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

Justine Lindsay speaks onstage at a Night of Pride with GLAAD and the NFL on February 08, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for GLAAD

First Openly Trans NFL Cheerleader Claims She Was Cut After 3 Seasons Due To Transphobia

In March 2022, the Carolina Panthers’ TopCats made history when they hired Justine Lindsay, the first openly transgender woman known to join an NFL cheerleading squad.

While the league has no official record of its cheerleader demographics, Lindsay’s public announcement marked a milestone: she was the first transgender woman on an NFL team to be open about her identity from the moment she stepped into the role.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rian Johnson; The Muppets
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; julio donoso/Sygma/Getty Images

Rian Johnson Responds After Fans Clamor For The Next 'Knives Out' Movie To Star The Muppets

In a world packed with sequels and book-to-film adaptations, we movie buffs are ready for the next big thing: unexpected universe crossovers.

For those not well-versed in the Knives Out universe, the Netflix franchise currently hosts two films, and while the sequel was certainly "sequel" in nature, it pleased fans and made everyone want to go bigger.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth; Mark Kelly
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Sparks Outrage After Threatening To Court-Martial Mark Kelly Over 'Unlawful Order' Video

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sparked outrage after the Pentagon announced it's investigating Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly—a former U.S. Navy captain and astronaut—for "serious allegations of misconduct" after he joined five other members of Congress in a video reminding military members that they took an oath to obey the Constitution and can disobey illegal orders.

In a video message, Kelly, joined by a group of fellow veterans in Congress that included his colleagues Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) and Rep. Jason Crow (Pennsylvania), noted that the Trump administration is "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens."

Keep ReadingShow less
Kacey Musgraves
Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images

Kacey Musgraves Has Fans Cracking Up After Revealing She Accidentally Visited A Gay Sauna

You know how it is, we've all been there: You're wandering down the street in an unknown city and whoops! You've ended up in a gay sauna. Yes, THAT kind of gay sauna.

Okay, so maybe that doesn't happen to all of us, but it did happy to musician Kacey Musgraves during a recent visit to Sydney, Australia, and it has fans cackling.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie Taylor Greene; Donald Trump
Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images; John McDonnell/Getty Images

GOP Rep. Claims MTG's Resignation Could Be The First Of Many In Eye-Opening Rant

Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene—once the conspiracy theory-spewing, QAnon-embracing apple of MAGA's eye—announced on Friday her intent to resign and retire from Congress effective January 5.

In the wake of her almost 10-minute video announcement, an anonymous senior House Republican said many others in the party have also grown sick of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump and his incompetent, petty, glory-hogging administration. They cite Christian nationalist Speaker Mike Johnson as his primary enabler.

Keep ReadingShow less