By: Rachel Koutnik, LCSW
Do you struggle with negative thinking?
Does your mind become flooded with thoughts about stressful things in your life?
I encourage you to stop and ask yourself how these negative thoughts might be impacting your mood, relationships, health and your overall wellbeing?
Self-talk directly impacts the amount of joy you feel, your health and the quality of your relationships. Negative thinking and stress are toxic to the body and mind. Many people are unaware that their increased depression, anxiety, body aches, health problems, and relational conflict are exacerbated by negative affirmations.
Any thought that you think of repetitively is an affirmation. Affirmations can be both positive and negative.
Negative affirmations are self-statements that are judgmental, are filled with negative forecasting and feel hurtful when they are internalized. Statements such as: “I am not good enough”, “I am ugly”, “Bad things always happen to me”, and “I will never be happy” are some examples of negative affirmations.
It might feel uncomfortable when you are asked to challenge negative thoughts that have been present for many years, especially thoughts that you believe are true. I often hear, “why would I tell myself something positive if I don’t believe it?” The answer is, even if you don’t fully believe the positive thoughts, it still helps to practice saying these positive statements. Practicing positive affirmations helps to minimize the impact stressful thoughts can have on the mind and body, and the more you practice saying them, the easier it is to feel the benefits and believe them. All it takes is a willingness to try.
Start with awareness. You must be aware of the thoughts that are taking up space in your mind to better understand your balance between positive and negative affirmations, and the kind of positive affirmations that will be helpful for you. I recommend keeping a journal to track the thoughts you become aware of, and then review this data after 3-5 days. This is a great tool to bring to therapy if you would like support in creating a plan to increase your positive affirmations and process the kinds of thoughts you are having.
Positive affirmations have the power to improve your mood, health, and relationships when used consistently over time. Once you are aware of your thinking patterns you can mindfully choose to add positive affirmations to begin your day, to help motivate or strengthen you throughout the day, and to aide in soothing and calming the mind at night. Positive affirmations can benefit anyone whether you struggle with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking and/or other mental/physical health concerns.
I encourage you to choose one positive affirmation and repeat it at least three times a day. You can continue to use a journal when you initially change your thinking patterns to create data of your progress, stay aware of which affirmations resonate with you, and keep track of any challenges so your routine can be adjusted as needed.
Be creative when choosing your daily affirmation and make sure that the message connects with the personal growth you would like to make, internal support that is needed for your mind, body and soul, and/or to challenge negative thoughts. If you are struggling with personalizing your messages, feel free to use the internet for suggestions or pre-made affirmation cards such as my favorite: Crazy Sexy Love Notes by, Kris Carr to get you started.
Positive affirmations are a powerful tool to increase self-compassion, self-love, and improve your mental and physical health.
To discuss how affirmations can be a powerful tool in your life, please contact me for your free 15 minute consultation to discuss working together.