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40 Positive Affirmations For Depression

Affirmations for depression can really help improve your mood and mindset.

When your mood is low and you feel like nothing is going right, reminding yourself that you’ve got this can really help lift that fog, even a little.

When you practise repeating positive affirmations daily, that’s when they can actually work as a preventative, as they tend to put you in a more positive mindset from the get-go, especially if you repeat them in the morning.

Here are some positive affirmations that I personally use to ease the symptoms of depression.

What are affirmations for depression?

Positive affirmations are self-affirming statements that you repeat in order to rewire the way you look at yourself and the world.

They’re usually ‘I am’ or ‘I have’ statements (although they don’t always have to be) in the present tense that focus on boosting your self-esteem in a particular area.

For example, positive affirmations are a fantastic way to boost confidence, which is something a lot of us struggle with.

Affirmations for depression are simply positive affirmations that work to improve your mood and outlook on life.

A woman sitting on a hill at dusk

Do positive affirmations for depression actually work?

In my experience, I’ve found that affirmations are really affective for depression.

When you’re feeling low or depressed, your mind tends to pull you to a dark place that’s super-hard to climb out of.

Your thinking becomes negative and you get trapped in a negative cycle.

When you’re already thinking negatively, your mind will get in the habit of looking for the bad in everything. Instead of seeing a silver lining, you always see the crappy side.

Then, when something crappy does happen – which it inevitably does because you’re always searching for it – you think, ‘See, I was right! NOTHING goes right for me!’

And so the cycle continues.

This isn’t something to beat yourself up over. You’re human (at least, I’m assuming you are…) and human beings feel emotions. They also suffer from problems with their mental health.

For many, it’s part of life.

A shitty part of life, but a part of life nonetheless.

However, it IS possible to dig out your way out of this hole.

It takes work and it’s important to note that while affirmations can help you be more positive, you should be cautious not to fall into the trap of toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity is when you become so positive you begin to avoid life’s necessary lows – situations you can learn from.

You bury your head in the sand and refuse to pay attention to anything negative that happens.

This isn’t good.

Emotions have to come to the surface one way or another, whether we like it or not. We have to feel to heal.

Avoiding them isn’t healing, it’s allowing the problem to bubble under the surface.

Being positive doesn’t mean you’re happy and see the silver lining ALL the time! It means recognising and acknowledging negative emotions and situations, embracing them, learning from them, and ultimately going forward knowing how to deal with them again.

Repeating daily affirmations that lift your mood, help you practise gratitude, and work to boost your mindset can be really powerful when it comes to sort of reprogramming the way you think.

The silhouette of a person walking along the coastline at sunset

Other ways to cope with depression or low mood

I’m not a medical professional or therapist, therefore, if you do feel that you are suffering from depression, please see your doctor if you can.

Therapy and medication are the main ways low mood is usually treated.

Apart from therapy and medication (both of which I have used over the years) other ways to help ease the symptoms of low mood that I personally use have been:

  • Daily self-care
  • Meditation
  • Exercise/moving your body in a way you enjoy
  • Nourishing my body with food that makes me feel good mentally AND physically
  • Yoga (kind of falls under exercise but I love it so much)
  • Affirmations (obvs)
  • Journaling
  • Shadow work

Again, if you feel as if you are suffering from depression, please do seek professional advice.

While affirmations work fantastically for a lot of us, you do often need to take other steps to recover and I want you all to be safe.

Does writing affirmations for depression work?

Writing down your affirmations for depression can be really affective.

Not only does it feel therapeutic to get positive affirmations down on paper, it helps you remember them and actually repeat them in your head.

This can be particularly helpful if you’re new to repeating daily affirmations and feel a bit self-conscious about saying them out loud.

Something that may help you is getting some affirmation art so that you can be reminded of your most powerful positive affirmation every time you see it.

Not only does it look cute, but it helps you cultivate a more positive mindset as you’re being consistently reminded throughout the day.

A person standing on the beach with their arms outstretched facing the sea

This can make it super-affective.

I currently sell printable affirmation art over on my Etsy, if this is something that sounds cool to you.

Some of my other tips for affirmations would be:

  1. Repeat them in your journal every single morning in order to form a habit.
  2. Repeat them when you engage in negative self-talk to challenge or counteract the negative thought.
  3. Pick affirmations that resonate with you and your specific struggle.

Once you do these three things, you’ll find that affirmations start to come easily.

Positive thinking – or at least challenging negative thinking – will become a habit and, in time, your mind won’t want to jump to that dark, negative place as often.

What are some good positive affirmations for depression?

A person leaning out of a car window with their hand in the air

Here are some affirmations for depression that I’ve personally used over the years:

  1. I am stronger than I ever thought possible
  2. I choose to be positive
  3. Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and find a new path
  4. I choose to surround myself with positive people
  5. I attract positivity
  6. I’ve got this
  7. I approach every day with a new outlook
  8. I’m grateful for everything good in my life
  9. I deserve good things
  10. I am worthy
  11. I’m That Bitch
  12. I am in control of my emotions
  13. My emotions are real and valid
  14. I am brave
  15. My life is within my control
  16. I’m the boss of my own life
  17. I control my own outlook and mindset
  18. I choose to practise self-care because I’m worth it
  19. I love experiencing life
  20. I am awesome
  21. I am a good person
  22. I attract good people to me
  23. I am grateful to be alive
  24. I am thankful that I get to experience the ups and downs of life
  25. I am my own biggest inspiration
  26. I am motivated to achieve my dreams
  27. I bring joy and happiness to others
  28. I am loved
  29. I am valued
  30. I deserve happiness
  31. I live my life to the fullest because I choose to
  32. I grow as a person every day
  33. I am capable of amazing things
  34. I am successful; I deserve success
  35. I feel fulfilled and content
  36. I am free to take my own path in life
  37. I have a purpose
  38. I choose to release unnecessary negativity
  39. I am productive
  40. I’m the life of the party; people love to be around me

Can affirmations help with anxiety as well?

Affirmations can be great for anxiety as well.

I have a whole blog post on affirmations for anxiety, if this is something you struggle with.

You can also take a closer look at my printable affirmation art if you have trouble remembering to repeat your affirmations – it’s really handy.

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