Understanding Toxic Positivity and Healthy Optimism
Studies have shown that having an optimistic attitude is good for both our mental and physical health. But do we need to have a positive attitude all the time?
In 1952, a man called Norman Vincent Peale published a book called The Power of Positive Thinking. In it, he said that in order to succeed in life you should always be optimistic, "picture yourself succeeding" and avoid negative thoughts.
Peale's book was a bestseller, and since then other books like it have also been very successful. A 2006 book by Rhonda Byrne called The Secret, for example, said that if you want something, you should just believe you can get it and keep your emotions positive.
That book has sold 30 million copies.
But mental health experts have criticized the idea that simply being positive and believing you can succeed is enough to overcome life's problems.
Because life does have problems, and people do have negative experiences and emotions, experts say we need to accept and deal with the negative parts of life if we want to have good mental health.
Simply ignoring the negative parts of life and trying to be positive all the time is called "toxic positivity."
Trying to be positive all the time is toxic — or bad for you — because it can actually make a bad situation worse.
Toxic positivity denies people the right to feel sad or angry when something bad happens to them. This can make them feel guilty for having those natural feelings, or make them try to hide how they really feel.
Toxic positivity also doesn't help us deal with negative experiences like failure or disappointment. If we just stay positive and ignore our mistakes, we can't learn from them.
Instead, experts say healthy optimism means accepting that we have negative experiences and emotions. Healthy optimists don't ignore difficulties in life, but see them as challenges and find practical ways to deal with them.
