Using positive affirmations for anxiety isn’t just about repeating uplifting phrases and hoping they stick. It’s about adding a valuable tool to your anxiety management toolkit—something we can all benefit from.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, remember you’re not alone. Over 40 million adults in the U.S. will experience anxiety at some point in their lives, making it the most common mental health issue nationwide.
The emotional, mental, and physical weight of anxiety can feel overwhelming (I know because I’ve dealt with it myself), but it’s possible to regain balance and peace of mind. For a personal story, listen to episode 40 of The Balanced Life, where I share how I overcame my paralyzing anxiety.
If you’re ready to add a new tool to your anxiety relief practice, try these positive affirmations, along with a few other techniques to soothe your anxious mind.
What Are Affirmations—And How Can They Help with Anxiety?
A positive affirmation is a statement that reframes negative or unhelpful thoughts, reinforcing your inherent worth and truth. When anxiety leaves you feeling powerless, affirmations remind you that no fear is unbeatable—that you can face the present moment with strength, resilience, and clarity.
How Do Affirmations Work?
- Supporting the brain’s stress response: Affirmations can act as a buffer against stress, calming the brain’s instinct to scan for threats. This makes it easier to manage intense emotions.
- Promoting mindfulness: Repeating an affirmation aloud encourages mindful focus and slows your breathing, helping to relax your nervous system.
- Boosting self-efficacy: Affirmations improve self-efficacy, which strengthens problem-solving skills and decision-making, helping you overcome challenges.
Where anxiety creates spirals of fear and doubt, affirmations help redirect your thoughts, grounding you in calm and clarity.
15 Positive Affirmations to Ease Anxiety
For affirmations to work, they must feel true to you. They should reflect your unique experience, needs, and beliefs so you can fully embrace and believe them. If the following affirmations don’t resonate, adapt them to suit your personal journey.
- I am safe in this moment—there’s nothing to fear.
- I root myself in the present and stand firm where I am.
- I inhale peace and calm; I exhale doubts and fears.
- I choose to nurture, love, and accept myself unconditionally.
- I can reframe the limiting beliefs that hold me back.
- I will face my challenges one step at a time.
- I know this feeling is temporary—it doesn’t control me.
- I let go of past distress and future worries.
- I can overcome any obstacles in my path.
- I am resilient, strong, brave, and capable—more than I realize.
- I call on empowerment and embrace self-compassion.
- I trust myself to persevere, just as I have in the past.
- These anxious feelings are normal, but they don’t mean I’m in danger.
- I cannot control the future, but in this moment, I am safe and at peace.
- I am capable of handling whatever comes my way.