WATCH – Only Human –
July 16, 2020 – But if statements like this are all you’re hearing from your friends and family, that excess of positivity can be, well, negative.
This kind of encouragement and self-talk is so common that mental health experts have a name for it: toxic positivity.
“Toxic positivity is the idea that we should focus only on positive emotions and the positive aspects of life,” said Heather Monroe, a clinical social worker and director of program development at Newport Institute. “It’s the belief that if we ignore difficult emotions and the parts of our life that aren’t working as well, we’ll be much happier.”
The problem is, toxic positivity oversimplifies the human brain and how we process emotions, and it can actually be detrimental to our mental health, Monroe said.
