Healing with Affirmations: Is It Possible?

Some of us might remember Al Franken portraying Stuart Smalley, the unsure self-help advocate on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. He would look into a mirror and recite his daily affirmation, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” We laughed at poor Stuart Smalley’s obvious insecurities and poked fun at his vulnerabilities. But was there any truth to it?

In the early ’90s, affirmations weren’t that well-known. The queen of affirmations, Louise Hay, had only just started Hay House in 1984. That was paradigm-shifting information, and Louise Hay was a groundbreaking pioneer in using affirmations in healing.

She used affirmations to heal her own life and traumas from early childhood sexual abuse. She swore by these affirming statements.

Louise taught us how to lovingly gaze into our own eyes while speaking the affirmation into a mirror. That was such powerful work that the world had no idea how to wield it, so it laughed at it instead.

But had Louise tapped into something quite remarkable and utterly life-changing?

The hundreds of authors who now write for Hay House Publishing Company might believe that to be so.

Fast forward nearly 40 years from Louise Hay and her most famous work, You Can Heal Your Life. Published in 1984, selling over 50 million copies, and hitting the New York Times bestseller list. All under the guise that if you open to personal growth, there could be some healing there for you. With that, the world of self-development exploded.

With that said, no matter what you might be facing in your world, or what your individual circumstances may be. Louise surmised that using affirmations and positive self-talk can indeed change your life!

So, where do you stand with this? Do you believe affirmations can heal you?

Many people agree that it is indeed possible. They deliver loving affirmations to themselves in the mirror. They speak the affirmations displayed in their bathroom or on their refrigerator. They are reciting the affirmations they have posted by their bed, just waiting to be spoken out loud.

Have you ever felt a bit low or down and just needed a little self pep-talk? Louise Hay’s affirmations may help.

“Loving others is easy when I love and accept myself.”
“I forgive myself for not being perfect.”
“I find that when we really love and accept and approve of ourselves exactly as we are, then everything in life works.”

Affirmations are your device if you want to; raise your vibration, remind yourself how fabulous you are, or seek to feel better in your body.

Louise espoused that it’s your own beliefs and thinking that actually create the reality you are experiencing. That is for good or for bad.

Many of her most famous affirmations demonstrate this very concept.

“It’s only a thought, and a thought can be changed.”
“I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.”
“Every thought we think is creating our future.”
“Your thoughts and beliefs of the past have created this moment, and all the moments up to this moment.”

Take a second to reflect more deeply on the few here. Do any stand out to you?

If so, that may be the very one your body is asking for.

Is there something in your life or health that feels off? Do you struggle with self-esteem or feel saddled by negative thoughts that swirl around in your head?

These are some of the reasons people are drawn to affirmation work. Directing the need, concern, or problem into a different dimension of healing. Thus, moving out of the physical realm and into the hands of something bigger than your own thinking in that time and space.

Affirmations, redirect your thought processes. They help you focus on what you want in your life instead of putting all your energy into what you don’t. That, in and of itself, can alter your whole life experience right here and right now.

The truth is that without a specific placeholder, our minds automatically default to negative thoughts. They go to the place of the worst-case scenario. That can become quite noticeable when you regularly focus on negative thinking. Affirmations give us something else to create in that place.

As someone who can easily go down the rabbit hole of negative self-talk, affirmations can be a whole new twist on how you train your brain to take in information and be with you in the not-so-loving times.

Affirmations remind you to be tender with yourself. It gives purpose to speak to yourself as you would your very best friend or most loved person. It allows for gentleness where there may not have been a possibility for that before.

You may see an affirmation as cheesy, over the top, or even too much, and that is okay. It is that very energy that helps hold the power of them in times when you need a little self-love, the very most.

For the one who has always suffered from low self-esteem, or can’t seem to align with the good things in life. Affirmations may help.

For the person who thinks abundance is for everyone else but them, affirmations could hold the key.

For the blessed soul who grapples with forgiveness or is unable to release anger, jealousy, or regret, affirmations might be their ticket to relief.

“Everything is working out for my highest good.”
“I prosper wherever I turn.”
“I release all negative thoughts of the past and all worries about the future.”
“Peace begins with me.”

Are affirmations the be-all, end-all? I don’t know. Can they be effective in the moment to help you feel better in your body, or in the long run to help you deal with past traumas, negative thought patterns, and low self-esteem? Yes, I think that is definitely possible. It most certainly depends on the person and their individual experiences. Affirmations work really well for some people and not as effectively for others. Could it be about what each person is open to, willing to receive, or believe in? Could be.

The bottom line is that your body is so wise. It knows exactly what it needs at any given time, even if your mind may not realise it.

If you feel connected to a particular affirmation, work with it. Display it, speak it, journal about it. Then be patient and give it a little time to integrate, to work its magic, and make shifts in your life.

You may be pleasantly surprised at just how potent the healing can be.

*All affirmations are quoted directly from Louise Hay’s literature.

Photo by Tara Winstead