"TOXIC POSITIVITY"

Toxic Positivity is the suppression of real, negative emotions through phrases like:

• “Be positive!”, “Cheer up!” or “Look on the bright side!”

• “Get over it” or “Move on.”

• “It’s all going to be okay” or “Everything is going to work out.”

Such statements are often well-intentioned—people just don't know what else to say and don't know how to be empathetic. Still, it is important to recognize that these responses can be harmful.

Toxic Positivity is a "good vibes only" approach to life. And while there are benefits to being an optimist and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity instead rejects difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful, often falsely positive, facade.

The problem is that life isn't always positive. We all deal with painful emotions and experiences. Those emotions, while often unpleasant, are important and need to be felt and dealt with openly and honestly.

The “positive vibes only” can be particularly grating during times of personal distress. When people are coping with situations like financial troubles/job loss/illness/loss of a loved one, being told that they need to look on the bright side can seem downright cruel.

If you are flippantly or unwittingly using such platitudinal statements in your daily life then may be its time to improve your vocabulary and be more genuine and empathetic while talking about your or other's feelings.

Here's why Toxic Positivity can be harmful-

1. It invalidates any emotion other than positive ones.

2. It makes a person feel guilty for having certain emotions.

3. It avoids genuine empathy and human connection

4. It prevents us from growing.

5. Emotions left unprocessed can lead to mental health problems in the future.

Here's what you can say instead of resorting to toxic positivity!

If you found this helpful, do share forward.

Time to bust some psychology myths

There is a whole lot of Live Laugh Love pop-psychology bullsh*t out there. Time to bust some myths...

1. Myth: Don’t feed negative thoughts and they won’t grow.

Truth: The buildup of unthought thoughts and unfelt feelings is what causes most of our emotional struggles. Explore negative thoughts with a compassionate other. And stop telling people to silence themselves.

2. Myth: You should always strive for happiness!

Truth: Our culture fetishizes happiness. Like if we’re not happy in every single moment, we’re broken.

Happiness is an elevated state. We’re not meant to exist there all the time. Instead, strive for balance.

3. Myth: No one will love you until you learn to love yourself.

Truth: Nope. We learn to love ourselves through the love we receive from others, ideally starting with our caregivers.

Surround yourself with people who love you while you learn to love yourself.

4. Myth: You shouldn’t worry about what other people think of you. It only matters what you think of yourself.

Truth: We all care about what other people think of us, it’s the most human thing there is. Our relationship to ourself and to others both matter.

5. Myth: Depression is just a "chemical imbalance.”

Truth: Depression is a SYMPTOM & SIGNAL of underlying pain, unresolved issues, and unmet needs. Treating it as an isolated biological phenomenon further quiets an important request for support.

6. Myth: The past doesn’t matter. Look forward and keep moving.

Truth: Our past is the blueprint we build our present on.

We are a product of our experiences and circumstances and to change our future we need to understand (and often grieve) our past.