Therapist Points Out The Main Difference Between Support And Toxic Positivity

It doesn’t matter who we are, we are going to have good and bad things happen in our lives. When something good happens, it isn’t difficult to find the words that express how we feel. When something bad happens, however, it can sometimes be difficult to know what words to use. In fact, most people just try to tell us to put our best foot forward and be positive. There is one therapist, however, who is saying that giving such advice is nothing less than toxic.

Of course, nobody wants to have something rubbed their face when they are already feeling down so our natural inclination is to use something positive that we may have heard in the past. These types of mantras are often thought of as being very positive but they don’t often provide the boost that is desired. That is what psychotherapist Whitney Hawkins Goodman, LMFT has to say. She owns the Collaborative Counseling Center and the Instagram account, @sitwithwhit. In order to show her thoughts on toxic positivity, she provides a chart that helps us to see a clear difference.

Whitney Hawkins Goodman is a psychotherapist who wants to educate people on the difference between validation and toxic positivity. The chart is going viral.

She said that the toxic positivity sayings found on Pinterest are thought to be harmless for some but they can have a negative effect for others.

Goodman says: “I’ve realized people HATE the word toxic. I hear ya’ll. Got a lot of comments on “never give up.” Decided to keep it. There are relationships, life goals, plans and situations that is OK to give up on. Not everything needs to result in completion. Sometimes it is safer to give up. We owe each other the space to discuss the options,” and asked her followers, “What are some other positive sayings that you think are totally dismissive?”

People thought that it brought out a very important point.

H/T: Bored Panda