Anxiety is a common yet serious mental health condition characterized by persistent and intense feelings of worry. Usually, the worry is out of proportion as compared to the situation at hand. Anxiety can have a significant impact on many aspects of a person’s life, making it difficult to focus on tasks, enjoy social interactions, or relax. Anxiety can also keep a person stuck in a spiral of negative thoughts, leading them to feel overwhelmed.
While therapy and medications are usually the best ways to cope with anxiety, affirmations are a powerful self-help way to cope with anxiety as well. In this article, we’ll discuss spiritual affirmations and their role in combating anxiety.
How Do Affirmations Help With Anxiety?
In simple terms, affirmations are short, positive statements that people can say aloud or repeat in their minds. These positive statements can help people change the way they think about themselves, others or life. Thus, affirmations can impact and change negative thought patterns over time. Other benefits of using affirmations for anxiety are:
- Anxiety is marked and sustained by negative thoughts when practiced consistently. Affirmations break this cycle of negative and fear-based thoughts that drive anxiety
- It’s proven that positive affirmations can trigger the reward systems in the brain, leading to a feeling of hope and satisfaction
- Anxiety often stems from fear and self-doubt. Positive affirmations such as ‘I trust myself’ can help boost confidence and build trust in oneself
- When practised consistently, affirmations can help improve mood, resulting in reduced anxiety.
A few examples of spiritual affirmations for anxiety are:
- I am safe and secure
- I trust myself and the universe to take care of me
- I inhale safety and exhale fear with every breath
- I release all my worries and fears and trust that everything will work out in my favour
- I am at peace with myself and others around me
- I am grounded and present in this moment.
- I am always supported and protected by the divine force
- I am surrounded by love and light
- I have complete faith in myself and the universe
- I am at peace with uncertainty
- I allow myself to let go of thoughts that no longer help me
- I am worthy of love, peace and happiness
- I am in control of my thoughts and my emotions
What makes affirmations effective is that you don’t have to rely on the internet or anyone else for affirmations; you can create your own set of affirmations based on your needs
Do Affirmations Work For Anxiety?
Research suggests that practising affirmations consistently, even for a span of 3 to 4 days can reduce feelings of anxiety and worry. A study conducted in 2016 on patients with anxiety disorder found that replacing thoughts of worry with positive images or verbal affirmations is effective in reducing worry and symptoms of anxiety even in a short span of one week, suggesting that positive affirmations can indeed be effective for anxiety,
How To Practice Spiritual Affirmations For Anxiety?
- Keep the affirmations short and simple as they will be easy to remember
- Start all your affirmations with ‘I’ to make them more personal
- While repeating affirmations, visualize yourself in a peaceful state and practice deep, calming breaths to enhance their effectiveness.
- Keep the affirmations focused in the present tense
- Be patient and consistent with affirmations. Set some time in the morning and before bed when you practice affirmations. Don’t wait for anxious moments to use them. Regular practice will make them easily available during stress and anxiety.
Conclusion:
Spiritual affirmations can be a quick and powerful way to challenge and break the cycle of negative, fearful thoughts and restore a sense of peace and calm. However, it is important to know that affirmations only work when practiced consistently and while they can increase confidence and motivation, we need to keep taking positive actions to sustain the impact of affirmations. It is also important to remember that affirmations are not a substitute for treatment, and severe anxiety may require therapy and medications.
References:
- 50 Spiritual Affirmations for Anxiety. (n.d.). Https://Www.Bernadettelogue.Com/. Retrieved October 17, 2024, from https://www.bernadettelogue.com/spiritual-affirmations-for-anxiety/
- Affirmations for anxiety: Do they work? (2022, January 28). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/affirmations-for-anxiety
- Affirmations for Anxiety: How to Make and Use Them. (2020, June 24). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/affirmations-for-anxiety
- Eagleson, C., Hayes, S., Mathews, A., Perman, G., & Hirsch, C. R. (2016). The power of positive thinking: Pathological worry is reduced by thought replacement in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 78, 13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.017
- Yildirim, M., Akbal, S., & Turkoglu, M. (2023). The effect of self-affirmation on anxiety and perceived discomfort in patients who have undergone open-heart surgery. A randomized controlled trial. Applied Nursing Research, 72, 151687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2023.151687
