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do positive affirmations work if you don't believe them?

F

Filipe2025

Peer Supporter
Hi,

I would like to ear your own opinion, based on what science tell us.

Every time I try using affirmation to get better, either from my pain, or when I'm not in pain, in order to get stronger for a possible relapse, I always get worse. On the other hand, I don't try that much, because I start feeling much worse.

It's like my TMS distraction intensify, so I don't change this flight or fight mechanism, that supposedly is protecting me from threats.

Does this makes sense?

What are your thoughts about? I mean I can stop the negatives distracting me, but not with purpose of changing those negatives thoughs

Or maybe it's my organism saying "stop, go do something else'.


Thanks
 
It’s a skill like everything else, at first you suck at it then it starts to feel more natural come easier and actually have some power. Of course your scared TMS brain isn’t going to believe you and may push back “get a load of this guy, talks to me like crap for decades, NOW he wants to be friends?” (This is how I Imagine my brain was when I first started trying affirmations/talking positive, lol). Of course at first it may not work, you are going to have to work to prove to your brain that the change you desire is the one you’re willing to Implement with words and actions. Positive self talk has helped me a lot when confronting feared actions, in fact I have been using it a lot today as I am off to work a new job while dealing with flaring symptoms. The key is doing it consistently not just when you’re in a crappy place full of fear. And no you don’t have to believe them at first but perhaps it’s worth examining why you feel you don’t deserve self compassion?
 
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Its funny, listening to Brandon, because my first episode of chronic pain started just after my son was born. We are all very similar...
 
Personally, and this is just my opinion from my own experience, I think affirmations work more to stop one from going into a spiral of unhelpful looping thoughts (through interruption) than convincing the lizard brain of anything (although over time maybe they do wear down/lessen the lizard brain's generally propensity to focus on anything and everything as being potentially dangerous). I reckon the positive messages of affirmations buoy the conscious brain more than the subconscious brain (but then I'm not a brain scientist). In recent times I've found that turning my thoughts to mini visualisations (things like imagining all of the cells in my body being as light and fluffy as clouds) work for me more than affirmations to hinder negative thought spiralling and foster a generally lighter approach to life.

Also, you may be interested in doing 'afformations' instead of 'affirmations'... here is a link to a posting/thread that explains about them, which includes a Dan Buglio video regarding them: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threa...icism-and-self-abandonment.28662/#post-150364
 
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Rabscuttle said:
It’s a skill like everything else, at first you suck at it then it starts to feel more natural come easier and actually have some power. Of course your scared TMS brain isn’t going to believe you and may push back “get a load of this guy, talks to me like crap for decades, NOW he wants to be friends?” (This is how I Imagine my brain was when I first started trying affirmations/talking positive, lol). Of course at first it may not work, you are going to have to work to prove to your brain that the change you desire is the one you’re willing to Implement with words and actions. Positive self talk has helped me a lot when confronting feared actions, in fact I have been using it a lot today as I am off to work a new job while dealing with flaring symptoms. The key is doing it consistently not just when you’re in a crappy place full of fear. And no you don’t have to believe them at first but perhaps it’s worth examining why you feel you don’t deserve self compassion?
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And the shift went well, and afterwards I even explored the nearby city I was in and walked around for 3 hours despite dealing with leg TMS nonsense for the past few weeks. I spoke to myself positively literally the whole day. Minimal symptoms. The issue is for me it’s easier to do this when out and about and challenging myself than bedrotting in the house, something to work on!
 
Rabscuttle said:
And the shift went well, and afterwards I even explored the nearby city I was in and walked around for 3 hours despite dealing with leg TMS nonsense for the past few weeks. I spoke to myself positively literally the whole day. Minimal symptoms. The issue is for me it’s easier to do this when out and about and challenging myself than bedrotting in the house, something to work on!
Click to expand...
I like to call my symptoms nonsense too. It is genuinely utter bollocks
 
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