Affirm Your Worth With Affirmations

If you spend your day telling yourself that you're worthless, don't be surprised if you end up depressed. Affirmations — speaking positively to yourself — can induce change in you.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

How you talk to yourself matters. Repeating positive and uplifting statements, known as affirmations, can be beneficial to both your physical and emotional health.

Affirmations: The Power Within

There is strong evidence that repeatedly thinking about negative events or personal qualities can increase stress and depression and worsen physical health. In contrast, repeatedly thinking about positive qualities can:

• Improve your mood
• Ward off depression and stress
• Protect your physical health
• Give you the confidence to solve a problem
• Instill hope for the future
• Reduce anger or angry responses

Affirmations: Important Antidote

“Affirmations definitely have a pretty major impact, and [they're] one of the most popular ways of inducing situational change in people’s thoughts, ways, and behaviors,” explains Harry Wallace, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

In a way, affirmations are an antidote to negative self-talk. Negative self-talk involves focusing on your weaknesses, failures, less attractive qualities, and so on. These kinds of thoughts are more likely when you are already feeling down or in a tough situation, such as after losing a job. At these times, negative thoughts are normal, but they can speed some people towards depression and make it hard to take action.

Affirmations: Using Them in Your Life

Affirmations can help you get through stressful times.

“If [you use an affirmation] prior to having encountered some kind of threatening feedback, it creates a buffer where you are able to tolerate it,” says Wallace, who adds that people who are "self-affirmed" are more willing to accept or even invite feedback about themselves because "they can handle it." Similarly, people who must perform under pressure can benefit from affirmations, which ease some of the stress.

Affirmations: A Caution

While it’s a good idea to consider your positive qualities and the positives in your life, even in difficult circumstances, remember that some “negative” thoughts can actually be helpful as well. Worry is one of those. A little bit of worry can spur you to take action, so you don’t need to counter productive worry with affirmations.

Wallace points out that, as with worry, there are times when a realistic assessment of your situation is helpful. For example, while an appropriate affirmation (such as “I am prepared for my speech and my audiences generally respond well to my style”) can get you through the pressure of public speaking, you may want to prepare the speech without affirmations that could slightly distort your ability to see what changes need to be made.

Affirmations: Creating Them

Affirmations are personal to your situation and your needs. When creating an affirmation, think of the positive message that you need to hear based on your situation. Here are some examples:

• Affirmations that help to prepare for stress. Wallace says that if you are about to receive feedback from an employer or client that you suspect might not be as good as you’d like, try an affirmation like, “I am a valuable person regardless of what happens with this situation.”
• Affirmations that conquer stress. Use three or more affirmations that you repeat daily to get through a difficult time, such as job loss and job seeking, such as, "I am valuable" or "I have something to contribute."
• Affirmations that support an overall goal. If you are having a hard time achieving a specific goal, affirmations that remind you of positive aspects of yourself related to that goal can make success more likely. For example, if you are trying to write a novel, you might want to use affirmations like, “I am a creative person” or “I am capable of meeting my deadlines” as positive and encouraging thoughts (instead of negative observations like, “I'll never finish this novel!”)
• Affirmations should be abstract or concrete as the situation requires. A statement that supports an abstract positive quality (“I am a valued team player”) is helpful in getting you to look beyond an immediate frustration, but an affirmation of a concrete skill (“I am an excellent translator of French”) can be helpful if you need confidence in a particular area.

With practice, you will be better able to craft the kinds of affirmations that are most helpful to you, says Wallace. Be kind to yourself. Focus on your strengths and abilities when you are feeling vulnerable.