20: Toxic Positivity

Mazel Tov! This is our 20th episode! And it promises to be a good one. Today’s episode is all about toxic positivity. We discuss our understanding of and opinions about this concept, and we’ve invited therapist Yocheved Davidowitz to weigh in on the Jewish perspective towards toxic positivity. What is toxic positivity, you may ask? It's the belief that a person should put a positive spin on all experiences, even tragic ones. No matter how difficult a situation is, one should make sure he or she maintains a positive mindset. Toxic positivity rejects difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful, often falsely positive, facade. Why do we engage in toxic positivity in dealing with others' emotional realities (and our own?) What’s bad about it, and how can we avoid it? We invite you to listen and find out. At the end of today’s episode, we hope you’ll have gained a greater awareness of the difference between positivity and forced positivity, and where optimism, hope and emunah fits in. This is so relevant when we’re faced with the difficult feelings of others, and when we’re faced with managing our own difficult feelings in response to other people’s discomforting emotions. We’d love to hear from you. You can find us on social media, or email us at [email protected]. Show Notes: Yocheved Davidowitz’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-deeper-conversation/id1536859442 WSJ’s recent article on toxic positivity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tired-of-being-told-cheer-up-the-problem-of-toxic-positivity-11635858001