Affirmations for depression

Joel Dean
Joel Dean, Founder of Joyful

On a low day, "I am happy and full of energy" can make you feel further from where you are. The affirmations that fit depression are small and true: "Today, one small thing is enough." They ask for a step you can take, not a feeling you don't have.

Choose the one that feels true today. You can save it as an image.

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What are you going through?
Choose the one you can believe today

For heavy days when everything takes more effort. If none of them feels true, write your own.

If saying an affirmation makes you feel worse, let it go. That's common, and a smaller, truer sentence may fit better. If you're thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the US, or see crisis resources.

Why big, cheerful affirmations can backfire

A line that sits far from what you believe about yourself gives your mind something to push back against, with all the reasons it isn't true. That's how the authors explained a 2009 study in which "I am a lovable person" left people with low self-esteem in a worse mood than people who didn't repeat it (the positive affirmations guide has the replications).1 People with high self-esteem felt slightly better.

Two later studies, each with over 200 people, found neither the drop nor any benefit.2 The backfire isn't certain.

There's still no reason to keep a line that leaves you feeling worse when depression has already made the gap between "how I should feel" and "how I feel" painfully wide.

What the lines on this page do instead

  • They shrink the ask. "Today, one small thing is enough" points at a single action. Planning small, doable activities is the core of behavioral activation, which worked about as well as cognitive therapy for depression across 16 trials with 780 people.3
  • They separate worth from output. "What I got done today doesn't decide what I'm worth" answers the voice that keeps score.
  • They keep your values in view. "The people and things I care about are still there, even when I can't feel it." It names what matters without asking you to feel it right now.
  • They make asking for help normal. "I'm allowed to ask for help" is there on purpose.
Example

"I haven't opened the curtains since Sunday. The line I picked is: today, one small thing is enough. I open the curtains, and I let that count."

More lines for depression

Sixteen more, for different hours of a heavy day, from the moment you open your eyes to the moment you can lie back down. They ask for little, on purpose.

Getting up

  • "Sitting up is a start."
  • "I can do the next thing, even slowly."
  • "Washing my face counts as taking care of myself."
  • "Today can be a slow day."

Getting through the day

  • "A shower, a glass of water, one text back. Any one of these counts."
  • "I can eat something simple and let that be enough."
  • "Two minutes outside counts."
  • "I'm allowed to lower the bar today."

When the inner critic is loud

  • "Low mood is loud right now. It isn't the only voice I have."
  • "Feeling like a burden isn't the same as being one."
  • "I'm not lazy. Everything feels heavy right now."
  • "Feeling this way doesn't make me a failure."

At night

  • "I made it to tonight."
  • "I can go to bed without grading the day."
  • "Tomorrow I can try one small thing again."
  • "I can let one person know how I'm doing."

Being kind to yourself counts

Many of these lines are self-compassion: talking to yourself the way you'd talk to a friend having a hard time. Self-compassion programs reduced self-criticism, depression and rumination compared with control groups, in a review of 27 randomized trials.4 Those were full programs, and one sentence is a much smaller dose pointed the same way.

When the low has lasted two weeks

Affirmations don't treat depression.

If low mood has been there most of the day, nearly every day, for two weeks or more, talk to a doctor; treatment usually means therapy, medication or both.5

Journal prompt

What is one small thing you could do in the next hour? It can be as small as drinking a glass of water.

Answer this with Joy

Questions people ask about affirmations for depression

What are some daily affirmations that can help with depression?

Ones short enough to remember when your head is foggy. "This is a hard day. Hard days are allowed" is a line you can say on the way to the bathroom. Say it at the same point each day, such as when you first sit up, so it doesn't depend on remembering.

Can positive thinking cure depression?

No. Depression is a health condition, and forcing positive thoughts can add pressure. Small actions, connection with people, and treatment such as therapy are what the evidence supports.3

Is it okay if affirmations feel fake?

Yes, and it's useful information. If a line feels fake, try a smaller version. "I'm learning to be kinder to myself" is easier to believe than "I love myself".

Related

Sources

  1. Wood JV, Perunovic WQE, Lee JW. Positive self-statements: power for some, peril for others. Psychological Science, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x
  2. Flynn MK, Bordieri MJ. On the failure to replicate past findings regarding positive affirmations and self-esteem. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.03.003
  3. Cuijpers P, van Straten A, Warmerdam L. Behavioral activation treatments of depression: a meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.11.001
  4. Ferrari M, Hunt C, Harrysunker A, Abbott MJ, Beath AP, Einstein DA. Self-compassion interventions and psychosocial outcomes: a meta-analysis of RCTs. Mindfulness, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01134-6
  5. National Institute of Mental Health. Depression (brochure). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression