Toxic Positivity and Mental Health

There’s a lot of talk about mindset being the key to mental health.

Have you ever heard these phrases?

Look on the bright side.
This will all make sense in the future.
There’s an upside to everything.

Sometimes, changing mindset is a great place to start. Looking for potential learning moments and finding meaning in a challenging situation can be helpful for reframing the narrative to come from a more adaptive point of view.

However, believing that having a positive mindset is the solution to every crisis is a major oversimplification, coming from a privileged point of view.

In times of significant adversity, mindset change is insufficient or inaccessible. In these moments of crisis, prescribing positivity can be “toxic” and may lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and avoidance or suppression of emotions. It can also lead to feeling helplessness and feeling like you’ve “failed” because you weren’t able to change your situation through positive thinking.

If you’re struggling and can’t find your way through, please reach out for support. You are not meant to go through these things alone.