How to Find Belief in Positive Affirmations

Do you have a hard time believing in positive affirmations? For many people struggling with mental health conditions, the use of positive affirmations can be a great coping skill. This is because positive affirmations are used to increase self-compassion and self-esteem. Unfortunately, positive affirmations do not always help everyone. A major reason for this is that many people do not believe in their truth or power. To learn how to find belief in positive affirmations, read this article.

Why I Have Struggled to Believe in Positive Affirmations

One major reason people avoid using positive affirmations is because they simply do not believe that they are true. They think affirmations are cliches used by society for us to convince ourselves that we are great and life is amazing. For people with low self-esteem, being told to use positive affirmations can seem like a flakey life hack ("Best and Worst Things to Say to Someone Who Is Depressed").

I'll admit it. I often find myself questioning the truth of positive affirmations. It is easy to go to a Facebook page with positive affirmations and say, "This isn't true for me." After all, the author of a profound quote does not know the extent of my struggles. Even if the positive affirmation is written in calligraphy and goes along well with a pleasant picture, the image is not always enough to convince me to believe in affirmations.

Signs You Might Struggle to Believe in Positive Affirmations

I know I am not the only person who doubts the truth of positive affirmations. Many people have a hard time believing affirmations when they are dealing with really hard situations such as death, job loss, and rejection. It is especially difficult to believe in the truth and power of positive affirmations when negative emotions are fresh ("Examples of Negative Thoughts in People with Mental Illness"). Here are some signs that positive affirmations are not working for you.

• When being told to use positive affirmations irritates you a lot
• When you dispute the idea that you can get through something by talking about something bad that happened to you in the past
• When you feel extremely jealous when someone else brags about how positive affirmations have worked for him or her

6 Steps to Find Belief in Positive Affirmations

During really hard times, it is understandable to doubt the truth in positive affirmations. It is also understandable for you to feel irritated. However, negative thinking and irritation could make it harder for you to get through your situation. Here are six steps to ease irritability and find faith in affirmations.

1. Acknowledge that you do not believe in affirmations.
2. When someone tells you an affirmation that you do not believe, tell that person why you do not believe it.
3. When you are in a calm state of mind, ask the person who gave you an affirmation to repeat it.
4. Identify a few positive affirmations that can apply to you.
5. Write down disputations for negative affirmations so that you can make room for positive beliefs ("Reframing Thoughts: Change a Thought, Change Anxiety").
6. Practice daily self-talk by reminding yourself of an affirmation in your head or out loud ("Change Negative Thoughts into Positive Self-Talk").  

How to Handle Positive Affirmations in the Media

Unfortunately, no matter what you do, you cannot always avoid hearing positive affirmations. They are all over the media. You might get extremely irritated, but there are ways the media can actually help. For one thing, as soon as you read an affirmation, it is ingrained in your memory. This can be effective later in life when you find belief in affirmations.

Also, when people post short stories about affirmations applying to their lives, you might become inspired and find reasons the affirmations hold true for you. If the mere thought of seeing affirmations still seems unbearable, you can reduce your exposure to them by limiting your time on social media ("Mindful Social Media Habits Protect Your Self-Esteem").

Do you have any of your own ideas to find belief in positive affirmations? If so, share your ideas in the comments.