Top 7 Positive Thinking Myths Busted

Maybe always looking at the bright side isn’t the best way to go. Girls, this is an eye-opener.

- Faarah Mehta and Shereen Halbawi

You’ve heard it a million times: ‘Think positively, be grateful!’ It’s become virtually impossible to scroll down your Instagram feed without seeing a barrage of posts with messages like, ‘Inhale The Good, Exhale The Bad’. It’s a #PositiveVibes takeover!

Yet, when ‘life happens’, no amount of positive thinking, laws of attraction, and self-help books seem to work. In fact, we find ourselves feeling emptier than ever. So while positive thinking is well-intentioned, it only works when you allow for negative thinking as well. Don’t believe us? Studies at Harvard and Stanford have actually proven that ignoring or overexpressing unresolved emotions is actually toxic. The next time you feel terrible because you’ve lost your job, boyfriend, or a loved one, and anyone tells you to be grateful, positive and strong, just ignore them (in your head).

UAE-based AcceptanceCommitment Therapist, Mindfulness Consultant and the Founder of the Free Spirit Project, Briar Jaques busts positive thinking myths:

MYTH NO.1

‘DISTRACT YOURSELF, SQUASH THAT NEGATIVITY! BE POSITIVE’

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. As children, every time we hurt ourselves, dropped our ice cream or were upset, we were told, ‘Honey, don’t cry, be brave, it’s going to be okay, here’s a lollipop’. Or, some of us were just left to cry because our parents thought that ‘crying it out’ would make us resilient. Ever since we can remember, the subliminal messages we’ve been receiving from our unsuspecting elders have been ‘shut down, distract yourself... or deal with it!’