(10th August 2022, 1:34 PM)Dark Jaguar Wrote: Toxic positivity is what you were just describing, people telling you to just "put on a happy face" no matter how bad your situation is.

(8th August 2022, 8:52 AM)Dark Jaguar Wrote: If all your therapist has to offer is a "will it want it" strategy, you may be suffering from toxic positivity.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/toxic-positivity

You're right, just "putting a positive spin" won't fix the world.  You may wish to look for another therapist, and by the way, there are many many therapists who don't actually have a medical license.  In my state, many of them are "Christian therapists", who are even more intense with that toxic positivity mindset.

Acting in the here and now does help with my own mental well-being.  I have a job I'm proud of that directly helps the community, though as of late it's been under threat thanks to well, extreme right wing views.  Beyond just a job though, there's forming a local support network outside it's existing authority structures.  If there's already something like that, as in a group with plans in place for how to help a lot of people during natural disasters or just clean up local parks or such things, I'd recommend joining it.  Note that this isn't a replacement for therapy, but it is a way to affect real change.  Many such groups do get political, and that's why it's important they not be directly tied to any authority structures so they can act freely and exert political pressure without fear of their funding being cut or orders from the top coming down.

I'm afraid I won't be able to help beyond what I've said for finding a therapist, but for finding a civic group or even starting your own, I've found this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x7nc3Vi4BPgmNnMsz774A
Yeah I know he looks like he's a member of some weird right wing militia, but he's as left wing as they come and he's talking about things like local community gardens, getting food, water, and trauma kits ready for local disaster relief so everyone's not waiting on the government to respond, fixing up local roads and such, and just being generally aware and being able to help move people in case authoritarianism strikes again and we get another 4 years of Trump.  Who am I kidding?  If Trump is elected again, it'll be till death do us part.

(8th August 2022, 8:52 AM)Dark Jaguar Wrote: You're right, just "putting a positive spin" won't fix the world.  You may wish to look for another therapist, and by the way, there are many many therapists who don't actually have a medical license.  In my state, many of them are "Christian therapists", who are even more intense with that toxic positivity mindset.