{"id":11063,"date":"2020-10-02T13:30:03","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T18:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=11063"},"modified":"2020-10-02T13:30:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T18:30:03","slug":"how-toxic-positivity-can-hurt-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/how-toxic-positivity-can-hurt-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How positivity can sometimes hurt your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all been there. Things aren\u2019t going as you planned. You\u2019ve made a mistake or forgotten to do something. You\u2019re exhausted with our new world full of pandemic rules. Or you\u2019re worried about the future.<\/p>\n

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You may feel overwhelmed, anxious, sad, frustrated, irritated, angry or even hopeless. As human beings, we tend to push away these painful emotions and focus on something else to make ourselves feel better. We tell ourselves to focus on the \u201cbright side\u201d or think only positive thoughts.<\/p>\n

When we focus only on positive emotions and ignore painful ones, we get caught in what’s called the “toxic positivity trap.”<\/p>\n

By putting pressure on ourselves to feel happy all the time \u2013 which is not realistic \u2013 we are likely to view our painful emotions as signs that we have somehow failed. These feelings of failure can cause us to experience more unhappiness, which can contribute to emotional as well as physical distress.<\/p>\n

Avoid the toxic positivity trap<\/h2>\n

While being positive and optimistic can be helpful at times, it\u2019s actually healthier to allow yourself to feel your entire range of emotions \u2013 positive, painful, and everything in between.<\/p>\n

When you accept your painful emotions, it defuses them and takes away their power over you. As you become more accepting of all your emotions, you can experience improved mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

Here are some ways to avoid the toxic positivity trap:<\/p>\n