by Stefanie M Smith

One of the things that led me to looking at how powerful words can be in regard to someone’s mental health was discovering affirmation cards around 15 years ago. I was visiting a friend and needed to use her bathroom; tucked into the side of her mirror was an affirmation card, and there was another propped up on the windowsill. They were beautifully decorated and each had a positive phrase inscribed on it. I asked her about them and she explained that they were from a card deck produced by the late Louise L Hay. At the time, although I thought they were lovely I couldn’t really see how they could possibly be effective, but I was intrigued enough to want to learn more.

Now, a few years down the line, I am a great believer in the way that using positive affirmations can help to change a person’s outlook on things; but this is with the proviso that the person has a true connection with and a belief the words affirmation itself.
Like most people I’ve seen the many different products available that portray affirmations as the be all and end all to change your life. I may also be guilty of buying a pack of cards and then putting them somewhere to come back to later, only to rediscover them months down the line, still unopened and obviously having had no impact on my life other than perhaps my bank balance.

I have found the best way to actually get the benefit of positive affirmations into your life is to actively engage with them, and this, for me is where creativity comes into play. I love Art Journaling and creating Mixed Media artworks that incorporate positive thoughts and firmly believe that the process of creating them actually builds a greater resonance with the message they hold. The beauty with creating in this way is that you don’t have to share what you have created with anyone else, and it doesn’t matter what it looks like. Yes, there are many beautiful, and daunting examples all around the internet but please don’t let that put you off.

The process of creating art with a personal meaning in some way combines both sides of our brains, the left, more logical side and the right, more intuitive and creative side; I believe that this helps the positivity lodge more firmly within our thought patterns, therefore keeping the message closer to the surface.

A good way to get around any nerves or self-criticism about your creativity is to try something like collage or perhaps found poetry. You may want to buy a cheap pack of playing cards, paint one side a plain colour and then use cut out pictures and words from magazines to create a message that resonates with you; or you could find an old book in a second hall shop, pick a page at random and circle some words that stand out to you, draw connecting lines between those words and then black out or doodle across the rest of the page and you may surprise yourself with the meaning that comes through.

For those who really don’t wish to get involved with glue, paint and scissors; and I do realise that it isn’t for everyone; I would urge you to at least fully engage with the affirmations you use. Don’t leave a card in the same place for weeks on end until you no longer see it, set yourself a daily, weekly or fortnightly time when you pick a fresh affirmation, take some deep breaths and read it out loud several times, then place it somewhere where you can repeat this daily, pick it up, breathe and read it again; read it out with confidence and belief, and finally remember to love yourself.

(Editor’s Note: This is Stefanie’s fifth blog post in fulfillment of her Transformational Language Arts Certificate.)

Stefanie M Smith, is a 47 year old former nurse and qualified hypnotherapist who has lived in Lincolnshire, UK, since childhood. Unfortunately in 2009 her health took a nosedive, and she now deals with fibromyalgia, depression and other chronic health conditions on a daily basis. During this enforced rest period, Stefanie has been able to re-ignite her love of the written word, especially poetry and will shortly having a selection of her poems published in an anthology. Having noticed a marked benefit to her health through her own writing practice, Stefanie is now re-training in the therapeutic and transformational uses of language with the aim of sharing this phenomenal tool with others.