Be grateful, they said. There’s so much to be grateful for, they said. It’s the key to happiness, they said.

But they never said that gratitude has a dark side.

No one talks about what happens when it’s easier to shrink your feelings than admit something hurts. Or when you smile through a job that drains you or a relationship that numbs you, because…well, at least you’re not alone, starving, or sick.

There’s a name for this. It’s called toxic gratitude, the kind that looks like wisdom o...