Affirmations are positive statements that resonate with you and help promote well-being. They can focus on a range of topics. For example, affirmations for anxiety can help you feel calmer, more relaxed, and better able to handle feelings of distress.
How you speak to yourself, or your self-talk, can play an important role in how you feel. People with anxiety sometimes engage in negative self-talk, which can fuel feelings of anxiety.
Affirmations for anxiety, on the other hand, are a good example of positive self-talk. These statements can help you feel more capable and in control when dealing with situations that tend to make you anxious.
If you are dealing with feelings of anxiety, the following positive affirmations can help.
10 Helpful Affirmations for Anxiety
If you need rapid anxiety relief now, try repeating one of these powerful affirmations.
- “I am safe and secure in this moment.”
- “I’m not alone.”
- “I am strong.”
- “My breath is calm, and I am in control of my thoughts.”
- “I am worthy of inner peace and happiness.”
- “My body is calm.”
- “I can overcome challenges.”
- “My body is relaxed.”
- “This feeling won’t last forever.”
- “My anxiety is a sign that I need to slow down and breathe.”
Repeat these affirmations for anxiety daily, especially during moments of heightened anxiety, to help calm your mind and reframe negative thoughts.
Affirmations for Different Types of Anxiety
Not all anxiety is the same. Sometimes anxiety is more general, so it is hard to pinpoint a specific cause or situation causing it. In other cases, you might find yourself worrying about specific situations that you know will happen in the future.
Choosing anxiety affirmations that deal with the type of anxiety you are experiencing can be helpful.
Anticipatory Anxiety
Anticipatory anxiety involves worrying about things that you know are coming up, like stressing out about a doctor’s visit or a trip you are planning. You might find yourself envisioning all of the worst-case scenarios that might happen (even if those things are unlikely to actually occur). If anticipatory anxiety is causing you distress, consider using one of the following anxiety affirmations for fast relief:
- “I am safe in this moment.”
- “I trust in my ability to handle uncertainty.”
- “I release worry about the future.”
- “I focus on the present, one step at a time.”
- “I breathe in calmness, exhale tension.”
Generalized Anxiety
Generalized anxiety means you are worrying all the time without any specific reason. Such worry seems constant and difficult to control. In such cases, the following affirmations for anxiety may be helpful:
- “I am worthy of inner peace and calmness.”
- “I’m letting go of worry about things beyond my control.”
- “I can cope with life’s challenges.”
- “I choose to focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the future.”
- “I am safe, supported, and capable of overcoming anxiety.”
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are intense episodes of extreme fear that lead to physical reactions like rapid breathing, fast heartrate, trembling, sweating, and shaking. They can be very frightening while they are happening, which with why using anxiety affirmations may be a helpful way to soothe your mind and body during an attack.
- “I am safe and secure.”
- “I breathe in peace and exhale anxiety.”
- “This panic attack will pass, and I will emerge stronger and more resilient.”
- “I have managed this before, and I will do it again.”
- “I am in control of my breath and my thoughts.”
Social Anxiety
If you have social anxiety, spending time in social situations can be unnerving and distressing. Anxiety affirmations can help take your mind off your worries, remind you of your strengths, and help you feel more confident in social settings.
- “I am worthy of connection and belonging, just as I am.”
- “I embrace my uniqueness and trust in my ability to shine in social situations.”
- “I am being authentic to myself.”
- “I’m loved and accepted for who I am.”
- “I feel comfortable talking to other people.”
Performance Anxiety
If you find yourself getting very nervous when you need to accomplish a specific task, like giving a presentation or performing in an athletic event, you know how unsettling performance anxiety can be. It can also interfere with your ability to do well. Consider using one of the following affirmations for anxiety to feel more settled and less nervous when you are peforming an action.
- “I am prepared and ready to do my best.”
- “I am embracing this as an opportunity to learn and grow.”
- “I am focusing on the task and not worrying about the outcome.”
- “I am capable of handling any unexpected challenges that may arise.”
- “I channel nervous energy into my performance.”
Why Affirmations for Anxiety Can Help
Research has found that positive self-talk can have a number of important benefits, including reducing feelings of anxiety. Treatments for anxiety often utilize a type of therapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This approach works by teaching people how to identify their negative thought patterns and replace them with ways of thinking that are more optimistic and realistic.
Affirmations for anxiety are a great way to start incorporating positive thinking and positive attitudes into your daily life.
They can be helpful in moments when you are experiencing acute feelings of anxiety and need rapid relief. Affirmations can help you start to reframe situations in a more positive way. As you practice this skill, you may find that your feelings of anxiety start to feel more manageable.
Why Affirmations for Anxiety Work
According to the self-affirmation theory, people have a natural tendency to want to maintain a positive view of themselves. So, when they encounter things that threaten their self-concept, they look for ways to resist them.
Self-affirmations work as a way to remind ourselves of the things that make us feel good about ourselves. This can help boost self-esteem and allow you to feel more confident about the challenges you face.
How Effective Are Affirmations for Anxiety?
Researchers have found that repeating self-affirmations leads to changes in the brain in areas are associated with how we see ourselves and value things.
Evidence also indicates that affirmations for anxiety can be an effective tool for people facing stressful situations.
In one study, people undergoing open-heart surgery used positive affirmations to help cope with feelings of distress and anxiety. The results suggested that people who used these affirmations had less anxiety, pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, fatigue, and nausea than those who did not use such affirmations.
How to Use Affirmations for Anxiety
The key to making affirmations for anxiety work is knowing how to use them effectively. If you are just getting started with affirmations, here are some tips for getting the most out of them.
- Write them down (and keep writing them down): Get a journal and write down your affirmations a few times each day. As you write, consider what your affirmations mean and how they apply to your life.
- Make them visible: Write them down on sticky notes, put them on a whiteboard, or create a vision board and put it in a highly visible spot in your house.
- Use them as mantras: Pick a favorite affirmation and use it as a mantra. Repeat it to yourself, either in your head or out loud, whenever you start to feel anxious.
- Practice each day: Repeat your affirmations daily. You might pick new ones each day, or you might focus on those that have the most meaning for you. The key is to make it a habit.
It can also be helpful to incorporate your affirmations into other strategies designed to combat feelings of anxiety. For example, you might focus on your affirmations for anxiety while you are meditating or exercising.
Other Ways to Cope With Anxiety
Affirmations can be an excellent self-help tool for managing symptoms of anxiety, but they may be most effective if you combine them with other strategies as well. Some other ways to cope with anxiety include:
Exercise
Exercise can be a great outlet when you’re feeling anxious, and research even suggests it can be effective for relieving and preventing symptoms of anxiety. So try to squeeze in some exercise most days of the week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 150 minutes of physical activity each week, which works out to be about 30 minutes each day, five times per week.
Journaling
Journaling is the perfect way to express yourself and practice those anxiety affirmations. Make it a goal to write down a few things each day, including your thoughts and the things you’re grateful for–plus those affirmations for anxiety.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice that can help you become more aware of your feelings and better understand the things that tend to trigger feelings of anxiety. As you build this awareness, you can start to incorporate your favorite anxiety-banishing affirmations whenever you notice yourself getting tense.
Relaxation Strategies
Techniques like deep breathing, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation can also be powerful anti-anxiety tools when used alongside affirmations. These relaxation strategies are a great way to relieve stress in the moment, and they can even start to reduce feelings of chronic anxiety.
Key Points to Remember
If self-help strategies like affirmations or deep breathing aren’t providing adequate relief, it is vital to talk to your doctor or therapist. Anxiety is very treatable, and there are therapies and medications that can support your own efforts. Affirmations for anxiety can be one tool in your anti-anxiety toolbox, so spend some time using them, but don’t be afraid to ask for extra help if you need it.
Sources:
Aylett, E., Small, N., & Bower, P. (2018). Exercise in the treatment of clinical anxiety in general practice – a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 559. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3313-5
Cascio, C. N., O’Donnell, M. B., Tinney, F. J., Lieberman, M. D., Taylor, S. E., Strecher, V. J., & Falk, E. B. (2016). Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(4), 621–629. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136
Sadri Damirchi, E., Mojarrad, A., Pireinaladin, S., & M Grjibovski, A. M. (2020). The role of self-talk in predicting death anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and coping strategies in the face of coronavirus disease(COVID-19). Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v15i3.3810
Yildirim, M., Akbal, S., & Turkoglu, M. (2023). The effect of self-affirmation on anxiety and perceived discomfort in patients who have undergone open-heart surgery. A randomized controlled trial. Applied Nursing Research: ANR, 72, 151687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2023.151687