![]() Instead of blinding going through life looking at it with an overly positive lens, tragic optimism acknowledges the existence of loss, pain and suffering, but keeps that glimmer of hope alive.Īdvocates for tragic optimism support the idea that there is space to experience both the good and the bad in life, and sometimes we can be better for it because we can grow from each end of the scale. It shows that is always hope and meaning in life, but rather takes on a more realistic frame of mind. Tragic optimism is often described as an acceptance of life where you’re able to find a happy medium in the face of any tragic or unfavourable life events. Never heard of the phrase before? Well, let me get you familiar with it. Tragic optimism was first defined in 1985 by Austrian psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, yet recently the term is back in the spotlight as it’s being heralded the antidote to toxic positivity. This can happen to the extent that it leads to shame, which is really unhelpful as it distracts the person from dealing with whatever issue they are facing. While remaining positive is generally considered to be a healthy way to approach things, when it starts to err on the ‘toxic’ side (aka blindly disregards any grim reality), it dehumanises the range of emotions that every person experiences - and in many cases, makes the person who is feeling those feelings feel inadequate or invalidated. It often means dismissing someone’s negative emotions with void reassurances rather than just with empathy. And if you’re not familiar with the term, toxic positivity is essentially the assumption that someone should only have a positive mindset, regardless of the particular situation or circumstance they’re facing. What is toxic positivity?īy now you may have heard the phrase ‘ toxic positivity’ and for those that err on the optimistic side, you may have grimaced or questioned whether you were guilty of laying it on that positivity a little too thick. Like what you see? Sign up to our newsletter for more stories like this.
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