Toxic Positivity and Its Impact on Your Body
Did you know that toxic positivity can affect you physically? According to ‘Psychology Today’ the phrase “toxic positivity” refers to the concept that keeping positive, and keeping positive only, is the “right” way to live your life. It means only focusing on positive things and rejecting anything that may trigger negative emotions.
Toxic positivity is becoming more widely known for its impact on our mental health, but it can also result in physical symptoms such as muscle tension, pain, fatigue, and many other health challenges. In this post, Toxic Positivity And The Impact On Our Body, I share a story of a client unknowingly falling into toxic positivity and the impingement it was having on his neck.
Here’s something to know about me (Anne). I love helping people investigate and heal their physical symptoms on a deep level. (We’re talking addressing the root causes on mental, emotional, and spiritual levels here!)
It makes me want to do a high kick and sing from a mountaintop. Because it’s just so freaking incredible! And the results never cease to amaze me…every. single. time. (Steve can vouch for the many-a-dance sequence that has happened when I help someone make a breakthrough.😆)
Source: Giphy
How does toxic positivity impact your physical body?
I’ve been working with a client to address some irritations he is having with his eye. (Multiple eye doctors have checked it out and have no answer as to why it’s happening.) And working from the perspective of addressing the mental and emotional conflicts that are creating this irritation, our latest session brought up an interesting finding.
This week during our healing session he said something interesting as we discussed a block he was coming up against in his healing, “...Dwelling on that is negative, I try to stay on the positive.”
You see, there was a painful thought that kept popping into his awareness that he didn’t want to be with because it was uncomfortable, and so he tried to mentally control it by saying to himself, “No, I don’t want to be thinking like that, I want to be positive.”
When we resist “negative” thinking because it makes us uncomfortable — aka toxic positivity — we create tension and energetic densities in our bodies, much like a game of tug. You’re tugging the rope one way while your subconscious is tugging it another way. It’s exhausting, unproductive, and a never-ending battle.
The problem is that this resistance gets stuck inside of us, creating physical symptoms and disease if not dealt with.
Instead, facing this resistance head-on is how we fully integrate and heal.
So, to face the uncomfortable thought that was coming up for him, I guided him through a body scan and asked him where this “negative” thought was located in his body. ”My lower neck and shoulders,” he replied.
I led him through releasing this density out of his body, and this was his response afterward, “Before we started, I was moving my head around, because my neck was catching and tense and bothering me. And now after that release, I don’t feel anything at all! I have never felt so much energy movement at one time. That was awesome.”
His neck was holding the painful thought he was trying to ignore, which caused him PHYSICAL pain. (see the connection?) And when we released it, the pain was gone! He addressed the “negative” thought, allowing it to flow and integrate, freeing this emotional weight from his body.
(I was flying high to hear in his voice a sense of lightness and relief...and maybe did some twirling afterward 😉)
Back to that game of tug metaphor. Addressing the resistance, releasing it, and integrating the lesson it was here to teach you is like tossing the rope aside. It diffuses the struggle, establishing more peace in your mind and body and allows the space for the physical symptoms to resolve.
Are you currently playing a game of tug?
If you’re struggling with a physical symptom and reflecting on how maybe it’s being caused by something you are thinking about, (or trying not to think about) then somatic healing is the perfect place to start. We’ll help you uncover the mental and emotional tie-in and where it’s stored in the body.
For you must first gain awareness as to what is causing the problem before it can be resolved.
If this sparks your interest, reach out, and I would be honored to help.
