20 Powerful Affirmations for Anxiety and Stress Relief

Daily affirmations can make a huge difference in the way we see the world. An affirmation is a short phrase that can repeat to provide yourself emotional encouragement and support. And while the practice of simply repeating positive or comforting phrases might seem too simplistic to help with something as intense as anxiety or worry, regular practice can set you up for a more positive mindset and increased resilience.

Why does it work? Repeating positive statements to yourself can help you to get control over your thoughts and balance out recurring and often automatic negative messages. There is great power in our thought patterns, good and bad, and the way it works is not simply about balance. Affirming is an innate quality.

The way our minds use affirmations has been studied since the 1980s by social psychologists. Self-affirmation theory is a psychological theory that explores how people can use the practice of thinking positive phrases (affirmations) to maintain a strong core self, even when others attempt to disrupt their identity. In fact, affirmations have been proven to improve adaptive functioning and increase resilience according to A.J. Howell's Self-Affirmation Theory and the Science of Well-Being.

To increase the likelihood that an affirmation will support wellness, psychologists have shown that tying the words we choose into our core values can boost our ability to believe and accept the message. So when we find the right messaging, we have a formula to recenter when we feel down or anxious.

Positive Affirmations for Anxiety

There is a definite link between anxiety and the stressors we encounter on a regular basis. Examining the way our anxious thoughts makes us feel, therefore, helps us to come up with more potent affirmations.

Below are a few positive affirmations for anxious thoughts to get you started. I recommend writing down the one or two that most resonate for you and spending a few minutes in a meditative position repeating the mantra to yourself.

1. I am safe and well.
2. I am supported and strong.
3. I trust myself completely.
4. I deserve to be calm and happy.
5. I allow calm to enter my body with each breath.

To make the affirmations even stronger, tie them to your core values. For instance, if you value creativity and fairness, you could say, “I am a creative and fair person who deserves to be calm and happy.”

Repeating affirmations might seem awkward at first, but it becomes a truly transformative practice to erase or lessen negative thoughts, and it can be a practical approach to incorporating stress-reducing practices into your life. After all, affirmations can be done anywhere and at any time. They can even be a tool to lean on during times of panic or crisis when being calm seems just out of reach.

Affirmations for Calmness

Has anyone ever told you to calm down? Did it help? My guess is no.

Usually, we know when we would benefit from calmness, but it's not always easy to get back to a calm state of mind if something or someone is triggering us. Developing a resilient mindset means being able to come back to a state of calm more easily. 

Often, anxious thoughts can run amok, causing us to loose our calm. Imagine being around a person or circumstance that triggers you and responding by taking a breath and taking control of the situation, rather than letting them dictate your mood. This is the power of affirmations. The following affirmations will help with mindset and bring you back to your calm center. 

1. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
2. I have control over my thinking, and I choose calm.
3. With each breath, I feel calmer and calmer.
4. I welcome in calm and release anxious thoughts.
5. I am safe, calm, and supported.

Calmness affirmations can be particularly handy when you find yourself in an irritated or angry state of mind. In any high-stakes or uneasy situation, the habit of affirming calm can only benefit the situation. With practice, it can become an automatic practice.

Stress Affirmations

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines stress as "a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation." We can't stop stress from entering our lives, but we can control how we respond. Everyone responds to stress differently, and affirmations are a healthy way to train yourself to avoid negative stress response. 

1. Stress is natural, and I can handle this.
2. I relax my body and my mind.
3. Breathing in, I feel steadiness. Breathing out, I let go of stress.
4. I can do difficult things.
5. I welcome inner peace and positive thoughts

Using affirmations during stressful events or times can significantly affect how you respond and problem-solve. 

Positive Affirmations to Repeat Daily for Overall Well-being

Understanding how we feel honestly is not always easy. There can be a lot of pressure to force ourselves to feel positive. Affirmations are not about that. There are often strong ties between depression or sadness and anxiety, which means that the idea we have to be positive can make us feel worse. The following affirmations address our most complex feelings that may involve some combination of depression and anxiety or worry and stress. 

1. I welcome compassion, and I release self-doubt.
2. My feelings are valid, and I can handle them. 
3. I am learning to listen to my inner wisdom.
4. I am building strength.
5. I inhale self-trust and self-worth and exhale anything that doesn't serve me.

Implementing affirmations into a comprehensive plan that will support your emotional well-being means repeating positive phrases when needed. It also means showing self-compassion when you forget or lose control from time to time. When you are facing anxiety, panic, worry, and/or stress, there are many answers.

You can refine your daily routine to ensure you're setting yourself up for greatness. You can speak with a therapist or coach to work on mindset and reduce stress, try hypnosis, meditation, and implement cognitive behavioral exercises into your daily life. Creating a list of affirmations will give you yet another tool that you can rely on at the moment when you need it.

Takeaway: Remember to tie your affirmation to your core values, repeat them often, and trust that you can take control over your mindset with a little repetition.

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