Affirmations 101
(What they are, how they work and how often you should use them!)
So what are affirmations?
Affirmations are positive statements or phrases that are repeated regularly to create new habits and behaviours.
One of the key psychological theories behind positive affirmations is self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988). Essentially - you are what you habitually think and positive affirmations are a way to counteract the negative things we tell ourselves.
How do they work?
Affirmations work due to neuroplasticity - whereby the brain creates new neural pathways and modifies existing ones in response to behavioural, environmental and neural changes.1 The human brain is made of billions of neurons, which are cells that send messages between the different brain regions. When you repeatedly think something, you are strengthening that pathway in your brain, making it easier to fall into that thought in the future.2
Creating long-term change
The key to creating long-lasting change is repetition. In an article with Pop Sugar Australia, Dr. Angele Close, PhD, a clinical psychologist and therapist said using affirmations daily, if not 1 - 3 times a day, was an important ingredient in bringing change to reality.
Dr Close also suggested affirmations should be supported with relevant lifestyle changes. “It’s simply not enough to just say affirmations and continue to live life the same,” Dr. Close said. For example, if you’re using an affirmation to build your self confidence, you might join Toastmasters to work on your public speaking or challenge yourself to attend a solo event once a month.
This is why we recommend journalling when using your affirmation cards as you’re able to get clear on the action steps you can take to manifest your intentions and goals.
Science-backed benefits
Over the years, numerous studies have shown affirmations are able to change your mood, decrease stress and improve academic results to name a few!
With some help from Positive Psychology, we’ve included some below.3
Self-affirmations have been shown to decrease health-deteriorating stress (Sherman et al., 2009; Critcher & Dunning, 2015);
They may help us to perceive otherwise “threatening” messages with less resistance, including interventions (Logel & Cohen, 2012);
Self-affirmation has been demonstrated to lower stress and rumination (Koole et al., 1999; Wiesenfeld et al., 2001).
Neural pathways associated with reward and valuation were increased when participants regularly practised positive affirmations. Positive changes in line with the affirmations were also objectively measured in participants who committed to a regular positive self-talk practice. (Cascio et al., 2015).
Self-affirmation can also help improve problem-solving under stress. (Creswell et al., 2013).
They have been linked positively to academic achievement by mitigating GPA decline in students who feel left out at college (Layous et al., 2017);
Affirmations are proven to support people who are trying to make positive behavioural changes (like following a healthy eating plan or limiting caffeine or alcohol intake), according to a meta-analysis of 144 studies.
Excited to try affirmations yourself?
You can read more about our Affirmation Deck here.
References
1.Forsyth JK, Bachman P, Mathalon DH, Roach BJ, Asarnow RF. Augmenting NMDA receptor signaling boosts experience-dependent neuroplasticity in the adult human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Dec 15;112(50):15331-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1509262112. Epub 2015 Nov 30. PMID: 26621715; PMCID: PMC4687562.
2. https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/positive-affirmations