The Dark Side of "Good Vibes Only": Why Toxic Positivity Is Actually Hurting Your Mental Health

In the world run by social media, we’re surrounded by extremely successful people who seemingly have no reasons to worry about anything, whether it’s their financial situation or relationship with a close one.

However, things aren’t looking so good behind the beautiful facade, yet influencers are still teaching us to suppress our real feelings to stay positive no matter what happens. In fact, many don’t even notice adapting this toxic positivity trait, thus making it all way worse for their own emotional state.

How to Know You Have Toxic Positivity?

The first and most important sign is you feeling like you’ve been hiding your real (and mostly negative) feelings in order to stay positive on the outside. For instance, you never allow yourself to be sad, angry or afraid of something — instead, you constantly remind yourself that it’s only possible to be happy, since things are going not so bad or at least better than could be.

Apart from that, when a negative feeling does come through, you feel guilty for being so weak and desperate about something that other people wouldn’t care so much about.

Lastly, you have the same attitude towards other people’s feelings, reassuring them that all their worries are worthless and it’s all going to be alright, even if that person is visibly struggling.

How to Suppress Your Toxic Positivity?

Now it seems pretty clear that toxic positivity results in anxiety, burnout and the feeling of inner void, sometimes even leading to losing touch with yourself.

To make it all go away, just let yourself be a human being with a spectre of emotions that can be extremely negative in certain periods of time. It’s also vital to stay in touch with those friends who you can allow yourself to be real with; if it seems like a mission too difficult to complete, consider signing up for therapy sessions.