Positivity in recovery is critical to early and continued sobriety. There is no one key to living a life free of dependence on alcohol or drugs. However, putting the brakes on negative thoughts and emotions with positive affirmations can alter the way you think for the better. Taking the time to meditate and reflect on healthy, positive ideas can help you instill lasting changes in your mindset and offers amazing benefits for your recovery routine.
What Are Positive Affirmations?
Positive affirmations are a way to feel in touch with the present moment and your inherent positivity. Affirmations are made in the first person and the present tense, include only positive words and are spoken as fact/truth. Reprogramming the subconscious mind and the law of attraction— the idea that you are what you attract— is part of the reasoning behind the effectiveness of affirmations.
The first-person component of affirmations assigns an identity to the statement, making it personal. Avoiding words like no and not when thinking about yourself can make it easier for your brain to recognize the statement as a positive one.
What Is the Point of Positive Affirmations?
You may be wondering, “What is the point of positive affirmations? Why should I say these things to myself if they aren’t true right now?” While the inner workings of your brain are complex, there are simple things you can do to alter your perspective. Positive affirmations provide a quick and easy way to change the way you see yourself.
These purposeful mental shifts are the foundation for changing beliefs because they positively influence your biochemistry. After deciding you would like to change, that desire paves the way for personal growth. As you practice positive affirmations, you allow space for new perspectives to emerge.
While the thought exercises may seem silly at first, the longer you practice, the more you will embrace new experiences, acquire new skills, and adopt different perspectives. In doing so, adding affirmations into your routine can help you unlock your potential in life. Similarly, the more positive things you think and say to yourself, the more power you hold to bring about remarkable transformations in your recovery journey.
What Is the Key to Positive Affirmations?
The key to affirmations, which people often struggle with, is creating statements in the present tense. This is because your brain believes what you tell it, as illustrated by Anton Chekchov’s famous quote, “Man is what he believes.” Your thoughts and beliefs are an integral part of your brain activity – acting as an internal guide for how you process the world and how you see yourself in it.
Believing that you ARE something is more effective than believing you WILL BE something. For example, “I am living a healthy life and love how I feel” evokes a different feeling than “I am going to live a healthy life and love how I feel.” The first phrase puts you in a present mindset of good health and happiness, while the second phrase suggests that good health and happiness will come only at some later date. By removing the implication that someday you will be happy and healthy, you remove the space between then and now. In doing so, you can start feeling better immediately instead of hoping to feel better in the future.
What Are Some Examples of Positive Affirmations?
You can also create affirmations that are true of the present moment. Mixing what is true with what you desire to be true might help you envision more for yourself and your life.
Affirmations are relatively easy to create; believing them is the hard part. A few to get you started:
- “I am strong and capable.”
- “I am an optimistic person.”
- “I am worthy of love, acceptance, kindness, success…”
- “I am getting through this.”
- “I am managing my emotions, thoughts, cravings, and triggers.”
- “My relationships are healthy and stable.”
- “I am healthy and successful.”
- “I put my recovery first so that everything I love does not come last”
If affirmations intimidate you or you want something extra, there are plenty of recovery- and sobriety-oriented quotes and passages out there. We encourage you to use these tools to remind yourself that you deserve recovery, health, happiness, and peace.
Establishing a Positive Mindset in Recovery
To recover from addiction, people must reach a point where their desire to be free exceeds their desire to escape. Once you are willing to begin healing from substance abuse, you can start to form a positive mindset and create an environment that supports sobriety.
Part of this process involves establishing thought patterns that center around positivity and gratitude. In doing so, you can overcome cravings, develop healthier coping skills, and stay on track with recovery goals. Affirmations are one tool that can help you do this – they remind you that “you’ve got this” despite any doubts or setbacks.
“Now I have a much clearer sense of myself and what I can and can’t do. I am more successful than I have ever been. I feel very positive where I never did before, and I think that’s all a direct result of getting sober.” — Jamie Lee Curtis
By changing the way you speak to yourself, you can inspire changes in your attitude and behavior. If you believe that you are lazy or unlucky, you are less likely to strive for greatness because “What’s the point of trying?” Whereas, if you believe that each experience is a lesson and an opportunity for growth, you will begin searching for the positives in every interaction, regardless of whether it went as planned.
“Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation— some fact of my life— unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.” — AA
Whether you’ve hit rock bottom, or you’re striving to quit before drugs and alcohol can destroy the things you hold dear, these practices can help. Positive affirmations can provide a foundation of inner motivation that keeps you moving forward, even in times of stress or self-doubt.
As you continue on the path of recovery, you begin to accept that there is no shame in beginning again. Instead, you will see that starting over is a chance to build bigger and better than before. In doing so, you can look in the mirror a see the face of someone who is succeeding in recovery — you.
Reach Out for Help
Creating affirmations requires awareness of your individual needs and desires, as well as of the challenges you face in staying sober. As such, no two sets of affirmations will look alike. It takes time to find the ones that work best for you but once you do, these powerful phrases can become an essential part of your journey toward a holistic recovery.
At The Haven, we strive to educate our guests on the importance of positivity. We believe that cultivating a positive mindset can have numerous benefits in terms of recovery and overall well-being. During detox and residential treatment, our clinical team offers guidance and support if you’re having difficulty creating affirmations that resonate with you. Together, we can work towards establishing the foundation for a successful road to sobriety!
If you are ready to begin a life of recovery, please reach out to us. Our admissions team is available 24/7 at (877)-RECOVERY to listen and answer any questions about our detox or residential programs. Let us help you build a brighter future through affirmation-based positivity practices!
