It’s pretty common nowadays for positivity to be encouraged and to have a positive mindset in anything you do. But can too much positivity be a bad thing? Surprisingly yes, and that is called toxic positivity. But what is toxic positivity? Toxic positivity is only acknowledging the positive emotions and aspects of life in order to be happier. Now there may not be anything wrong at first, but let me explain why this mindset is harmful.
It invalidates a person’s struggles
When someone is going through a tough time, (whether it be a death in their family, a relationship ending, a job rejection, or anything that could make someone upset) it is not helpful in the slightest to remind them to be positive or that things could be worse. If anything, it can make that person feel discredited. and that they do not have anything to be upset about at all. This can make someone question if what they’re dealing with is even worth feeling badly about and possibly make them close themselves off to others. This goes into my next point!
It can make it harder for people to open up
After a while of being met with toxic positivity, a person could eventually close themselves off and find it hard to confide in others about their struggles. Therefore, it does not help to be told to lighten up and to look at the positive side of things. When someone bottles everything up, it can eventually become overwhelming and damaging to a person’s mental health. It’s important to have an outlet to release all the stresses and negative aspects of life, and with peers being keen on being positive and not experiencing any negative energy, it can become more difficult to talk to others and know how to properly go about certain hardships.
It minimizes human emotions
It’s important to understand that humans experience a wide range of emotions, which can be positive and negative. When we only focus on the positive emotions and neglect the negative ones, it makes it difficult to express how we’re feeling in any particular moment. In my experience, the push of positive vibes only has made me question if my hardships would drive people away and that acknowledging the negative aspects in life is a bad thing. It most certainly is not. It’s important to be aware of the complexity of human emotions and that we aren’t meant to only experience positive emotions.
So what should I do?
It’s important to note that this isn’t meant to make everyone suddenly be pessimistic and that positivity will only make things worse. What I am trying to get across is that it’s important to acknowledge what you’re feeling instead of ignoring negative emotions under the guise of happiness equating to being positive 24/7. In order to help someone who may be going through a tough time, do not minimize what they’re feeling or what they’re going through. Ask them what they need, whether it be advice or just having someone to lean on. Let them know that what they’re feeling is valid and doesn’t make them any less worthy of happiness. Basically, accept that life has its ups and downs and that we shouldn’t ignore our hardships since it will only do more harm than good in the long run.