What Are 3 Ways Positive Affirmations Boost Your Mental Health?
Eva Gordon works with individuals, families, and organizations to promote safety, well-being, and self-care. Eva is the founder and director of Life Guide LCSW, P.C., a mental health practice providing psychotherapy and community mental health education.
People often do not realize how much the way we talk to ourselves matters. When we tell ourselves we are failures for making mistakes or that we are not good enough to ask for a promotion at work despite our outstanding performance, negativity grows. Observe the thoughts that come to mind when we mess up and use that awareness to overcome negativity.
This is why positive thoughts matter. Our thoughts are seeds that we feed, and they shape how we feel and behave. Positive affirmations help us plant healthy seeds that sustain our spirits and bodies. Let us look at three ways positive affirmations boost our moods and our lives.
1. Affirmations are an effective way to improve your confidence and sense of worth
Affirmations help you focus on your strengths and what you are good at. The brain usually responds negatively when things go wrong, instead of looking at what is going right. The goal is to be kind to yourself when you are stressed out or having a dreadful day. You can also focus on your values, which remind you of your strengths. When you focus on what is going right in your life, you feel gratitude, improving your confidence and sense of worth.
Related article: Improve Your Mental Health with Positive Affirmations
2. Affirmations can boost your mood and emotions
Positive thoughts can reduce the impact that negative circumstances have on our well-being. Affirmations can improve your mood and help you manage your emotions over time. The goal is not to get rid of negativity, but to respond to a stressful experience with resilience. Positive affirmations are not a quick fix but a consistent way to reduce the impact of negativity on our emotions. If we do not take control of our emotions and mood, then our circumstances and emotions control us. This results in our mistakes defining us, impacting our identity.
Related article: Self-affirmations can boost well-being, study finds
3. Affirmations may support your physical health
Some research suggests that affirming personal values can reduce the cortisol response to stress. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and persistently elevated levels have been linked to weight gain, sleep difficulties, and an increased risk of heart disease. Other research suggests that affirmations activate areas of the brain connected to emotional regulation. When we connect our physical health to our mental health, we achieve an alignment, improving our wellbeing holistically.
Related article: The Science of Affirmations: How They Affect the Brain
Positive affirmations allow you to share positivity in the world, especially when your personal world is falling apart. They help you create a healthy response to a negative situation. In addition, they help you realize that a stressful situation is only temporary, and your life does not have to be defined by stressful situations. Positive affirmations can be repeated silently or aloud, depending on what the situation requires.
So, whether you are dealing with traffic or a major work project, a mantra such as “This too shall pass” or “This situation is temporary, and I’m permanent” can have a positive impact on your mental health. Affirmations help you control yourself when you cannot control your current situation. Take time to create a mantra or quote, or choose a passage of scripture, that can help you recognize your own power.
If you feel you need help responding to stress or stressful situations, psychotherapy is a wonderful way to explore this. Psychotherapy is about you discovering yourself, and this is what needs to happen to make changes in your life. Contact me to schedule a consultation to see how we can work together to improve not just your work life, but your entire life.
Read more from Eva M. Gordon, LCSW
Eva M. Gordon, LCSW, Psychotherapist & Mental Health Consultant
Eva M. Gordon, LCSW, is the founder and director of Life Guide LCSW, P.C., a mental health practice providing psychotherapy and community mental health education in the New York City area. Her focus is on providing mental health treatment to the Black community as a source of healing and hope. She mainly works with Black professional women aged 30 and up who struggle with unhealthy relationships. The goal is to help these women recognize that self-care is their birthright and not a privilege. Eva uses several strategies, including exploring behavioral patterns, emotional management, and understanding how multiple factors contribute to a person’s mental health during their lifespan.
