HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Toxic positivity is the belief that no matter how difficult a situation is, individuals should maintain a positive mindset. How many people know what? We asked a few, and here are their answers:
"I don't think I've actually heard that term before."
"I don't think so."
"I guess that's something like just acting too happy, right? Like, just being too happy."
"Toxic, I guess when you too positive that it may affect others, but really affect your self."
"Just someone being overly positive and it's just too much. You need to have a nice healthy balance."
After hearing from the community, Huntsville Psychotherapy & Counseling Services owner Monretta Vega breaks it down even more. "Well, toxic positivity is when we have an attitude and a belief that everything has to be positive and that we can only see happiness."
And the most important thing to note is that everyone has an array of emotions.
"And it's absolutely okay to have moments where we're sad or a little angry or even frustrated. But to think that we have to be positive or happy at all times is what causes the toxic positivity."
So what are some ways to work through toxic positivity? Vega says, "When you start to feel restrained in unseen and unheard, when you start to say to yourself, I'm feeling very irritable. And it may be because I'm not allowing myself to acknowledge my emotions. You want to take time to yourself and really sit with yourself to say, Hey, what emotions am I having? What am I really feeling outside of what I want to portray? A lot of times we want to give off this narrative of, I'm a happy person and things are great, but it's absolutely okay. Even if you just want to say it to yourself, like, 'Hey, I'm having a rough day. What can I do to make my day better?'"