Toxic Positivity（毒性积极性）

KEY POINTS

Positivity can be good for well-being, as long as we’re not using it to avoid or suppress negative emotions.
积极性对整体健康幸福有益，只要我们不将其用于逃避或压制负面情绪。

Toxic positivity is defined as the act of rejecting or denying stress, negativity, or other negative experiences that exist.
毒性积极性的定义是，拒绝或否认压力、负面性、或其他存在的负面体验。

Because negative emotions are tools we use to get important needs met, we don’t just want to be shoving them away without acknowledgment.
由于负面情绪是我们用来满足重要需求的工具，我们不能只是否认它们存在，然后推开它们。

Positivity involves things like gratitude, optimism, and positive reappraisal. You may have heard that positivity is good for well-being. On the flip side, maybe you’ve felt annoyed, angry, or uncomfortable when positivity was forced on you. Indeed, positivity can be good for well-being...as long as we’re not using it to avoid or suppress negative emotions. Then, it can become toxic.

积极性包含诸如感恩、乐观、正面评估等因素。你可能听说过积极性对人的健康幸福有益，但另一面，当别人强迫你必须有积极性时，你可能感到不悦、愤怒或者不适。的确，积极性会对我们的健康幸福有益，只要我们不将其用于逃避或压制负面情绪。否则，这种积极性就是毒性的。

Toxic positivity is defined as the act of rejecting or denying stress, negativity, or other negative experiences that exist (Sokal, Trudel, & Babb, 2020).

毒性积极性的定义是，拒绝或否认压力、负面性、或其他存在的负面体验。

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish positivity from toxic positivity. For example, if someone tells us, “Hey, look at the bright side,” we might feel like they are diminishing or denying our negative feelings. Because negative emotions are tools we use to get important needs met, we don’t just want to be shoving them away without acknowledgment. So, seemingly positive advice from friends can often feel like toxic positivity to the person receiving it.

有时候很难区分健康积极性与毒性积极性。例如，如果有人告诉我们：看好的一面。我们可能感觉他们在否认我们的负面感受或对其不以为意。因为负面情绪是我们用来满足重要需求的工具，我们不能只是否认它们存在，然后推开它们。所以，朋友给出的看起来很积极的建议，通常对接收者来说感觉像是毒性的。

A few more examples of toxic positivity:
一些毒性积极性示例：

I say: “I’m having a bad day.” Toxic response: “But you have so much to be grateful for.”
我：“我今天过得很不好”；
毒性回复：“但你有那么多可以感恩的地方。”

I say: “I don’t know if I can have a relationship with my sister. She doesn’t treat me with decency and respect.” Toxic response: “She’s family. You should love her no matter what.”
我：“我不知道还能不能和我姐姐处下去，她对待我的方式不得体，也不尊重我。”
毒性回复：“她是你的家人，无论如何你都应该爱她。”

I say: “This job sucks.” Toxic response: “You’re lucky you even have a job.”
我：“这份工作糟透了！”
毒性回复：“你还能有份工作，已经很幸运了。”

In these examples, someone is using positivity to get rid of our true or negative experiences.

在这些例子中，回复者都在用积极性来否认我们的真正或负面体验。

On the other hand, say a friend tells us, “Hey, it’s OK not to be OK.” This shows acceptance of our negative emotions as well as compassion and gratitude. This approach is not toxic because it doesn't deny our emotions and force us to feel something we don’t want to feel.

另一面，比如说，一位朋友告诉我们：“感觉糟糕是很正常的。”这意味着对方不仅认可了我们的负面情绪，而且也表达了同情和感谢。这种回应并非毒性，因为它没有否认我们的情绪，没有强迫我们去感受我们不想要的感受。

When Does Positivity Become Toxic?
积极性何时是毒性的？

One study showed that looking for silver linings is only beneficial in uncontrollable contexts. For example, if we lose our job, we might benefit from thinking about our future opportunities. But if we try to use positive reappraisal in controllable situations—or situations that we could change—we might actually be worse off (Troy, Shallcross, & Mauss, 2013).

一项研究显示，在苦难中寻找“慰藉”，只有在不可控情形中才是有效的。例如，如过我们失业，那么思考未来机遇，就可能对我们有益处。但如果我们试图在可控情形或可改变情形中采用积极重新评估方式（从积极视角重新审视评估整个情形），我们可能实际上会变得更糟糕。

Some research suggests that it is inappropriate to use positivity (positive reappraisal) when our identities are being threatened. For example, when people experience racial oppression, looking for silver linings appears to actually lead to worse well-being (Perez & Soto, 2011).

一些研究显示，当我们的身份被威胁时，是不适合使用积极性（积极评估）的。例如，当一些人经历种族压迫时，寻找“一丝慰藉”，似乎实际上会恶化整体健康幸福程度。

If people encourage us to use a specific emotion regulation skill that we’re not good at, it could actually leave us worse off. And, for many people, positivity can be a difficult skill to develop and implement. So if you’re not good at being positive, optimistic, or reflecting on your situation to find the silver lining, it could actually be bad for you (Ford & Troy, 2019).

如果人们鼓励我们使用某种我们并不擅长的特定情绪管理技巧，这也可能实际上适得其反。而且，对很多人而言，积极性可能是一种难以培养和实施的技能。因此，如果你不擅长积极、乐观，或思考个人情形寻找好的一面，那么它可能实际上对你有害无益。

Most people think of positive emotion as a good thing, and more is better, right? Well, it turns out that too much positive emotion may actually be a bad thing. Too much positive emotion has been shown to be a risk factor for mania (Gruber, Johnson, Oveis, & Keltner, 2008).

很多人都认为积极情绪是有益的，多多益善，对吧？但事实却发现过多的积极情绪可能有害。过多积极情绪已经被表明是癫狂症的一个风险因素。

Being obsessed with happiness and focusing excessively on getting happy has also been shown to be bad for well-being (Ford & Mauss, 2014). It’s thought that this may create a discrepancy between how we feel now and how we want to feel. Indeed, having ultra-high expectations for happiness tends to be bad for our mental health.

执迷于幸福快乐，过度强调幸福快乐，也已经被表明对幸福健康有害。有理论认为这可能会导致我们所希望的感受与实际感受并不相符。的确，对幸福快乐持有超高期望，往往有损于我们的精神健康。

In Sum/总结

Toxic positivity can be tricky. The benefits of positivity are very real and impactful, but at the same time, it can be easy to get positivity wrong. Hopefully, the guidance here will help you take what you can from the field of positivity psychology while still being able to prevent positivity from becoming toxic.

毒性积极性会比较狡猾。积极性的确存在益处而且益处强大，但同时，也很容易过犹不及。希望这一文章能够帮助你从积极心理学领域得到自己所需，同时又能够帮助你避免你的积极性变得毒性。