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Toxic Positivity
How to ditch the unicorns and keep the rainbows
Very Unpopular Strong Opinions Blog by Christyl Rivers
People who ride unicorns are jerks
Like toxic masculinity, not all positivity is toxic.
Too much positivity is toxic. It is not hard to tell which kind is useless and counterproductive.
When someone tells you, always to “Look on the bright side,” or “Don’t be such a Debbie Downer,” or “Why so negative?” or “The Universe is speaking to you, just smother those gloomy thoughts.”
They are not being positive. They are being jerks. At best they are invalidating your genuine concerns and feelings. At worst, they are throwing a sparkly, saddle on a unicorn.
They are pretending to care while ignoring reality, and your experience.
It is wholly unhelpful to wander into denial territory where all the unicorns are simply vanquishing problems by spiking them with their golden horns and making them disappear like fairy dust.
What I like about Jessica Wildfire’s work on facing our biggest challenges is that it is honest. It takes a clear look that melts the sparkling unicorns, but leaves some room for the promise of the rainbows they seek.