When pain is severe, prolonged feelings of despair and helplessness can be overwhelming. Used with confidence in their effectiveness, affirmations – repeated positive statements – can bolster your determination to overcome the enslavement of pain, promoting a positive balance to dominant negativity.
The pairs of statements shown on the next page are just examples, on which you may or may not choose to base your own affirmations. When constructing your own statements try to ensure that you do not use any negative or hesitant language.
For example, “I can achieve any ambition I set my mind to. I am positive and assured” is far more helpful than “I might be able to achieve my ambitions if I try. I am not negative or lacking assurance.”
A key word in deciding to use affirmations is “choice”. Choosing to listen to the advice of those who advocate affirmation tactics is, in itself, affirmative action. Of course, to have doubts about the validity of such claims is perfectly understandable. However, when there’s an obvious need to create a positive sense of purpose in the face of a painful condition, scepticism about a process that can patently do no harm, and that might help, is self-limiting. Put aside your reservations and approach affirmations as though they were unquestionably valuable. Try them regularly, as often as you can, especially when you are feeling down. Make it your goal to prove that they really do work.
• Say these affirmations every day, more than once, even before you believe them.
• Say them as you look at yourself in the mirror, with conviction and ideally with a smile.
• Say them in the present tense.
When pain makes you anxious and tense
“My body and mind bathe in the light of the spirit.”
“I let go of my worries. I am free to reach my goals.”
When pain brings depression
“My pain is a fraction of my life. My fulfilment is infinitely larger.”
“My life is still under my control. My self, and my relationships, are whole.”
When pain returns
“The body follows its own wisdom. Healing continues.”
“Even summer skies have clouds. I have come through before.”
When pain makes you irritable
“No one is responsible for my pain. I will reach out to everyone I value.”
“I am a calm pool, endlessly fed by the love of family and friends.“
When pain makes you feel isolated
“Others hold me in their love, even when they are absent.”
“My contribution is undiminished, even when I need to rest.”
When pain is linked to past events
“I lovingly release the past — it is free and I am free.”
“All is well in my heart. My pain is melting away.”
When pain requires great strength
“I have the will to overcome my pain, to live as fully as I can.”
“I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I am positive and assured.”
When pain accompanies feelings of fear
“I breathe in the feeling of being calm and peaceful; I breathe out fear.”
“My body is calm and peaceful, and my [body part] pain is healing.”