I want to bring your attention to a new book written by an author that I really admre, Barbara Ehrenreich. The title of the book says it all: Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. She wrote this book in part as a result of her experience of being treated for breast cancer in 2000. She reached out for support and was constantly told to ‘think positive," which, to her, also implied that if she didn’t get better, it was her fault. I appreciate the author’s honesty. While I am not arguing that falling into a spiral of negative thinking is a good thing, either, I am also concerned that, when we force ourselves to ‘think positive’ we risk swallowing emotions that need to be acknowledged and expressed. Bottled up emotions don’t go away by themselves. They can grow and find their way out in an explosive way that does damage to personal relationships, or they can stay inside and lead to a sense of helplessness. Research has even suggested that bottled up emotions may have an impact on wellness. Don’t let the positive thinking police wear you down. Find a safe place to express your feelings and let them all out, even the feelings you don’t think you should be feeling. Feelings are just feelings.
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