“Just stay positive.”

It’s one of the most common pieces of advice offered when someone is struggling. In self-help books, corporate wellness programs, and even on social media, positivity is promoted as the ultimate key to happiness and success. But while optimism has its place, the term positive mindset can be misleading. It implies that maintaining a cheerful outlook—sometimes reduced to simply smiling—is enough to overcome life’s most difficult challenges.

In my experience, that’s not the whole story.

Psychologists have long warned about toxic positivity—the tendency to........

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