How Positive Self Talk Rewires the Brain
Positive self talk is powerful. When you speak kindly to yourself with love and reassurance, your resilience to deal with challenging times grows. We even quite literally can change our brains.
The Science
When we think positive thoughts, we are training our brains to believe and act on these facts. We can create new positive pathways. Our brain cells can make and reabsorb receptors constantly that are in response to the environment. So our thoughts are affected by our brain chemistry, but our thoughts also can affect our brain chemistry. Let’s use this to our advantage.
We can use our thoughts to retrain our brains to produce more of our “feel good” neurotransmitters. The more that you think a specific thought, the more likely you will believe it. And negative critical thoughts trigger a stress response in us due to perception of pressure. So positive thinking can help with stress reduction as well.
Fake It ‘Til You Make It
I like to do this with affirmations. Affirmations are thoughts that you can say out loud that give you confidence and comfort. When practiced consistently, speaking affirmations to yourself can shift your thinking patterns and can propel you out of a negative space. Affirmations can easily be incorporated into your daily routine; in the morning, the evening or both.
So really it’s simple. If you feel like you’re stuck in a cycle of negative thinking, just start thinking positive. Trick your brain into believing that it is actually happy and you will attract this energy. We are worthy of love, compassion and abundance. Overcoming negative thought patterns can help us to see ourselves in a more optimistic manner. Your relationship with your self is the most important relationship that you will have. Speak love into yourself every day.
References
Waller, P. (2018). Deeply holistic: A guide to intuitive self-care, know your body, live consciously, and nurture your spirit. North Atlantic Books.
Rick Hanson, & Hanson, R. H. R. (n.d.). How to grow the good in your brain. Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_grow_the_good_in_your_brain