently the industry entry thresholds vary widely. There are many institutions and practitioners with no qualifications, no training, and no records/registrations; the services they provide may have safety hazards and may even cause secondary harm to consumers’ physical and mental well-being. For example, some “emotional counseling institutions” lack relevant operating qualifications, and some “tarot readers” and “spiritual healing practitioners” are only trained through short-term courses before taking the job.

Before making a purchase, consumers should proactively ask merchants to show relevant qualification proofs (such as business licenses for the institutions, practitioners’ qualification certificates, training certificates, etc.) and verify their authenticity and validity. Prefer institutions with good reputation in the industry, long operating histories, and complete registrations/filings. For merchants without qualifications, with unclear qualifications, or that refuse to provide credentials, consumers should firmly refuse to spend money.

Prevent the risk of “pricing chaos.” Healing consumption currently lacks unified pricing standards. Some merchants take advantage of consumers’ knowledge gaps about “healing,” arbitrarily set prices or inflate them, with especially prominent overpricing in high-end healing services and customized services. Some merchants also engage in “hidden consumption” and “forced consumption,” such as charging additional equipment usage fees during decompressing center experiences; forcing clients to upgrade packages in emotional counseling; and inflating products like mystery boxes and trend toys to more than 10 times the original price, using “scarcity” to inflate prices.

Before making a purchase, clearly ask about all chargeable items and the pricing standards, require merchants to provide price lists, and take photos to keep records. For products or services whose pricing is too high or clearly exceeds reasonable market ranges, make a rational judgment rather than blindly pursuing labels like “high-end” or “custom.” Refuse merchants’ forced or bundled consumption requirements, and do not let marketing tricks such as “limited-time special offers” and “limited releases” pressure you. Set a consumption budget in advance to avoid impulsive spending.

Prevent the risk of “prepaid consumption.” Healing services (such as psychological counseling, yoga healing, and wellness packages) often use a prepaid consumption model. Merchants attract consumers to make large prepayments under names like “recharge discounts” and “discounts for getting a membership card.” However, some merchants have issues such as shutting down and running after customers recharge, services being reduced, or refusing refunds. This is especially common among some small institutions, where capital chains are fragile and the risk is extremely high. In addition, some merchants set “tyrannical clauses” in prepaid card contracts that restrict consumers from canceling cards or transferring cards.

View the discounts of prepaid consumption rationally—do not blindly recharge large amounts. Prefer packages with lower recharge amounts and shorter consumption cycles. Before getting a card, carefully read the contract terms, clarify rules such as card cancellation, card transfer, and handling of expiration, and refuse “no refunds” and “final interpretation rights belong to the merchant” and other tyrannical clauses. Choose merchants that operate steadily and have good reputation. Keep good records such as proof of purchase, contracts, and transfer/payment records; periodically check the merchant’s operating status. If any anomalies are found, safeguard your rights promptly.

Prevent the risk of “personal information and privacy leakage.” Some healing services (such as psychological counseling, AI emotional companionship, and online healing) require consumers to provide sensitive content like personal emotional privacy and health information. Some digital healing products (such as smart meditation devices and AI chatbots) have real-time monitoring and data uploading functions. If a merchant’s information security management is not adequate, it may lead to consumers’ personal information and privacy being leaked, and may even be used for targeted marketing or other illegal purposes.

Broadly, consumers should choose merchants and platforms that emphasize information security and have clear privacy protection terms. Do not easily disclose personal sensitive information (such as emotional history, health conditions, identity card numbers, and home addresses) to unrelated people or platforms. When using online healing products, check privacy permission settings and turn off unnecessary permissions. If you discover that personal information has leaked, contact the merchant promptly to request rectification, and retain relevant evidence; if necessary, file complaints with relevant authorities.

Prevent the risk of “safety hazards.” Some healing scenarios (such as hot spring healing, decompressing centers, outdoor Zen practice, and TCM therapeutic care) involve certain safety risks, such as scalding due to excessively hot hot spring water, accidents caused by aging decompressing center equipment, insufficient safety protection for outdoor healing, and physical injuries resulting from improper therapy operations. Some physical healing goods (such as aromatherapy incense, essential oils, and decompressing toys) may also have quality issues, such as unpleasant odors from materials or harmful substance levels exceeding standards, which endanger consumers’ physical health.

Before purchase, check the venue safety and whether equipment is in good working condition, and verify the merchant’s safety protection measures and emergency handling capacity. Choose physical goods produced by regular manufacturers; review product quality testing reports and avoid buying “three-no” products. When participating in outdoor or high-intensity experience-type healing services, choose based on your own physical condition and, if necessary, inform the merchant in advance about your health issues. If a safety accident occurs during consumption, promptly preserve现场 evidence, and require the merchant to bear corresponding responsibility.

Reporter: Su Ran Photo: Su Ran Editor: Liu Yu Proofreader: Liu Tian

【Source: New Yellow River】