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How Does Toxic Positivity Actually Differ from True Positivity?
Toxic positivity is disempowering and does more harm than good.
I am a big proponent of positivity.
We live in a fear-based society, constantly bombarded by negative messages. Because they are so predominant, more positivity is the best offense to combat them.
But all too often, positivity gets carried too far and turns toxic. And toxic positivity disempowers and makes the negativity worse.
How? By mistreating negativity.
Like it or not — negativity IS. Bad things happen. Shit goes down. And we cannot ignore it, deny it, or pretend it doesn’t exist via holding positivity against it. We can’t eradicate negativity — because it has always been and always will be.
Friendships end. People die. Jobs are lost. Relationships collapse. And these things will frequently happen well beyond our ability to control them in the least.
Real positivity does not deny negativity. But it offers a different and empowering approach.
Please allow me to address the specifics here.
