The Power of Affirmations: Rewiring the Mind

Affirmations are easy to dismiss. They can sound like platitudes — lines pulled from a self-help calendar or whispered into a mirror with forced enthusiasm. But beneath the simplicity is something worth considering. When approached with intention, affirmations can play a quiet role in shifting how we relate to ourselves, especially when the internal narrative is harsh, critical, or outdated.

In therapy, affirmations are not about pretending everything is fine. They are about introducing an alternative voice. One that doesn’t cancel out the fear or pain, but exists alongside it. A voice that says, even briefly, another story is possible.

Psychologically, this taps into how the brain responds to repetition. Through the lens of cognitive behavioural therapy, our thoughts shape feelings, which shape behaviour. Most of us run on mental scripts formed long ago. Beliefs we’ve repeated internally so often they’ve settled in as facts. “I’m not good at this.” “I’ll mess it up.” “No one really wants me around.” These kinds of thoughts may not be accurate, but they are familiar. Affirmations gently challenge that familiarity.

Neuroscience refers to this as neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to form new connections over time. When we introduce intentional statements like “I can handle this” or “I deserve to rest,” we are not forcing positivity. We are offering the brain something else to work with. Something less punishing. Something more usable.

But affirmations only work when they are honest enough to feel possible. If the gap between what you believe and what you’re saying is too wide, your nervous system tends to reject the statement. This is why therapy can be helpful — not to assign affirmations, but to explore which ones feel tolerable, credible, or even quietly comforting. We might begin with “I’m trying” or “I want to be kinder to myself.” We might stay there for weeks before anything stronger feels true.

Over time, affirmations may become integrated into the way you speak to yourself in difficult moments. Instead of spiralling into old beliefs, you pause. You try a new sentence. You test whether there’s room for self-compassion. Sometimes, this is enough to interrupt the automatic cycle. Not always. But sometimes.

Clients at Conscious Shift often find that affirmations work best when they are personalised, short, and grounded in something they’re actively working toward. Not declarations of certainty, but quiet reminders. Phrases they can carry into therapy, into a stressful day, into the moments when the inner critic becomes loud again.

This isn’t about forcing yourself to be positive. It’s about noticing the parts of you that deserve a different kind of language. And learning to speak to them with care.

Affirmations won’t fix everything. But they can shift the tone of your internal world. And in a life where so much is outside your control, that shift (even if it’s small) can be meaningful.