- California researchers found that positive affirmations improved mental health
- The results improved even more when participants practiced them more frequently.
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It turns out that talking kindly to yourself for even less than a minute a day could improve your mental health.
Researchers at the University of California Berkeley recruited more than 100 people to test whether positive affirmations could improve mental health.
Affirmations included repeating statements such as “I believe in myself” to banish fear and doubt. They were also instructed to practice “self-compassionate touch,” which involved placing their hands over their heart and stomach while saying the statements.
Eli Susman, author of the study, described the affirmations as “a practice of being a loving friend to yourself by reflecting on moments that evoke being hard on yourself.”
A group of participants were asked to practice the affirmations for at least 20 seconds every day for a month.
The results showed that those who did so had greater self-compassion, emotional well-being, and reduced stress compared to those who did not.
The researchers said their “findings are the first, to our knowledge, to show that daily contact with self-compassion can increase self-compassion.”
Researchers found that those who made positive affirmations daily had greater self-compassion, emotional well-being, and reduced stress compared to those who did not.
The study involved 135 UC Berkeley undergraduates who were over 18 years old. The average age of the participants was 21 years old and 69 percent of the students were women.
The ‘micropractices’ were intended to be easy and an alternative to current self-compassion therapies, which can be time-consuming: one to 20 hours of learning the technique and then an additional 2.5 to 40 hours of practicing.
susman said Fox News Digital The students received the following instructions: ‘You are invited to close your eyes.
‘Remember a recent mistake, failure, or something about yourself that has been bothering you lately or that has made you feel unworthy, unloved, or insufficient.
‘And notice what arises in your body as you remember this… sending yourself kindness and warmth as you place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest with the energy of giving you a hug… allow yourself to embrace what arises in your body .
‘You are invited to ask yourself, “How can I be a friend to myself right now?”…and when you are ready, you can open your eyes.’
The team found that those who said positive affirmations daily had greater self-compassion, emotional well-being, and reduced stress compared to those who did not.
And mental health improved even more the more often participants practiced self-compassionate speech and touch.
According to the study, evidence has been accumulating that high self-compassion is associated with multiple positive outcomes, including improved mood and reduced stress.
However, the California researchers said they believe their most recent findings show that daily contact with self-compassion can also increase self-compassion.
The researchers acknowledged limitations of the study, including the fact that the team did not tell people how many times they should make the statements beyond the minimum.
Additionally, the study had a small sample size and consisted solely of college students.
“The effects depended on practice: those who didn’t practice often didn’t improve,” Susman said.
He noted that additional research is needed with more varied populations and that these “micropractices” should not replace mental health care such as therapy and medications for those who need it.
The study was published in the April 2024 issue of Behavioral research and therapy.
