“Toxic Positivity”? I see from time to time, articles in mainstream media criticizing the positive psychology movement’s emphasis on regulating emotions and promoting the development of positive attitudes such as optimism and gratitude. For instance, this article in Psychology Today.
Opponents of positive psychology’s emphasis on cultivating positive emotions such as optimism and gratitude argue that negative emotions such as fear and anger are critical to survival and motivation. Positive emotions may make us more gullible or overconfident. Critics go on to claim that teaching people that they can have control over their emotions and happiness has led corporations and politicians to blame people for their problems, ranging from psychiatric conditions such as depression to socioeconomic stress.
Is “positivity” really so toxic?
One thing that I have noticed about the critics is they lack a background in multidisciplinary fields, such as psychoneuroimmunology, that have revealed the physiological, immunological, and neurological benefits of positive emotions such gratitude and feelings of social connectedness. They may even lack a background in psychology. This has sometimes made me wonder- why they are so opposed to something that they don’t seem to understand?
Legitimate proponents of “positive psychology”, mindfulness, gratitude training, and other positive kinds of lifestyle, are not saying that we should suppress all of our negative emotions, and that it’s only OK to be “happy”. No one is saying that if you aren’t happy it is all your fault. Rather, the idea is that in fact, if we want to be happier, we can be. And this can provide benefits for psychological and mental health. The emphasis is not on suppressing emotions, but rather upon noticing them, finding the meaning in them, and then regulating them (e.g. Grecucci 2015). In fact, positive emotions can support resilience to frightening or traumatic events, such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. (Fredrickson 2003), and the COVID 19 pandemic (Zurko 2022).
I find it interesting that critics point out that corporations and politicians may use positive psychology as a way to deflect responsibility for societal problems, while overlooking said entities use of negative emotions (stress, fear of losing job) to “motivate” people.
I also wonder if people who defend expressing negative emotions realize the effects of negative emotions on other people. There is a reason for the terms “Debbie Downer” and “toxic personality”. We are influenced by the emotional states of other people. Interestingly, a neuroimaging study investigating neurological correlates of gratitude found activation in brain regions known to be involved with social reward, intrapersonal bonding, social support, and relief from pain (Fox 2015). These findings link positive emotions such as gratitude with positive interpersonal interactions and relationships, which can help promote resilience to stress, and… feeling “happy”.
I do want to clarify that there is another notion out there where people use “toxic positivity” to refer to people or attitudes that completely avoid negative emotions from themselves, their communities, or their friends and family. Perhaps a friend just lost their job and, instead of sitting with them in this moment of sadness and stress and letting their friend “vent”, a “toxically-positive” friend may insist on “looking on the bright side” or changing the subject entirely to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Ultimately, this avoidant behavior can create distance between someone and their loved ones or community instead of fostering vulnerability and support-systems. So yeah, pretty toxic!
A positive attitude is not about totally avoiding negative emotions (which is impossible and unhealthy, as life is hard and we’re human), but about acknowledging our feelings and looking for ways to be grateful and finding the small joys in everyday life. Unfortunately, the term “toxic positivity” seems to be conflating all kinds of positivity with toxicity. I worry that people will automatically avoid cultivating truly positive emotion and attitudes that can buttress reliance to stress and promote physical and mental health.