kimbureh:

contrary to what most of us seem to believe, affirmations don’t work. At least not in the way they are popular on tumblr.

“You are beautiful/worthy/good enough” only works an affirmation if you already believe it. For the rest of us who don’t believe it, it insults our own intelligence. It’s an obvious lie to ourselves, yet we feel obliged to feel empowered by this, cuz everyone else is, and look how many reblogs it got.

However, affirmations do work if you tell yourself things that you do believe. You might not believe you are “good enough” because all you did all day long was sitting in your room feeling depressed. Telling yourself then how “wonderful and worthy” you are when it’s so clearly at odds with how you feel about yourself won’t work. It will feel like a lie cuz you can’t believe it (yet). Instead find affirmations you do believe: “I managed to feed my pet, I am acting responsible even though I feel horrible.” “I chatted with my friends online and they tried to cheer me up because they value me as a friend.” “I was too tired to cook, but I still managed to find something to eat, I am making an effort to care for myself and succeed.”

This is proof, undeniable proof.

Yes I know, depending on what kind of lies your depression/anxiety is trying to sell you, some of these statements work better than others. But these are just examples. Find affirmations you do believe and repeat them whenever you feel you don’t live up to your own expectations.