Working towards recovery through affirmations

  

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Thinking positive thoughts does not make mental illness disappear. It is far too complex for that. But what we think does influence how we feel and how we act. So if you can improve your thinking, you might see positive changes in many areas of your life.

One way of doing this is affirmations. An affirmation is a statement that you are presenting to yourself as a fact. You repeatedly expose yourself to these statements and thereby change the way you think and feel about yourself. 

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe these statements. That’s okay. But for them to work, you need to believe them, so modify them to fit your truth. Instead of “I am brave,” you might say, “I can be brave.” If “I am worthy of love” seems too farfetched for you, try “It is possible that I am worthy of love.” Using smaller, modified statements that you can actually believe is going be more effective than grandiose statements that you just blow off.

There are several ways of using affirmations. Some people look in the mirror in the morning and state to themselves whatever mottos they are using. Others might meditate and use an affirmation as the focus. Another way to do it is by writing it somewhere you will see it often. I tried this last one recently. I wrote up several statements on post-it notes and placed them around my bedroom, bathroom, the door out of the house – anywhere I’d pass daily. I even had one by my light switch. I also had my boyfriend write up a few for me.

Looking back at the last several weeks since I did this, I have become more assertive and confident. I am proud of my accomplishments instead of minimizing them. That was probably the biggest change for me. I learned that it is okay to love yourself and that showing off your self-esteem is not a bad thing. I feel like my relationships with those around me are more open and communicative. I’m also getting my needs met better in those relationships because I know what to ask for and how to set boundaries. 

I’m not saying that all of that can come from hanging up some post-it notes. It can’t. I’ve been working really hard in therapy, in my relationships and by myself. But I think that those positive reminders gave me the push I needed to believe that I was worth those changes. 

So it doesn’t hurt to try. It was actually really nice to have the notes from my boyfriend, so I highly encourage you to ask your loved ones to help you out. You can offer to do the same for them, too. But the most important part is still what you say to yourself. You can have all the love and support in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t internalize it and only you can do that for yourself.

If you don’t know where to start, I will post a list of some suggestions tomorrow. I also regularly post affirmations on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. Follow me on those if you would like an occasional boost. I use a combination of quotes, graphics and thoughts I have personally written with my readers in mind. All of you matter to me and I really hope I can offer something to give you hope.

Have you found affirmations to be helpful? Share what you do in the comments.