Self‑help gurus who thunder that “you’re unhappy now and you must fix yourself”, whether it’s a firebrand coach promising unstoppable success (Anthony Robbins) or a polished spiritual teacher selling enlightenment (Eckhart Tolle) are running a confidence racket. Their playbook is always the same. Pathologize ordinary life, inflate a felt lack into a crisis, then offer a packaged, expensive procedure to cure the very anxiety they amplified.
That’s not therapy or education; it’s commercial manufacture of discontent, a trap. It ought not be criminalized, but it damn well should be exposed, regulated, and stripped of the moral authority they trade on. Truth‑claims must meet evidence, vulnerable people must be protected from predatory upselling, and cultural literacy must teach people how to spot psychological marketing. Calling it out as manipulative and dangerous isn’t moral panic but basic consumer protection and intellectual hygiene.