15 positive affirmations for childhood wounds.

Postive Affirmations can help you:

• create more positive self talk

• increase confidence

• increase productivity

• increase gratitude

• improve the quality of your life

Childhood wounds and negative self talk seem to go hand and hand. It usually does not take me long in my therapy practice to point out someone being mean to themselves. They usually laugh it off and then somewhere down line with our work together, we will revisit this and they struggle with letting the negative self talk go. I tell them it makes sense, because negative self talk is something that has gotten us this far and therefore it is hard to let it go, because how else are we supposed to succeed? This work takes some time but it is so worth it. When we replace negative self talk with positive self talk, something magical happens. People find themselves not only more happy, but more productive, more satisfied, and more at ease. I hope that alone gives you the desire to try it out and see for yourself. 

So how can you let go of negative self talk? Affirmations! Affirmations are not “woo woo” stuff, they work, I have seen it time and time again. Often we don’t realize the negative self talk that goes on in our heads, day in and day out. We will often be quick to judge ourselves and are often our own worst critic. In my online California therapy practice, I work hard with people who are rewiring that negative thought train. Sometimes I will joke and say “geeze I hope you don’t speak to your friends like that” and people are so quick to be like “of course not, I wouldn't have any friends!” And then we sit there in silence for a bit until they have an “ah ha moment” of, damn I mean to me huh? Yes, yes you are, so let’s work on that. 

But for real, it is something we as humans often do, we are MEAN to ourselves. I think it comes from a good place, suprisleying, because our critics just want us to be loved, seen, valued, you know? But sometimes those critics just work way too hard and then we are left feeling anxious, depressed and defeated. Sometimes we just have to thank the inner critic and ask it to work less because we can handle it. Yes, talking to yourself in this way can actually work!

Those who have experienced a huge amount of stress or trauma in childhood often have the meanest critics of them all. Oftentimes those with inner child wounds have years of negative talk from caregivers that these scripts often become a part of us and it continues well into our adult lives. It is both sad and ironic to see an adult who continues to punish themselves. Helping people let go of that shame and negatively is one of my favorite parts of the therapy work that I do. As a therapist I often have people develop a daily positive affirmation routine to help them rewire their brains to think in a more positive way. It doesn’t work overnight, but around the one month mark, is where people start to notice a difference. They often report to me that they feel more confident, less irritable, and more happy. 

I came up with 15 tested affirmations that I want to share with you. Not all of them will work for you, so please feel free to change them and adjust them. Now this won’t heal your childhood wounds but it definitely can help set you on the right path. And please feel free to share if you know someone who might benefit from speaking to themselves in a kinder way. 

15 Postive affirmations to help heal childhood wounds.

1. I am enough.

2. I deserve to take up space.

3. I decide what was traumatic for me.

4. I decide if I want to forgive or not.

5. I am allowed to both love someone and hate what they did.

6. I am strong, beautiful, and kind.

7. I am more than my past.

8. I did the best that I could with the skills that I had in that moment.

9. I am not damaged goods, I am human.

10. I choose to let go of what no longer serves me.

11. I choose peace, stillness, and rest.

12. I trust my body.

13. I am not behind, I am where I am supposed to be.

14. I am not a good person and good people sometimes make mistakes.

15. I hold my inner child when it acts up and I let know that I see them.

Feel free to use these or create your own! I hope this is a start in a right direction to help you get closer to the life you would like to live.