Many people need motivation, encouragement, and positive encouragement to be happy. However, it turns out that the positive encouragement that is spoken does not always match reality. Sometimes exaggerated to feel calmer. Not infrequently it becomes a compliment as a form of denial.
Have you ever said ‘the results never betrays the effort’ or ‘everything will be beautiful in its time’?
This condition is called toxic positivity.
As cited from an article written by Samara Quintero, LMFT CHT, and Dr. Jamie Long at The Psychology Group, toxic positivity is an expression that was expressed to hide or cover up the true feelings.
According to Quintero as a licensed marriage and family therapist and hypnotherapist, here are signs of toxic positivity :
- Hiding true or dishonest feelings, both to yourself and to others.
- Give up, take it for granted, and bury negative expressions.
- Saying positive sentences during bad conditions with the aim of having to think positively.
- Rejecting negative emotions, such as disappointment, hurt, anger, and discomfort.
- Takes an escape, for example by eating delicious food, shopping, and activities that make you happy.
- Humiliate or punish others for expressing their frustration.
Toxic positivity is an unsanitary condition. A forced positive view, especially of pain, means encouraging a person to remain submissive.
According to Quintero and Long, most of us don’t want evil. When experiencing a bad event, there are only two choices.
First, be brave and honest or pretend to look smooth and run smoothly. Many people choose the second option, even though pretending can paralyze the human soul.
Some psychological studies show that hiding or denying feelings causes stress levels to rise.
Quintero and Long suggest that to be true to oneself needs to bring out or express negative emotions.
This makes our bodies healthier, healthier, and free from the tension caused by the suppression of truth, say the two specialists who study trauma, anxiety, and depression.
Toxic positivity also affects relationships with other people. When someone isolates his feelings, hides his emotions, he will distance himself from other people. The best advice from experts, to become a healthy human being requires awareness of yourself first.
Instead of thinking all these things have a positive side but are not honest. It is better to keep emotions in balance to feel happy.
