Social media is spreading 'toxic positivity'

I'd rather see this so called "toxic positivity" than people patting each other on the back and reinforcing their depression and mental health issues as though it were an identity or something to form a community around.

It sounds harsh, but there are so many counter productive behaviors people engage in while meaning well with regard to mental health issues on social media. One I see often is that people are effectively embracing catastrophizing as some sort of rebellious act of defiant need for other people to acknowledge their distorted view of reality.

Don't get me wrong either. I'm not looking at this from an outsider perspective. I've been there. I've been dealing with on and off depression and anxiety for the past several years. I've managed to claw myself out of it, but am able to accept that how I acted while there was not healthy for me. I have to take full responsibility for my behaviors and the bridges I've burnt.

All that being said, this article reads like someone waist deep in the throes of "Acknowledge my depressed reality!"

This article seems more related to social media, but my experience with toxic positivity at some former workplaces took the form of "Our startup is the best! We're so much better than all our competitors. Everything they do is wrong, and we do everything better!", which is a fine attitude to have in general, until its objectively not true, and I'm afraid to even say anything for fear of being a "hater".

A "Salesperson" attitude is great when talking to the public or customers, but when your employees hear one thing from you and see the opposite happening, it doesn't exactly lend you credibility.

Fortunately, where I work now the leadership is much more objectively-minded. It probably helps we're building enterprise products and not pushing social-media hype.

Soon after our first was born my wife asked her moms group: 'is four in the afternoon too early to have a beer?'. They answered: 'Oh, no, we've discussed it extensively and three o'clock is fine.'

Nothing wrong with being an ambitious mom but you need to pick the right support group and it's probably not instagram.

i totally commiserate with what you describe.

Mind over matter is definitely a thing, but where it becomes toxic is if you choose to ignore problems in order to keep the good vibes going, and could lead to a worse outcome than if you kept an objective mind. Reality distortion fields only work if they actually influence reality, and not just your perception of it.

With that said, I have a friend who is in a depression rut. He hates his job but believes any other job will be just as bad (he's definitely wrong), and seems to refuse to take steps to improve his situation, because his negativity keeps him from taking action.

So ultimately its just a balance.