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INDIVIDUALIZED
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS FOR IMPROVING SELF-ESTEEM
Dr. Harry Henshaw
Positive
self-esteem is very important if not crucial to our happiness and well
being as a human being. Having positive self-esteem can make the
difference in that which we take on in life, in that which we go about
achieving and creating.
Having positive
self- esteem also allows us to have healthy and joyous relationships
with others, to experience true intimacy. One could also assert that
having positive self-esteem gives us access to genuine spirituality.
Poor self-esteem, on the other hand, creates the space for us to
experience a great deal of negativity in life including depression,
anxiety, fear, stress and loneliness. Negative or poor self-esteem is
also highly correlated with alcohol and drug dependency. Some even
believe that a negative or poor self-image is the source of such
addictions.
While it appears that the importance of positive self-esteem is somewhat
understood, the unanswered question has always been about how to improve
or enhance a person’s self-esteem. Some belief that a person’s
self-esteem rests upon them being successful, in accomplishing that
which they take on in life, of achieving goals that they have set for
themselves. As a result much effort is put into assisting others in
effectively and efficiently planning their doing in life. Others believe
that our sense of self-esteem is determined by the type of relationships
that we have, that by surrounding ourselves with positive people who
will appreciate and acknowledge us that our esteem will be positively
impacted. To this end training is given to help a person improve his
interpersonal skills, how he communicates and relates with others. While
both of these endeavors are important, it is not the having or doing
that creates positive self-esteem. Ones self-esteem is not given or to
be obtained from without, external to the person.
One very effective way to improve self-esteem is through the use of
positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are very powerful for
transforming how a person feels and thinks about himself, ultimately
influencing how he views and acts within the world and towards others.
The fundamental reason why positive affirmations are so effective is
that their nature or structure reflects what already exists in our mind.
Our identity or who we think we are, our current thinking patterns, are
also a series of affirmations, composed fundamentally of mere words or
language. Everything we think, all of the thoughts that we have, are
merely affirmations. Positive affirmations, when used consistently,
begin to alter our prevalent internal language pattern, as negative as
it may be, our inner self talk or dialogue that exists within us. The
end result of the consistent use of positive affirmations is the
transformation of an inner negative language pattern into one that is
positive in nature
The most effective way to use positive affirmations is with the
individual’s own voice. While a person can have a beneficial result from
listening to a commercially developed product that employs positive
affirmations recorded by another, the transformative power of this
technology is enhanced or strengthened by the positive messages being
delivered in the person’s own voice. By using a person’s own voice to
transform the inner dialogue, there is less resistance to the
transformational process due to the fact that the voice itself is the
same or identical. It is as though the negative voice or language
pattern that one hears repeatedly in life is altered or transformed by
the consistent exposure and listening to that same voice but with the
structure of positive enhancing affirmations. Eventually the structure
will transform from one that is negative to one that is positive in
nature.
The process of using ones own voice in doing work with positive
affirmations can be strengthened with the use of therapeutic relaxation
music. While the use of ones own voice is very powerful for creating
change in a person’s life, the use of specially designed therapeutic
relaxation music assists in creating the audio space for this process to
be very powerful. We tend to be more open or suggestible to positive
affirmations or language when we are in a state of relaxation. When
combined with binaural audio tones the relaxing affect of the
therapeutic relaxation music is greatly enhanced. When used with the
combined effect of the therapeutic relaxation music and binaural audio
tones and consistently, the positive enhancing affirmations that are
delivered will have such a profound affect upon improving and
transforming a person’s internal, self-talk and eventually his
self-esteem.
The technology of utilizing positive affirmations that are recorded in a
person’s own voice and therapeutic relaxation music is currently being
employed in the treatment of those suffering from substance dependency
problems. At the Holistic Addiction Treatment Program in North Miami
Beach, Florida, clients are given access to this powerful technology.
Clients have the ability to create personal affirmations that empower
them and support their recovery and also are able to record these
affirmations. The recorded positive affirmations are then mixed with
specially designed therapeutic relaxation music to create a powerful
audio product to assist the individual in his recovery. Once created the
client is trained in the most effective manner in which to utilize their
personal CD as part of their overall recovery plan. Those clients who
utilize this powerful technology tend to improve their self- esteem,
stay in recovery and improve the quality of their life in general. When
a person feels and thinks more positively about himself he tends to be
more positive towards everything that he is taking on in his life,
including and most importantly his recovery.
Harry Henshaw,
Ed.D., LMHC
www.enhancedhealing.com
Article Directory:
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Dr
Harry Henshaw is in private practice in North Miami Beach, Florida.
www.enhancedhealing.com
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