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Toxic Positivity: How to Be Yourself, Avoid Positive Thinking Traps, Master Difficult Situations, Control Negative Emotions and Thoughts
Unmasking the dark side of positive vibes -- discover how to stay authentic and true to yourself by avoiding toxic positivity pitfalls. Have you ever experienced job loss, financial difficulties, relationship troubles, health issues, abuse, or grief… but felt the pressure to ‘snap out of it’?
Has a friend asked you to ‘count your blessings’ when you confided in them about your troubles?
Are you struggling with self-hate, and all you see online are these phrases?
“Good vibes only!”
“Think happy thoughts!”
“Focus on the bright side!”
If yes, you might be a victim of toxic positivity.
Too much of a good thing can be poisonous, including positivity.
If positivity were the answer, many people would not be dealing with anxiety, depression, and burnout.
When Bobby McFerrin wrote the song, “Don’t worry, be happy,” he hoped to brighten the listener’s day. However, the overgeneralization of happy emotions has led to a wounded generation with unprocessed emotions.
Focusing on positive thinking at all times -- even when things are difficult -- is damaging as it discredits non-positive emotions.
Negative emotions are helpful to your psychological and physical health because facing reality helps manage trauma.
Pain is meant to be felt -- you need to go through every emotion in order to process the event that caused it.
In Toxic Positivity, you’ll
How to identify common toxic positivity traps -- and the strategies you can use to avoid them A physiological approach to understanding positive toxicity to help you protect your mental health The dangers of replacing genuine feelings with cheerful optimism -- and how to ensure you don’t become a victim of this rut 9 powerful healthy-thinking techniques to avoid feeling overwhelmed by negative emotions How to harness the power of your subconscious mind to help you master your emotions How to calm trails of negative thoughts, quit overthinking, and stop dwelling on past painful events How to deal with toxic positivity from external sources to help you protect your mental state without losing friends or quitting social media The power of objective reality -- and how to use it to cope with the challenges that life throws your way Brain fitness overcome your fears, appreciate personal growth, and manage everyday challenges How to create positive outcomes from negative situations without suppressing your feelings And much more…
Reckless optimism is the unrealistic idea that life should be perfect, which worsens the situation.
Free yourself from the psychological pressure of judging yourself for feeling sadness, pain, jealousy, and other negative emotions.
All emotions are part of the human experience, and this guide will empower you to avoid succumbing to the pressure of appearing “okay” 24/7.
If you want to master your emotions, protect your mental health, and crush toxic positivity, then scroll up and click the “Add to Cart” button right now.
Has a friend asked you to ‘count your blessings’ when you confided in them about your troubles?
Are you struggling with self-hate, and all you see online are these phrases?
“Good vibes only!”
“Think happy thoughts!”
“Focus on the bright side!”
If yes, you might be a victim of toxic positivity.
Too much of a good thing can be poisonous, including positivity.
If positivity were the answer, many people would not be dealing with anxiety, depression, and burnout.
When Bobby McFerrin wrote the song, “Don’t worry, be happy,” he hoped to brighten the listener’s day. However, the overgeneralization of happy emotions has led to a wounded generation with unprocessed emotions.
Focusing on positive thinking at all times -- even when things are difficult -- is damaging as it discredits non-positive emotions.
Negative emotions are helpful to your psychological and physical health because facing reality helps manage trauma.
Pain is meant to be felt -- you need to go through every emotion in order to process the event that caused it.
In Toxic Positivity, you’ll
How to identify common toxic positivity traps -- and the strategies you can use to avoid them A physiological approach to understanding positive toxicity to help you protect your mental health The dangers of replacing genuine feelings with cheerful optimism -- and how to ensure you don’t become a victim of this rut 9 powerful healthy-thinking techniques to avoid feeling overwhelmed by negative emotions How to harness the power of your subconscious mind to help you master your emotions How to calm trails of negative thoughts, quit overthinking, and stop dwelling on past painful events How to deal with toxic positivity from external sources to help you protect your mental state without losing friends or quitting social media The power of objective reality -- and how to use it to cope with the challenges that life throws your way Brain fitness overcome your fears, appreciate personal growth, and manage everyday challenges How to create positive outcomes from negative situations without suppressing your feelings And much more…
Reckless optimism is the unrealistic idea that life should be perfect, which worsens the situation.
Free yourself from the psychological pressure of judging yourself for feeling sadness, pain, jealousy, and other negative emotions.
All emotions are part of the human experience, and this guide will empower you to avoid succumbing to the pressure of appearing “okay” 24/7.
If you want to master your emotions, protect your mental health, and crush toxic positivity, then scroll up and click the “Add to Cart” button right now.
- GenresSelf HelpPsychology
198 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 8, 2021
35 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 17, 2021
What Problem Does This Book Attempt to Address?
There is positive thinking and then there is its unhealthy counterpart, toxic positivity. This book addresses what toxic positivity is, how to recognize it in yourself and others, why it is bad for your mental health, and how to deal with toxic positivity when you encounter it from yourself and others.
Content
• Concept explanation: Acceptable
• Related stories: Few
• Data references and studies: Average
• Charts and graphics: None
• Practical application: Unfocused
This book more or less accomplishes what it sets out to do. The reader is introduced to the concept of toxic positivity and how to recognize it. That part is done well. The author then explains why toxic positivity is bad. This part is not done as well. I noticed throughout the book there were times where the author mentions a study but doesn’t do a great job explaining how it supports his argument. The connections sometimes seem hard to reach or nonexistent. Some of the reasons given for why toxic positivity is harmful do not seem directly related, but rather negative consequence of poor mental health in general. Throughout the book, occasionally it feels like the author gets off-topic to make a counterargument or tangential point that was not necessary. Overall, it takes away from the feeling that there is a strong case being made.
My main issue with this book is that it tries to do to many things - something in hindsight I should have gathered from the subtitle. Chapters 4 through 8 are not about toxic positivity. They are about emotional management. I understand the idea is to help the reader replace toxic positivity with a more useful thinking pattern. However, it feels like the author couldn’t decide what to add so he just added everything. All the techniques he explains are valid, time-tested and shown to help manage emotion. I am not arguing with the validity of the content. But the majority of this book feels very off topic. I would have preferred to see one or two chapters about what to do when you recognize yourself engaging in toxic positivity. At the end he says the top three techniques he recommends. I wish he had just focused on those three and how readers best use those specific techniques, instead of explaining every single technique he could think of.
Writing Style & Presentation
• Tone: Conversational
• Organization: Fair
• Flow: Fair
The chapter titles accurately convey what material is in each chapter and the order of the content is logical. Some of the organizational decisions in this book create repetition that could otherwise be avoided. One minor gripe I have is with the names of topics when they are in listed format. They are not consistent and it really messes with the flow. There are a few times where what is written doesn’t make sense. You can tell it made sense to the author because he knew what he meant, but not to the reader who cannot fill in the thoughts that are not there. This only happens maybe 3 times, so not frequently, but when it happens it is momentarily disruptive.
Comparison to author’s other books:
Hill’s other book How to Stop Overthinking was a best seller on Amazon and has hundreds of positive reviews. Out of curiosity I would be interested to read that book and see how it compares to this one.
Bring It all Together
One thing done really well: I think toxic positivity is an important topic that needs more awareness, so I support the choice in topic.
One thing that could be better: Conceptual refinement
Overall Recommendation
- Overall recommendation: 2/5
- Who I would recommend this book for: I would not recommend this book.
I think this is a case of a book that could have been very good with the professional guidance of an experienced publisher to help reign in and polish the author’s ideas. I think the concept of toxic positivity is an important one and not as widely known as it should be. I was looking forward to reading this book and I was pretty disappointed with it overall. The author is well-familiar with the topic and has insight that could help people dealing with toxic positivity. I think with some major editing and revisions, this book has the potential to really make a difference and help people. Unfortunately, in its current state it cannot accomplish that goal.
There is positive thinking and then there is its unhealthy counterpart, toxic positivity. This book addresses what toxic positivity is, how to recognize it in yourself and others, why it is bad for your mental health, and how to deal with toxic positivity when you encounter it from yourself and others.
Content
• Concept explanation: Acceptable
• Related stories: Few
• Data references and studies: Average
• Charts and graphics: None
• Practical application: Unfocused
This book more or less accomplishes what it sets out to do. The reader is introduced to the concept of toxic positivity and how to recognize it. That part is done well. The author then explains why toxic positivity is bad. This part is not done as well. I noticed throughout the book there were times where the author mentions a study but doesn’t do a great job explaining how it supports his argument. The connections sometimes seem hard to reach or nonexistent. Some of the reasons given for why toxic positivity is harmful do not seem directly related, but rather negative consequence of poor mental health in general. Throughout the book, occasionally it feels like the author gets off-topic to make a counterargument or tangential point that was not necessary. Overall, it takes away from the feeling that there is a strong case being made.
My main issue with this book is that it tries to do to many things - something in hindsight I should have gathered from the subtitle. Chapters 4 through 8 are not about toxic positivity. They are about emotional management. I understand the idea is to help the reader replace toxic positivity with a more useful thinking pattern. However, it feels like the author couldn’t decide what to add so he just added everything. All the techniques he explains are valid, time-tested and shown to help manage emotion. I am not arguing with the validity of the content. But the majority of this book feels very off topic. I would have preferred to see one or two chapters about what to do when you recognize yourself engaging in toxic positivity. At the end he says the top three techniques he recommends. I wish he had just focused on those three and how readers best use those specific techniques, instead of explaining every single technique he could think of.
Writing Style & Presentation
• Tone: Conversational
• Organization: Fair
• Flow: Fair
The chapter titles accurately convey what material is in each chapter and the order of the content is logical. Some of the organizational decisions in this book create repetition that could otherwise be avoided. One minor gripe I have is with the names of topics when they are in listed format. They are not consistent and it really messes with the flow. There are a few times where what is written doesn’t make sense. You can tell it made sense to the author because he knew what he meant, but not to the reader who cannot fill in the thoughts that are not there. This only happens maybe 3 times, so not frequently, but when it happens it is momentarily disruptive.
Comparison to author’s other books:
Hill’s other book How to Stop Overthinking was a best seller on Amazon and has hundreds of positive reviews. Out of curiosity I would be interested to read that book and see how it compares to this one.
Bring It all Together
One thing done really well: I think toxic positivity is an important topic that needs more awareness, so I support the choice in topic.
One thing that could be better: Conceptual refinement
Overall Recommendation
- Overall recommendation: 2/5
- Who I would recommend this book for: I would not recommend this book.
I think this is a case of a book that could have been very good with the professional guidance of an experienced publisher to help reign in and polish the author’s ideas. I think the concept of toxic positivity is an important one and not as widely known as it should be. I was looking forward to reading this book and I was pretty disappointed with it overall. The author is well-familiar with the topic and has insight that could help people dealing with toxic positivity. I think with some major editing and revisions, this book has the potential to really make a difference and help people. Unfortunately, in its current state it cannot accomplish that goal.
February 3, 2022
Thought Provoking
I always have been a “glass is half full” kind of guy, always looking for the bright side. I’ve been told that I’m too positive by a couple of people over the years…this book explained how this is not normally a helpful attitude. It’s opened my eyes and will go a long way in my journey to becoming the person I want to be! I’m sure I’ll remain a positive person, but will reign in my constant positivity when dealing with my friends and family…I’ll Listen and acknowledge their struggles. I highly recommend this book!
I always have been a “glass is half full” kind of guy, always looking for the bright side. I’ve been told that I’m too positive by a couple of people over the years…this book explained how this is not normally a helpful attitude. It’s opened my eyes and will go a long way in my journey to becoming the person I want to be! I’m sure I’ll remain a positive person, but will reign in my constant positivity when dealing with my friends and family…I’ll Listen and acknowledge their struggles. I highly recommend this book!
May 28, 2022
New way of thinking. Easy to read. Interesting cases to practise.
October 25, 2023
Logical advice.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews