Self Encouraging Coping Thoughts & Self Affirming Statements
Oct 31, 2013 11:05:27 GMT
BethH and lucyrob like this
Post by mia on Oct 31, 2013 11:05:27 GMT
Self encouraging coping thoughts are so useful, they teach you to be kinder to yourself and are especially helpful if you find yourself in a situation where there is no-one around to help you. We are all guilty of being kinder to other people than we are to ourselves - take a moment to really think about the way you speak to yourself, and how you would feel if someone else said those things to you. It would hurt very deeply, but we seem to just accept it when it's coming right from our own mind!
Coping thoughts are especially helpful when you first notice that you are feeling agitated, nervous, angry or upset. If you can recognise this early on, there is a better chance of coping thoughts working. They might be thoughts that you don't necessarily believe at first, but keep telling yourself, all the time - and eventually they become real. I find it helps to write them on index cards and carry them with me, or stick them on post it's around my house. Here's a list of mine, maybe people can add to it with their own?
Coping thoughts are especially helpful when you first notice that you are feeling agitated, nervous, angry or upset. If you can recognise this early on, there is a better chance of coping thoughts working. They might be thoughts that you don't necessarily believe at first, but keep telling yourself, all the time - and eventually they become real. I find it helps to write them on index cards and carry them with me, or stick them on post it's around my house. Here's a list of mine, maybe people can add to it with their own?
- I can be anxious and STILL deal with a situation
- I am strong enough to handle what's happening to me right now
- I can take all the time I need right now to let go and relax
- I've survived every situation like this to date, I will survive this one too
- This is not a good feeling, but it will pass, and good feelings WILL return
Also to aid coping thoughts it also helps to work on building a healthier self image, which is where the self affirming thoughts come in. Again, everyone loves a compliment from another person, so let be nice to ourselves and give them out to us as well! 
The purpose of these statements is to remind yourself of the GOOD qualities that you have in order to give you strength and resilience in dealing with distress. It is to remind you that you are a caring and loving person, and distressing thought's are clouding that, but it is there. Again here are some of mine, please add to the list!!
The purpose of these statements is to remind yourself of the GOOD qualities that you have in order to give you strength and resilience in dealing with distress. It is to remind you that you are a caring and loving person, and distressing thought's are clouding that, but it is there. Again here are some of mine, please add to the list!! - I'm good and no body is perfect
- I'm becoming a better person every day
- I'm a sensitive person who experiences the world differently
- Each day I do the best I can
- Even though bad things happened to me in the past, I'm still a good person
- There is a purpose to my life, even though I might not see it.
