How could positivity be toxic for someone ?
- Hiding how you really feel about something.
- Trying to dismiss or ignore emotions when they come up so you can “just get on with it.”
- Feeling guilt or shame about the emotions you’re feeling.
Do these instances sound familiar to you ?
If yes, it is important that you know these are some examples of positive toxicity.
In simple terms positive toxicity refers to the belief of maintaining a positive mindset, no matter how sad or tough a situation is. The process of toxic positivity results in the minimisation, invalidation and denial, invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.
Positive toxicity can come in many forms, hiding your true feelings from yourself just to keep a positive mindset, a friend who berates you expressing frustrations rather than listening to you about the reasons for your frustrations. A family member saying that you should ‘look on the bright side of life.’ Your employer says, ‘at least we are busy, unlike some’ when you mention you are struggling with your workload. Basically, toxic positivity sees expressions of negativity as wasteful, indulgent and downright wrong.
A normal human behaviour is to accept the emotions as they come and go, so when you hold onto positivity and refuse to acknowledge anything remotely negative by driving it away with more positive thoughts, you are ultimately paving the way for unhappiness.
One manner to address toxic positivity is to apprehend the cost of the overall emotional spectrum. Not acknowledging these negative emotions means rejecting the actions they can inspire one to do. Also not talking about them will not drive them away. WE need to deal with our emotions from time to time without avoiding them. Simply vocalizing emotions may make them feel less powerful, helping you feel less “trapped” by them. The best option is to feel free and open yourself to feeling multiple emotions at a time including negative ones.
-By – Tanaya Poopal
