Group Review: Using Affirmations as a Coping Mechanism

Today in group we reviewed some successes and struggles from the past week dealing with recovery. Many of the struggles come from hours and hours of negative repeating thoughts, usually about something we have little or no control over. When you become mindful of your thoughts and notice the negative or self-blaming start to arise, repeatedly looking at or saying a list of affirmations or a list of your legitimate rights can help you reframe the situation and see it in a more rational way and allows you to stop beating yourself up about a situation that is out of your control. 

An example of a list of affirmations: 

Your Legitimate Rights

1. You have a right to need things from others.
2. You have a right to focus on only yourself sometimes. 
3. You have a right to communicate and show what you are feeling, even if it's painful.
4. You have a right to determine and legitimize your beliefs. 
5. You have a right to your own views, opinions, beliefs, and values. 
6. You have a right to have and own your life experiences (good and bad).
7. You have a right to disapprove of and walk away from treatment and judgement that is not right for you.
8. You have a right to mediate with others for change. 
9. You have a right to ask for help physically, mentally, & emotionally, even when you may not always get it. 
10. You have a right to say no and it doesn't mean you are being rude or selfish.
11. You have a right not to explain or legitimize yourself to other people.
12. You have a right to not be accountable for another person's problems. 
13. You have a right to not respond to a situation. Not responding is a form of action. 
14. Sometimes you have a right to let other people down or inconvenience others. 

It's helpful to pick out a few of these rights that stand out to you and to switch your negative repeating thoughts with these rational and self-soothing affirmations when you begin feeling worried, anxious, bad, angry, or confused about a situation. 

**Legitimate Rights List  borrowed from The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by McKay, Wood, and Brantley (2007) and adapted from McKay et al., 1983.