Toxic positivity is the belief that people should maintain a positive mindset and avoid negative emotions at all costs, even when facing difficult or distressing situations. While positivity is generally beneficial, toxic positivity dismisses and invalidates genuine feelings of pain, sadness, or frustration. It pressures individuals to hide their true emotions and “look on the bright side” instead of processing and addressing their challenges in a healthy way.
This mindset can be harmful because it:
- Invalidates Emotions: It can make people feel guilty or ashamed for experiencing normal, human emotions like sadness, anger, or fear, leading them to suppress these feelings rather than working through them.
- Creates Isolation: When someone is met with toxic positivity, they might feel misunderstood or alone, as if their struggles aren’t worth acknowledging, making it harder to seek support.
- Hinders Growth: Avoiding negative emotions can prevent people from fully processing their experiences and learning from them, which is an important part of emotional and psychological growth.
- Promotes Inauthenticity: It encourages a façade of happiness, which can lead to inauthentic relationships and a disconnect between how people feel internally and how they present themselves to others.
Examples of toxic positivity include telling someone to “just stay positive” after they’ve shared something painful, or suggesting that “everything happens for a reason” immediately after a tragedy. While these phrases may be well-intentioned, they can minimize the other person’s experience and discourage them from expressing their true feelings.
My Voice Unchained 