What they are and how to use them

What are the claims?

They can be said aloud or to yourself. These declarations are generally intended to pass the thought from negative to positive, to motivate an action, to reduce stress, to persevere through difficult times and to increase self-confidence and well-being.

“Affirmations help build and improve your self -esteem. They can also act as a way to challenge and replace your negative and anxious reflection with regard to stress, depression, physical pain and anxiety, “explains Lee Phillips, LCSW, EDD, psychotherapist and sex and therapist couple certified by the integration of sex of sexual therapy, which is based in New York.

They work by replacing the negative self-discourse, explains Dr. Yeager. For example, if you have made a mistake and you think, “I’m so stupid,” says Yeager, you involuntarily use a negative affirmation.

But if you can identify the negative affirmation, there is a possibility of changing it into a positive affirmation. In this case, you could say to yourself: “I can learn from my mistakes.”

Dr. Steele suggested that people generally wanted to have a positive image of themselves, so when they experience a threat to this image (like someone who tells them that they are not good in something), they tend to assert their self-feeling, which, in turn, allows them to manage these threats in a safer and balanced way. Affirmation is a way to help navigate this stressful situation.