Toxic positivity is the demand that people avoid feeling and expressing unpleasant thoughts or emotions, paired with the imposition of positivity as the only solution to difficulty.
Too much positivity can become toxic, experts say
Toxic positivity is the demand that people avoid feeling and expressing unpleasant thoughts or emotions, paired with the imposition of positivity as the only solution to difficulty. 12:28 pm, May 16, 2021 ×
(Getty Images / BRO Vector)
DULUTH Optimism can lead to better health, but what happens when it turns into too much of a good thing?
People often default to trying to make us feel better when we share hardships online or in person, but encouragement can sometimes become invalidating.
When “Think happy thoughts,” “It could be worse,” or “You’ll get over it” is inconsistent with the situation, inauthentic, unrealistic or superficial, it could lead to feeling dismissed, belittled, frustrated or angry. It’s at that point the sentiment can be viewed as “toxic,” said Rhea Owens, associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Toxic positivity is the demand that people avoid feeling and expressing unpleasant thoughts or emotions, paired with the imposition of positivity as the only solution to difficulty.
Four candidates are now vying for two at large seats. 5:08 pm, May 14, 2021 ×
Ashlie Castaldo
Ashlie Castaldo will formally announce her campaign for an at large Duluth City Council seat at noon Monday in Enger Park.
Castaldo, age 34, was born and raised in Duluth and now serves as the digital marketing director of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.
A graduate of Denfeld High School, she went on to earn a bachelor s degree in religion and sociology from Greenville University in southern Illinois and a master s degree in behavioral health from the University of Illinois Springfield. But Castaldo said that after several years away, she longed for home.
Too much positivity can become toxic. Northland experts weigh in
There’s a time to be sad, a time to grieve, and a time to be angry. And that s OK. 1:00 pm, May 14, 2021 ×
(Getty Images / BRO Vector)
Optimism can lead to better health, but what happens when it turns into too much of a good thing?
People often default to trying to make us feel better when we share hardships online or in person, but encouragement can sometimes become invalidating.
When “Think happy thoughts,” “It could be worse,” or “You’ll get over it” is inconsistent with the situation, inauthentic, unrealistic or superficial, it could lead to feeling dismissed, belittled, frustrated or angry. It’s at that point the sentiment can be viewed as “toxic,” said Rhea Owens, associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Minnesota Duluth.