NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk as a substitute for mental health advice. This talk only represents the speaker's personal views and interpretation of toxic positivity. We've flagged this talk because it falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

[Trigger Warning: 00.56-01.12: Miscarriage; 05.31-05.39: Death; 09.48-10.11: Suicide] In her talk, Dr. Era Dutta explains toxic positivity using some real-life scenarios and talks about how positivity can become toxic. She says that emotions aren't binary, like positive or negative. When we resort to toxic positivity, it leads to emotional invalidation. To go back to positive emotions, we need to go through the negative ones, not over them. It is impossible to be happy all the time. She goes on to explain how toxic positivity also breeds on social media. Dr. Dutta talks about how we need to embrace all our emotions as they are a part of us, not apart from us. We need to change the narrative around toxic positivity; from toxic positivity to feeling all emotions. Dr. Era Dutta is a Consultant Psychiatrist and has been awarded the Young Psychiatrist Award. Her expertise in Depression, Anxiety, OCD, and Stress has helped her touch the lives of many. Her expert advice has featured in many leading newspapers and radio interviews.

Dr. Dutta constantly strives to share her views on mental health and wellness and strives to stamp out the stigma that surrounds mental health. Her personal and professional mantra is "Balanced Wellness". This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx