Positive Affirmations for Depression
Have you heard of Affirmations or tried them out? You may even think that they are absurd and laugh them off. Believe me, I always share things that I practice myself. I have tried complementary and alternative therapies for depression like Axis Bars, Reiki, Praniki, Homeopathy, allopathy of course and even Ayurveda. Recently, I started Positive Affirmations for Depression. My first acquaintance with Healing Affirmations was way back in 2001 when my friend’s cousin, Lakshmi, held a workshop on You Can Heal Your Life by Louis Hay. Depression was a taboo topic, and I never opened up about it. You Can Heal your Life made me comfortable with my depression. I accepted it and started talking about it; Half the battle won.
Depression traps us in a negative self-talk cycle. Positive affirmations can fight and quell the negative patterns of the subconscious and swap and switch them with progressive statements.
Who is Louis L Hay?
A pioneer of thought self-help books, Louise Hay is an American who wrote You Can heal Your Life in 1984. The book is available on Amazon. It has exercises in every chapter, making it interactive and effective. Affirmations are a positive statement about your physical and mental well-being. Louise Hay propagated them with the concept that thoughts can affect your well-being. Anybody can practice affirmations, as it will reduce your emotional pain.
For example:
- I am healthy, whole, and complete.
- I am grateful for my healthy body. I love life.
- Love flows through my body, healing all diseases.
How Can Positive Affirmations Help With Depression?
In fact, research says that positive affirmations influence the neural pathways that act like communicating highways. Affirmations can divert the negative thought processes in the brain linked with depression. I reiterate positive affirmations are not a cure for depression. They help with handling your mood temporarily, but it is a helpful addition to your regular therapy.
Tips for Integrating Positive Affirmations in Your Daily Routine
- Do the affirmations first thing in the morning and the last thing you do before going to bed.
- Repeating Affirmations in front of the mirror is the best way to start
- You can write them on paper and stick them in your wardrobe or bathroom mirror. This way, you can repeat them whenever you see them.
- If this is a task, then record the affirmations and listen to them every time you are free. This is what I do.
- Repeat affirmations while exercising, commuting, or driving
All About Positive Affirmations for Depression
Repeat positive thoughts to block the negative thoughts connected with depression. Depression leaves you in continual gloom and low spirits, which are incapacitating. Life seems like a hurdle and everything seems bleak, with no positives.
Practice positive affirmations; which is a similar method of chanting sanguine thoughts to sway your mental state progressively. Even if we try to block it, our subconscious keeps working non-stop. 90% of the time there are only negative things floating. Affirmations help you subdue the noise and negative thoughts and kindle the super-conscious mind.
The words create mental images in the mind arouse which stimulate and pep you up. The affirmations and the mental images get etched in the subconscious. This brings about a gradual transformation in the manners, activity, and responses corresponding to the affirmations.
10 Positive Affirmations For Depression
It is extremely difficult to include positive affirmations in your daily routine. But a little nudge from a caregiver can urge you to say them when you have depression. Yes, it could be a taxing task, but once you start, you can steadily overcome the stumbling blocks.
- I let go of all negative thoughts
- I am fearless, and I believe in myself
- I value and respect myself
- I am going to overcome this phase.
- I am proud as I have healed myself
- I am safe and protected.
- I am strong and vigorous.
- I have a healthy and perfect mind.
- I am lovable and full of love
- I am overcoming depression and will defeat it
These are examples that you can use or modify. Write any that characteristically symbolize your state of mind.
You can even check out online at Louise L Hay’s 100 Affirmations.
How To Use Affirmations
Undoubtedly, you know yourself and your state of mind. Customize your affirmations that are best suited to make you feel better.
Repeat the affirmation at least ten times a day whenever you are free. You can even write them down in a journal. Regular affirmations Affirming yourself regularly can help convert the repetition of negative thinking and ease your mood and overall mental health. It’s worth perceiving that counteracting and switching negative thoughts with positive and progressive thought patterns is a valuable method of dealing with depression.
Note: I repeat-Just remember affirmations do not cure all mental health conditions. But they help to ameliorate the constant feeling of sadness and lethargy.
‘This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.’
‘This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter’
When it comes to positive affirmations, there is always something new that we can learn. In this blog, I learned a new way to practice affirmations. Words can make a big difference in our mental well being.
Depression is perplexing. It can creep up on us and infiltrate our lives without our knowledge. As a result, we lose interest in what we used to enjoy and begin to feel hopeless or sad. This makes it even more difficult to maintain a positive attitude when confronted with new challenges. I agree that positive thinking and affirmations for depression can help you feel better and influence your mind. I learned new ways for information in your post. Thanks for sharing.
Positive affirmations are what I have included as a primary part of my 21 days wellness program. It has an immense impact on our thoughts
Positive affirmations have a great effect on mental well being and for someone who is depressed, it can really be very helpful.
In fact it is one of the easiest way to change the negative thinking pattern and improve one’s mental well being. All it needs is constant perseverance. I liked how well it was explained by you.
Being positive in life can clear many problems like a magic. Positive Affirmations can change life in a unique way and I appreciate your effort to pen down this wonderful post on this topic which can impact many like us in a positive way. For me Affirmations plays a very important role in my life. Thanks for the lovely post
Our mind really makes wonders and is definitely more than something that’s on top of our body. Sadly, we let our mind focus on negative thoughts and let it control over our lives. Positive affirmations can really help lighten us up and focus more on being grateful, appreciating what we have and simply feel happy about ourselves and our life.
I felt such strong positive vibes Harjeet after reading your post… I know positive affirmations are really needed for our mental health and well-being. Thanks for spreading positivity.
Lovely post Harjeet. It also takes power to identify that one is in depression & take a step towards handling it. Iam sure these affirmations will help people in need.
Positive affirmations indeed help one with optimistic thoughts. I have been practicing it for the past 1 year and have seen the positive aura it creates around me. Even Thinking to learn reiki now.
I started using affirmation from 2021. Last year when I was pregnant with twins and in nuclear family. One kind of fear is always with me. And I wanted to be happy and strong mother. By using daily positive affirmation I did make lots of change in my mental health. Louis hey is a Wonderful woman and I have been listening her video till date whenever I feel nervous or fearful.
I really like the examples of affirmative statements uv given Harjeet… they are so positive and I have also experienced that they really really make a difference in a normal state of mind too… so i feel, not only to help in depression, affirmation statements should be used by everyone everyday.
Reminds me of a time when our coach told us, ‘if you have to climb stairs to reach your house, or anywhere else, that’s the best time u can recite affirmation statements.’
I’m a firm believer in positive affirmations. Thoughts that make us feel happy, content and complete tend to make us feel confident and keep negativity at bay.
Yes I have observed the power of positive affirmations on personal level. it help us a lot in dealing with negative thoughts. and also help in maintaining a positive mind set. in fact, I was thinking to made some DIY positive affirmation cards with my girls , so they can also learn the power of practicing positive affirmations.
Your post is like a starter kit for someone who wants to start (or restart) their affirmations journey! I’ll keep coming back to it for sure.
A lot of people don’t agree but affirmations do really work. How we think is how we feel. Your posts are always so positive and this one is all from the heart. God bless you.
I really need to try this out Harjeet Ji! The post itself is so positive, I am sure practicing it must be so helpful. I will try them out early in morning on getting up so that my day goes positive. Thanks for the positive post.
I have heard about affirmation never really practiced it, but got a lot of positive feedback from those who have religious followed it.
I swear such positive affirmations not only bring positive change in life but also give you so much energy and vibes to move ahead in life.
Positive affirmations do really help and I am core believer of them. I have read book by Louis L Hay and completely agree with you on your points about the book.
When we are down and out, positive affirmations really help. As you said, positivity blocks out negativity. Thanks for sharing the affirmations. Simple but truly effective ones.
I’ve been practicing this for quite sometime and do agree that it helps definitely. Love the detailed explanations on the practicing of affirmations
These affirmations are much needed in today’s times. And should followed by everyone else I think
I am my favorite ..if you become that kind of a person no one else can pull you down. Love your self. I practice affirmation by standing in front of the mirror and admire my own self.. It works.. Haha
Being in depression for the past 3 years, I truly value your words. Everyday is a battle. I feel journaling is the most helpful..at least for me.
Thank you for sharing this post it’s a reminder to stay positive and yes it’s these affirmations really works for us
Affirmations help a lot, but in the case of chronic depression, it can soothe you for some time but not always. But if you keep on doing it every day you get a lot of strength.
I feel understanding the meaning of self-worth is the most important thing for a person. These affirmations are indeed helpful in keeping depression at bay.
Always love your candour. I’m so glad positive affirmations have helped you.
I found this post to be really beneficial, appreciate you sharing this with us. When going through a phase of depression, we feel as if all hope is lost, in such situations these positive affirmations can give us the much needed strength and motivation to persevere and go on, Another blog that I found to be really helpful can be read here:- https://yourmentalhealthpal.com/the-best-positive-affirmations-for-depression/