Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The Worst Cases Of 'Toxic Positivity' They've Ever Witnessed

People Describe The Worst Cases Of 'Toxic Positivity' They've Ever Witnessed
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

We all want to have the best of intentions, I mean at least I hope we do.

In order to do that though... we need to start watching what falls out of our mouths.

First, read the room.

Second, process your thoughts.

Third, just be present.

I know we've been indoctrinated to believe that putting a positive spin on every little thing will make life all better.

But that is not always the case.

Redditornumb_yet_emotionalwanted to discuss the ways being "positive" maybe didn't work out best. They asked:

"What is the worst toxic positivity you've heard?"

Don't tell me to just smile. I like a solid frown thank you.

What Day?

canadian what GIF by CBCGiphy

"I read a comment on Reddit that someone had wished someone a 'Happy rainbow baby day' on the anniversary of their miscarriage. So uh... that."

MikeNoble91

Just Like Bey!

"People saying that we all have the same 24 hours."

GBKGames

"There's a motivational image somewhere that says 'you have the same amount if hours in the day as Beyonce' and it's like.. I mean yes but how many of her hours are spent cooking, cleaning, struggling with finances, and handling life? I would argue she has more hours because she pays people to do things instead of wasting her time."

joyfall

Nah bro...

"I’ve been called brave before because of my disability. Nah bro. I’m just living life the best I can just like anyone else tries to do."

disablednerd

"You should be proud of not letting it affect your personality and make you bitter!"

"First of all, you never knew me without this condition, so for all you know, this IS my bitter self. Second: honey, if every bitter person needed a good reason, and if every person with a good reason turned bitter, there would be such chaos in human society."

thefuzzybunny1

Dungeon Masters...

"I would often cry as a kid because I had a really bad father. My mom's response would be 'at least you have a father, some kids don't have one!'"

poopybuttfacehead

"There's a saying in Dungeons and Dragons, particularly regarding toxic groups or Dungeon Masters. It's become a slogan for subreddits where people share their horror stories about really bad games, because it's pretty common that people are writing them in retrospect and, at the time, feared that they wouldn't find a group to play with again. That saying is 'Bad D&D is worse than no D&D.' Bringing this up for no reason at all."

ShornVisage

“it’ll be ok”

americas got talent shut up GIF by NBCGiphy

"When my baby was diagnosed with a potentially terminal illness in utero and everyone outside of the medical field kept saying 'it’ll be ok.' Meanwhile I’m trying to figure out how I’ll survive planning my baby’s funeral if the worst happens."

comebraidmyhair

I can't with some of these. It's like people have never been in public before.

Shut Up!

Joe Biden Reaction GIF by Election 2020Giphy

"Recently went to a crisis Uni. One of the case workers said you can't be sad if you're grateful. Very untrue!!!"

weist-risq

“doesn’t mean it”

"The idea that you 'have' to forgive everything, often said immediately after the thing happened. It’s often used as a way to dismiss the hurt or the action. You don’t have to forgive everyone or everything. Many times, forgiveness is good, especially when you can communicate with the person who hurt you. But sometimes anger is adaptive, and it signals an important boundary that you can recognize in the future."

"Relatedly, the idea that you should be explaining away someone’s behavior by trying to imagine what they were thinking or feeling. In many cases, understanding other perspectives is extremely helpful. But in cases of repeated abusive behavior, telling someone that the abuser 'doesn’t mean it' or 'you know they love you, but they have problems controlling their anger' is not helpful."

definitelynotadingo

Choose This...

"Just choose happiness!"

Lunallance

"I hate this for two reasons."

"1: there is a seed of healthy advice here that has been drowned and corrupted into something absolutely meaningless and offers no help for any situation."

"2: happiness is just one of several emotions humans feel. All of them are valid and serve a role in the human experience. Anger, fear, jealousy, love, disgust, regret and sadness are just as valid as happiness and suppressing them is not healthy. Acknowledging our 'negative' emotions as they are helps us get out of bad situations much more effectively than 'choosing to be happy.'"

ArthurBonesly

Pain is Pain

"Two things. It's selfish to want to help yourself when you're in a state of depression, and you shouldn't be depressed because you have what many people don't have. A roof over your head, food, water, electricity, etc. No matter who you are, you can always take care of yourself, and you can also feel depressed. Placing yourself before anyone else shouldn't be selfish, it should be basic self needs."

DogsAreCool69420

CRAP!!

"Family always sticks together!"

"Bull. F**king. S**t!!"

Doodle_Brush

Sometimes the best way to help... is to just shut up. There's a positive.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Halle Berry
Fortune Magazine

Halle Berry Warns That Women Are Turning Themselves Into 'Monsters' With Cosmetic Surgery

Academy Award-winning actor Halle Berry pushed back against the stigmatization of women and aging in a powerful interview with Fortune magazine.

The 58-year-old Hollywood bombshell established herself as a leading actor in 2001 when she became the first African-American woman and first woman of color to win the Oscar for her captivating performance as a struggling widow in Monster's Ball.

Keep ReadingShow less
Khalid
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Audacy

Musician Khalid Opens Up About His Sexuality After Being 'Outed' By Ex On Social Media

Singer-songwriter Khalid opened up about his sexuality in a series of candid tweets in response to being "outed" by fellow musician Hugo D Almonte, who implied they'd been in a relationship.

Khalid shared a Pride flag emoji along with the following short and sweet message:

Keep ReadingShow less
Rudy Giuliani
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Courtroom Sketch Artist's Drawings Of Rudy Giuliani Looking Unhinged Are An Instant Classic

Courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg's latest sketches of the disbarred former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have gone viral after she captured him in remarkable detail lashing out in court.

Giuliani appeared in federal court in Manhattan for a case where he has been ordered to pay nearly $150 million to two Georgia election workers he defamed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jasmine Hunter; Hunter and Joe Biden
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images for World Food Program USA

Jasmine Crockett Perfectly Calls Out Republicans Who Criticize Biden For Pardoning Hunter

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett is calling out Republicans who've criticized President Joe Biden over his pardon of his son Hunter.

Biden granted “a full and unconditional” pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, covering federal gun and tax charges. Hunter Biden had been scheduled to be sentenced for his federal gun conviction on December 12 and for his tax case just four days later.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man appearing shocked and regretful while on the phone
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

People Share Their Biggest 'I F*cked Up' Experiences

We're all human here, so we all make mistakes. Most mistakes can be resolved with a genuine apology, hot glue to fix a broken vase, and a good cleaning solution for a big spill.

Other mistakes, like bullying someone or breaking someone's heart, are much more guilt-inducing and harder for everyone to get over.

Keep ReadingShow less