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.

Redditor numb_yet_emotional wanted 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

Screenshots from Priscilla Houliston's TikTok video
@the1870studio/Tiktok

Woman Who Bought An Old Church For Under $40k To Live In Explains How She Did It

It's becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to find a home for those who do not already have one or who are in dire need of an upgrade.

TikToker Priscilla Houliston is here to teach us another way: seeking out old churches and other obscure properties that can be re-zoned as a residential home property.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Pentagon Just Banned Press Photographers Over 'Unflattering' Photos Of Pete Hegseth—And The Internet Got To Work

The internet reacted exactly as you might expect after the Pentagon announced it would ban some press photographers from briefings about the Iran war due to their "unflattering" photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Here's a silly one, just because.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @italiangirl1130's TikTok video
@italiangirl1130/TikTok

Italian Exchange Student's Reaction To American Host Mom Taking Him To Olive Garden Is An Instant Classic

A joy that not nearly enough people get to have during high school is hosting an international student who comes to visit for either one semester or perhaps even an entire year to experience the world and the educational system from another country.

Tiktoker Rhonda, who goes by @italiangirl1130 on the platform, currently has the pleasure of hosting Alessandro, and her family has already filmed a variety of antics on the platform, trying to give the teen the best American experience they can.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @ali.fragster, @pluto_theservicedog, and @thatflippingagent's TikTok videos
@ali.fragster/TikTok; @pluto_theservicedog/TikTok: @thatflippingagent/TikTok

Woman's Video Shooing Kid At Disneyland Away From Her Service Dog Sparks Heated Debate

A massive debate has taken over TikTok about who needs to be protected, children or service dogs or both, and it all started with a video taken at Disneyland.

TikToker @pluto_theservicedog frequently posts videos of her travels with her service dog, Pluto, and she also creates informative videos about how the general public should interact with service dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hudson Williams (left) and François Arnaud (right)
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

'Heated Rivalry' Stars Call Out The Show's Toxic Fans And Their 'Hateful Love' With Blunt Statement

Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and François Arnaud took to social media to call out hateful comments from some of the show’s fans.

Both Williams, who plays Shane Hollander in the series, and Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, have recently been the targets of a wave of hostile online commentary. Their message addressed viewers who were trying to pit the actors and other cast members against one another.

Keep ReadingShow less