KIRO Newsradio: Seattle psychotherapist on how to cope with ‘season of toxic positivity’
Self Space was recently featured in a KIRO News story by Rachel Belle, Kiro Newsradio feature reported and host of the James Beard Award-nominated podcast, “Your Last Meal”. In the podcast. Rachel discusses toxic positive with one of our Self Space therapists, and they explore what is toxic positivity, how to identify when it comes up (or when you’re using it!), how to address it, and what to do instead.
From Rachel Belle at Kiro News
Maybe this has happened to you: You tell someone you’re having a hard time. Maybe you’re grieving a death, or dealing with a tough breakup. Maybe you lost your job, or you just had a bad day. They respond with something like, “At least they died quickly,” or “It’s probably for the best,” or “Look on the bright side, be grateful for what you have!”
This is what’s known as toxic positivity.
“It was funny when you reached out because I feel like this is the season of toxic positivity. It comes up all the time in my sessions, so I am more than happy to chat about it,” said Julia Bonnheim, a Seattle-based psychotherapist. “Think about things that you might see embroidered on a throw pillow in an Airbnb house — you know, ‘Good Vibes Only,’ ‘Live Laugh Love,’ ‘Don’t Worry, Just Be Happy.’ And sometimes, ‘it’s not so bad,’ or ‘don’t think about that right now,’ ‘it’s not that big of a deal,’ ‘just be happy.'”