I never heard of the term until about 6 months ago. "Toxic Positivity". I called this voice in my head the "Yoga Bully". It took all of my trainings and put it against me anytime I was upset, anxious, angry or anything else that wasn't a positive feeling. For the longest time I felt like I was being a bad person for not choosing to see the bright side at all times.
In reality, I was denying myself of human emotions. I was choosing to force myself to surf over how I was truly feeling and put a bandaid on it called "the glass is half full". In turn, this made me feel more upset as the days continued and the emotions I was feeling weren't processed.
The world that we live in now is all about self help. While I do believe that has a place, it also is used against us. We can read as many books as we want, meditate hours on end, and make the longest gratitude list anyone has ever seen, but still feel how we feel.
So, if you needed a sign to feel upset, anxious, angry, or anything else that isn't a positive feeling, this is your sign. Feel however you want to feel. This is your life, just don't allow that feeling to determine how you live it.
Toxic Positivity sounds like :
"It's not that bad, lots of people have it worse than me"
- Your experience is your experience and can't be compared to anyone else. What is "bad" is all relative.
"But there is so much I have to be grateful for"
- Yes, you do. You also can feel how you feel. Both things can exist at the same time
"If I focus on the positive, then I will feel better"
- You might. You also might not. Sometimes focusing on the positive can bring everything into perspective. That is when you know that it is the right solution. But sometimes it can make us feel worse. Then, it's not about focusing on the positive anymore. It's about giving yourself the space to feel the emotions and process them.
