Negative self-talk is one of the quickest and certainly the most convenient way to torture ourselves. People with and without mental health issues all do it. It’s universal. Now some people are better at controlling it, out-thinking it, or even stopping it altogether.
Those of us with mental health issues are not normally successful at stopping it. Those of us with anxiety disorders struggle hardcore.
I once read an article that said we say roughly 50,000 things to ourselves each day.
Seems excessive huh?
I was diagnosed with OCD 18 years ago and I can tell you that I am an overachiever in this area. My mind sees that and says…50,000? Hold my beer.
Stopping these negative thoughts is not possible for me. Controlling them…eh, not so much, but replacing them? Ah, now there lies my sweet spot.
Enter the world of positive affirmations.
I was introduced to these little bits of heaven when I first learned about Louise Hay. She is the queen, the goddess, the mama of Thought’s Become Things! I use affirmations all the time. I have my own personal ones and I pull from one of these treasures whenever I see fit.
Recently, I’ve been pulling an affirmation card from Kate Allan’s Thera-Pet deck. At first glance these cards seem like whimsically wonderful little messages but don’t be fooled, they pack a punch.
This week’s card initially made me laugh but when I really read the words, I saw that this may be the most on-target affirmation for me to work with.
You see, self-worth is something I have had to fight for and it’s ever so easy for me to slide back into old habits. ‘’stop calling yourself garbage’’ hits close to home because words like these have been uttered by me…. out loud yes, but more frequently internally.
Positive affirmations have helped me slow down negative thoughts, sometimes even stopping them. Having negative thoughts is normal. I’m not claiming anyone should be a Pollyanna, but when negative thoughts become constant or even consistent or hell even common practice, we are affirming them.
So if we are going to affirm something, we may as well try to make it positive.
This week when the negative stuff creeps in I will straighten my crown and remember who I am.
I am powerful
I am kind
I am amazing
I am a Blueberry Fairy Princess.
Do you use positive affirmations in your life? If not, are you willing to show yourself some kindness and give it a try?
A Kinder Way 
I live by this myself! I had to teach myself to like myself, to speak kindly instead of harshly to myself, and to practice suspending judgment. It was a life-saver for me! I had heard about Louise Hay previously, as well as Dr. Dwyer, but was a skeptic; I thought it was all “magical thinking” and really didn’t think it would work.
I decided to give it a try, however, figuring I had nothing to lose. How shocked was I to discover that this is actually how we re-wire our brains!
Now I speak about this often in my posts (and in my books). I eagerly share information with others to help them on their journeys!
Keep sharing these wonderful tips, because they’re life-saving!
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This is all so wonderful to read. It’s amazing how powerful we truly are. 🙂
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I never knew that before! I honestly thought it was all a racket to sell products! Then I happily discovered that not only is it possible to slowly rewire our own brains but the end result is a huge reduction in anxiety and depression levels. Plus, this becomes a wonderful tool to deal with them when they do try to tear their heads! Truly amazing! Revolutionary even!!
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I’m proud of you for being unabashedly yourself. Great blog.
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Thank you Steve, ❤ and thank you for all your help. ❤
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You are a Blueberry Fairy Princess and you are amazing, I know this because you have been amazing me for years and I love blueberries. See, it makes perfect sense. Great blog nikki!!
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Ha!!! I love you! ❤ 🙂 😛
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The road to self-love can be a very long one. Without going into too much detail I spent most of my early years feeling invisible. My parents didn’t recognize my deep sadness. I spent the better part of my junior high years in complete silence and tried to commit suicide more than once. At some point I believe we all get to the place where we understand our opinion is the only one that matters. We can choose to be happy and love ourselves warts and all or let someone else determine our worth.
Affirmations are a great help for sure ❤
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I can relate to a lot of what you are saying here and I am truly sorry you had to travel such a hard road to get to where you are today. You are so right when you say the only opinion that matters is our own. It can be difficult to figure that out but it really is the only way. We are never going to please everyone so it’s best to start with the person in the mirror. ❤
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Thank you, that’s kind of you, but you know everyone has a difficult road to travel. It may not be the same kind of pain as someone else’s but the mission is the same. We’re here to learn, grow, heal and help other people do the same.
None of it comes easily. We have to be willing to take the journey and do the work. It’s only when we do the work that we are able to help others do theirs. So yes, we start with the person in the mirror.
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How is it, this is EXACTLY what i needed today? You know, you have done that before either of us ever got to THIS platform.
I am trying a NEW thing, and all the self diubt and criticisms have been assaulting me this week. I thought those things were long gone. Thank you for the new tools!
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Shannon, you are so welcome!! ❤ I'm glad this helped.
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I am one of the most negative people you will ever meet. I’m always overthinking and normally it’s the worst outcome. I did read something about re-wiring your brain but I wasn’t sure if it was actually possible. After reading this post and comments it gives me hope and makes me want to practice.
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It is very hard to train your brain to think positively about yourself if negativity has become a way of life, especially with OCD. Thank you for sharing and congratulations on how far you’ve come.
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