Hi there. How have you been? Good? I hope so. One thing i REALLY try to remember is avoiding toxic positivity, & making sure i am genuinely positive & optimistic. I really try to be mindful of that, as many people try to be positive, think they are being positive, but in actual fact are more ‘Toxic Positivity’ than they are genuinely optimistic & positive. And in the process of that, they will, for example, invalidate someone &/or invalidate their experiences & suffering. That is often done by saying something starting with “Well at least you don’t …..” or maybe “it could be worse ….” & similar. Yes, they may be right, but a persons feelings, pain & struggles are still very real & very valid. We are ALL different! We all have different limits, capabilities, capacities, views, ways of handling things, limits & life experiences. And all that can often get ignored & we say “Well at least you don’t …..” or “it could be worse ….” straight away. Now, i agree we need to get ALL the facts, & be balanced, yes! Absolutely! But their are ways & means of doing things. One of the ones i do not like the most are “good vibes only” that can pop up on social media sometimes. What if someone is negative & genuinely needs help? Someone to talk to? Someone who will listen & understand? Are they still not allowed to be there? Also, sadly quite often it is our own inner dialogue that is toxic. Especially if we suffer mental health issues, like Depression, Anxiety, PTSD & others.
So, here is an excellent couple of handy guides to download, save, print & keep for reference. Speaking of optimism, i have some excellent books on optimism in the SHOP. Here are some in particular that deal with it:
* Positive Psychology for Overcoming Depression
* Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
* The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (2nd Edition)
* Average to A+: Realizing Strengths in Yourself and Others
* The Optimistic Child: A Proven Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience
Simply click on the title for the book you are interested in, or just go to the SHOP to see all the ones available. All these points below are excellent for honest self analysis. It gets us thinking, & can helps us be more genuinely optimistic & positive, & be better able to help others & ourselves. Hope it helps.
