- Srilakshmi Mallya
Intern, Feb- March 2023
Affirmations are a common practice these days. Often used as a technique in Cognitive- Behavioural Therapy, they are words you tell yourself to bring about a positive change in thought, beliefs, and action. They may be intended to instill a sense of control, bring focus, motivate, or simply make you feel good. Simply put, they’re repetitive self-pep talks that help you get through certain situations. This idea is based on Neuroplasticity, or your brain’s ability to adapt to the demands of your life, which facilitates this change known as cognitive restructuring. The aim here is to challenge and neutralize your negative thoughts and with practice, your thoughts, beliefs, and subsequently, your actions will align with those affirmations.
Are affirmations effective?
Research has shown that affirmations are, in fact, effective. Affirmations reduce stress and rumination, help us perceive and accept information otherwise threatening as important and relevant (including interventions), and make us more likely to respond to harmful health messages with a desire to adopt healthier habits and aid academic achievement. Affirmations also help build resilience and hopefulness, broaden our self-concept and improve problem-solving in the face of difficulties, and create positive narratives about ourselves. Affirmations could also improve the quality of sleep.
How to practice affirmations every day?
Affirmations may be repeated three to five times daily, this can be increased to ten with time. Some suggest that you begin your day with affirmations and repeat them before bed. This can be practiced in different ways. You can write affirmations in your journal every day, recite while standing in front of a mirror or during meditation, or buy frames with affirmations that serve as reminders and place them in plain sight .
Positive affirmations are available in the form of videos, audio, books, and also apps that curate affirmations for you. Different types of affirmations are available for different areas - affirmations for women, men, kids, teens, and students, for self-esteem, self-love, success, and so on. They also help with anxiety and depression, although they are no substitute for professional help and treatment.
You can even create your affirmations, keeping in mind the goal of affirmations - to bring about a positive change in your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Make sure your affirmations are positive or neutral, simple statements in the present tense, and meaningful to you. Affirmations begin with “I…” and usually have a feeling/ emotional element in them. Affirmations can also be a means to acknowledge your current wins and strengths and direct you toward the person you seek to be. Affirmations are different from goals. Affirmations challenge your long-held beliefs and patterns about yourself. The affirmations may have a role in your goals but the affirmations in themselves shouldn’t be your goals. Remember that affirmations take time to work and bring about noticeable changes.
Why wouldn’t affirmations work?
Despite this, it’s important to notice that affirmations aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, for several reasons.
An affirmation doesn't work unless you are willing to take some action congruent with the affirmation. For instance, you might want to quit unhealthy eating habits and get fit, and your affirmation maybe “I can put my health first and choose what’s best for my body.” Now, for this affirmation to work, it'll take actual effort, consistency and patience from your end
It’s also essential to believe in your affirmation for it to be effective. If it’s based on something you don’t hold as true, it won't be of any help. Somedays, you might feel defeated or worn out, and just want to sit with the feeling, or take a break. Repeating an affirmation for success won’t be as helpful, it could even backfire. As mentioned earlier, affirmations can’t replace therapy. Perhaps your negative thoughts stem from something deeper than the surface that needs professional assistance.
Your therapist may use affirmations as a technique in therapy, but if it doesn’t seem to help you, you can always discuss it with them and adopt techniques that do work for you.
Affirmations work best when they’re personal or related to you, realistic, and achievable. You might come across plenty of readymade affirmations every day on social media, clothing, books, articles, blogs on the internet; etc. While some of these might align with your values, some might not work at all because they’re not relevant to you or simply don’t hold any personal depth or meaning.
Remember, you get to determine what matters to you, which area of your life requires affirmation, and which of them help you. And determining this is important in helping you work out your affirmations.
Affirmations are so powerful and it has a positive impact on us❤️
I needed to hear this today, thank you for writing about the power of using affirmations :)
Positive self talk is so so important, thank you for this!