I thought I had gone crazy at certain points; at others, I thought everyone else did. It’s been hard to grasp the enormity of the chaos, intentional and otherwise, that has swept through the White House and trickled down into just about everything in society. 
 
At the time of this writing, there are still major questions about how decisions made in 2017 will affect you, me, and planet Earth. Are you getting a tax cut? Am I? What’s going to happen with healthcare? How will this North Korea saga play out? Are we friends with Russia yet? These issues aren’t anything to laugh about in reality. I’m just not quite sure where reality starts and the mind-bending/mind-numbing, chaotic/dramatic (fake) news cycle ends. Feel free to let me know if you do; I’d love to get some sleep one day in 2018.
 
Apparently I’m not the only one stressing. According to Mintel, and its key trends for 2018, “in an uncertain and seemingly unstable world, self-care and preventative health are becoming essential for consumers across demographics.” Stacy Bingle, consumer trends consultant at Mintel, noted, “Interest in self-care and preventative health has been building for decades, but a combination of strong forces is bringing these topics into the spotlight in 2018. Fake news, global terror threats, and sociopolitical unease are impacting consumers’ well-being.” 
 
In fact, Mintel research showed two in five Americans (41%) and Canadians (39%) cited stress as a reason they manage their health, motivating many to incorporate proactive wellness methods into their daily routines. 
 
“In a post-truth world, consumers are putting their dollars where their trust remains intact,” Mintel added. But trust is, increasingly, a problematic proposition. “Evaporating trust means that companies sometimes have little choice but to communicate where they sit on various issues, make bold moral actions, and take clear political stances when necessary,” noted Carli Gernot, manager of trends, North America at Mintel. “Product innovation that meets the changing needs of apprehensive consumers can build or redeem trust, including adding more information to packaging or incorporating livestreams of production methods. In the year ahead, brands will need to court consumers with transparency, honesty, and facts.” 
 
Building trust and loyalty with facts and truths. Am I dreaming? Don’t wake me up.