Do you talk to yourself? If so, how do you talk to yourself? I don’t mean, do you find yourself walking around speaking out loud to yourself. I mean, when you talk to yourself, are you kind to yourself? See, the thing is, anxiety lies to you. That voice in the back of your head that has you doubting your own thoughts and actions is lying to you. So, what can we do about that? Well, the first step is realizing that you have had that anxious voice in the back of your head for years and that it will take time to combat these long-held messages.
Positive affirmations can help reduce anxiety by combating the negative messages. Anxiety tells us a lot of things, oftentimes anxiety is negativity masked as theatrical safety. Does worrying about our performance at work, or thinking we’re not good enough actually keep us from harm? Most likely not, and yet anxiety tells us these messages and more. So it may sound simple but changing how we talk to ourselves can have a great impact on anxiety. When anxiety chimes up and tries to tell us that we are not good enough, positive affirmations are our chance to build up a defence. Think of it like putting your thoughts on trial. Anxiety has theories but we have proof and evidence to refute anxiety’s attempts at making us a prisoner of our thoughts. There are several frameworks that support positive outlooks that refute negative anxieties.
Throughout history there have been truths that we hold to be self-evident. Some would refer to them as unalienable rights, unable to be separated from our status as human beings. The classic example is actually from the constitution of the United States, the truths of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But I believe these truths extend further than we often realize. We all deserve to pursue our own happiness but we often get caught up in anxiety’s trap. An example of a great positive affirmation for this would be “I am worthy of happiness” or “my happiness is important, and it matters”.
Another view of positive affirmations is the aspect of being one’s own best friend. Think of your very best friend. How would you feel if someone told you that they were worthless? For most people it is easier to see the value in others, that for some reason we feel as though we are the exception, everyone else deserves happiness but us. Well I hate to break it to you, but for as special as you are, you are no less human than your best friend. The longest relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. It’s like the old saying goes, “No matter where you go, there you are.” So it is worth trying to be our own best friend. You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing and while it can be hard to love ourselves, the difficulty of self-love does not negate the validity of it. It may be hard to love ourselves like our best friend would, but that does not mean that we are not worth it.
If you or a loved one is struggling with anxiety, here at Niyyah Counseling we understand that each journey begins with a step, and that it can be difficult to rewrite that internal voice that anxiety uses. We are here to help. Contact us today to set up a session with one of our wonderful therapists!