Words of Affirmation
Words of self-affirmation can be encouraged by therapists as homework in order to improve psychological wellbeing. While some individuals may be hesitant around the validity of words of affirmation, research has shown that they can successfully lead to broadening a person’s overall perspective and reducing the effects of negative emotions.
Researchers have suggested that self-affirmation can remind individuals of psychosocial resources they have beyond the negative emotions or threats. This allows the individual to focus on positive self-worth that exceeds the negative thoughts or threats. As a result, an individual is able to adjust how they respond to a threat, improving their overall psychological well being.
According to research, there are multiple different pathways to achieve these effects:
Affirmations can increase focus on positive values to individuals. Words of self-affirmation tend to have individuals reflect on personal core values and rewarding experiences. Therefore, the first pathway would engage systems in the brain associated with reward and positive self worth.
Affirmations can also work by having people focus on sources of positive self-worth (for example personal successes). This can be achieved by reflections on personal attributes outside of the threat.
It is suggested that self-affirmations may allow for more effective use of psychological resources needed to cope with incoming threats. Words of affirmation may work towards priming regions of the brain pertaining to regulating emotions. Thus, there is evidence that self-affirmations can reduce threat using resources in the brain related to regulation of emotion and making difficult choices.
If you are looking for extra resources pertaining to negative emotions, negative thoughts, or perceived threats, I encourage you to try daily words of affirmation for a period of time to see if you notice a difference. If you are looking for extra support to guide you through your therapeutic journey, please reach out to a trusted professional.
