I know someone who's genuinely very positive, a rare inspiration; but he once said (on Facebook) that he never posts anything non-positive because he doesn't want to be seen as a downer. To me this was problematic, because I was personally coming to find his relentless positivity to be quite depressing.
Toxic Positivity
61–70 of 178 posts
Re: Toxic Positivity
#62Just using the word "toxic" as a binary classifier of "things I don't like" is a problem. That includes people not being positive enough.
To my mind, I think toxic is a byword for 'extreme behaviour'; and furthermore, extreme behaviour is often a symptom of a personality disorder at its most pronounced.
Like toxic skiing? Or toxic mountain climbing? Toxic marathon running?
Re: Toxic Positivity
#63How about the toxicity of attacking positivity? This world has WAY too much negativity right now and it's downright harmful to human psyche. People are freaking giving up on the world and deciding that they should never have children because they think they'd just be bring them into a doomed world. That's when you know negativity has gone so far. Some toxic positivity on the odd occasion to counteract the nonsensical…
You're exhibiting the exact behaviour that you're chastising by negatively focusing on points the article didn't even make. The article promotes genuine positivity and human emotion whilst considering the circumstances of those around you. Please take a second to read the HN guidelines if you genuinely want to make HN (and the world) a more positive and constructive place: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.…
In their defense, the headline was a pretty good summary of the article
Re: Toxic Positivity
#64I very much agree that so-called "toxic positivity" can be a problem, but I found this article greatly lacking in any sort of substance. There are no specific examples of toxic positivity, no explanation as to why its bad other than vacuous general terms repeated ad nauseam (did she mention toxic positivity invalidates lived experiences?), and no in depth explanation as to the alternatives other than what is essentia…
That is because the article is just an extended ad for their tools which they link in the middle of the article.
Re: Toxic Positivity
#65I very much agree that so-called "toxic positivity" can be a problem, but I found this article greatly lacking in any sort of substance. There are no specific examples of toxic positivity, no explanation as to why its bad other than vacuous general terms repeated ad nauseam (did she mention toxic positivity invalidates lived experiences?), and no in depth explanation as to the alternatives other than what is essentia…
I agree. This paragraph might explain the lack of substance:
Readable’s tone and sentiment tools help you to optimise your content for positivity. Using our sliders, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your language.
So the article is an ad for sentiment analysis and has probably been "optimized" by that tool. Hence the vacuous tone that ironically is an example of toxic positivity itself.
Re: Toxic Positivity
#66While Toxic Positivity the term exploded in usage during the pandemic, its been a problem since before social media.
The start up I was part of in the late 90s was rife with toxic positivity, making the work place oppressive and surreal; eventually playing a large part in its failure.
Re: Toxic Positivity
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of people just want to be modest and realistic. They don't like decorating things, telling half-truths or flat-out lying about the truth. Both being overly positive and being overly negative do this. However, from personal experience, most places which affect one's personal life and cannot be reasonably skipped (unless you wish to live close to a poverty wage, and even that is questionable) emphasize being more…
I quit my job because I was a bit bored, my new job isn't better, but at least I have 10 weeks of vacations, and my 35h a week allows me to enjoy my life without sacrificing either sleep or family when I'm not traveling. Is this toxic positivity?
Obviously not. However, most people would be flagged by the interviewer for saying "I was a bit bored", and subsequently discarded unless their skillset is hugely in demand. Modesty is only appreciated when decorated with a dose of positivity.
Re: Toxic Positivity
#68Just using the word "toxic" as a binary classifier of "things I don't like" is a problem. That includes people not being positive enough.
To my mind, I think toxic is a byword for 'extreme behaviour'; and furthermore, extreme behaviour is often a symptom of a personality disorder at its most pronounced.
I think this is quite a good definition. After all, it's a key principle of toxicology - courtesy of Paracelsus - that the dose makes the poison. (Any woman who's had Botox can attest to this.) It certainly seems to be used that way in this article, in being applied to 'positivity'.
Re: Toxic Positivity
#69I just went to a massive workshop by Esther Hicks, famous for “law of attraction” and emphasis on positive emotions for manifesting deliberate creation. She presents a classic ”New Thought” philosophy—and her ideas are a big target of those espousing the dangers of Toxic Positivity.
I was happily surprised. She emphasized the value of negative emotions, the importance of noticing and identifying negative emotions, and the importance of “not beating yourself up” about having negative emotions.
But, at the same time, she unabashedly presented moods as something that we can and should consciously control. And, she claimed that positive moods can allow good things to happen that don’t happen when we are focused on negative emotions. I’d have to write more to clarify more, but I was surprised by her nuance.
“There is just one message: You create your own reality, and —-you just gotta vibe it out.” I’ve read a ton of philosophy and I just love this. It might seem vacuous, but now that I’ve seen her, I really think it is on point.