Archive · 25 Nov 2025
The Pitfalls of 'Good Vibes Only' Spirituality
Some people use spirituality to avoid feeling sad, angry, or guilty.
They post happy things online and say they're 'high-vibe,' but they're really just ignoring their problems.
Experts say this isn't real healing.
True spirituality means facing your feelings, even the hard ones.
It's like cleaning a house: you can't just spray perfume; you have to deal with the mess underneath.
Real growth comes from understanding and accepting all your emotions, not just the good ones.
Spiritual bypassing involves using spiritual ideas to avoid painful emotions like grief or anger.
Experts warn that this practice leads to emotional avoidance and superficiality in spirituality.
Social media has amplified this trend, with influencers promoting 'high-vibe' lifestyles.
Authentic spirituality involves facing and integrating all emotions, not just the positive ones.
Therapists recommend practices like journaling, somatic grounding, and parts work for genuine healing.
- Who
- Psychologists and psychotherapists discussing the dangers of spiritual bypassing
- What
- The phenomenon of using spirituality to avoid painful emotions
- When
- Present day, with increasing prevalence due to social media
- Where
- India, particularly in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru
- Why
- To highlight the emotional avoidance and superficiality in modern spirituality
- Psychological Term
- Spiritual bypassing
- Definition
- Using spiritual ideas to avoid painful emotions
- Expert
- Dr. Aman Bhonsle, psychotherapist
- Expert
- Anshuma Kshetrapal, psychotherapist
- Expert
- Mehr Lungani, counselling psychologist
- Expert
- Anubha Doshi, mindfulness-based psychotherapist
- Example of Bypassing
- Manifestation boards without taking risks
- Authentic Spirituality
- Sitting with pain, integrating emotions