For most people life is extremely stressful. The typical adult has a boatload of responsibilities, obligations, fears, and insecurities which can cause major stress on a daily basis. Society demands that we stay as productive as possible, making as much money as possible, all while staying fulfilled and maintaining healthy relationships. It’s a lot to deal with so it's no surprise that most adults find themselves anxious and overwhelmed from time to time.
Falling pregnant is beautiful news to a first-time mum, but it isn’t without its stresses. It's also normal to be afraid about certain aspects of pregnancy and motherhood. Add this stress to the aforementioned life stressors, and you’ve got a pretty scary situation, but there’s no need to panic.
Try This
Close your eyes and take six full, deep breaths, then tell yourself, “I have what it takes to be an amazing mum.” Start to visualise all the memorable moments you’ll spend with your new child and imagine how those moments would make you feel.
Feeling better?
If you just tried the abovementioned exercise, then congratulations! You just successfully did a basic affirmation exercise. There’s so much scientific evidence that suggests that affirmations are a great strategy to reduce anxiety and boost confidence. It's normal to feel nervous or afraid about becoming a mum. It’s a big deal! You are capable of being an amazing mum though, and affirmation exercises are great tools to help you stay confident on your new parenting journey.
So, what are Affirmations?
Affirmations are positive statements we say to ourselves in order to keep us motivated and in order to prevent toxic or irrational thinking. As a mum-to-be, you may find yourself saying irrational and unhelpful things to yourself based on fear. Examples may be:
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“I’m not good enough to be a good mum.”
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“What if I’m not ready to be a mum?”
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“What if I hurt my baby?”
You’ll be a great parent and give your children a good life. Take these encouraging words and use them as daily affirmations to keep you thinking rationally and confident about your parenting journey.
- Here are some examples of common, yet effective affirmations:
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“I am good enough.”
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“I can do this.”
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“I can do difficult things.”
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“This will make me stronger.”
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“I have what it takes to get better.”
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“If I make a mistake, I will learn from it.”
Do Affirmations Work?
The simple answer is yes. In a 2015 study, neuroscientists discovered that regular affirmations stimulate parts of the brain associated with core values and motivation. They even found that participants who used affirmations had twice as much neural activity associated with emotional regulation than those who didn’t use affirmations.
According to Cohen & Sherman, using affirmations properly and regularly also have been shown to reduce anxiety by helping us maintain self-efficacy. Affirmations also help us stay confident by helping us stay grounded to our self-concepts.
Because affirmations make us focus on the present moment, they can also help us concentrate and stay productive. This is great news for you if you’re pregnant but have a lot of work deadlines to meet before maternity leave. That can bring about a lot of stress which can be tough to manage, but affirmations can help you stay on track with your work without allowing yourself to be distracted by self-sabotaging thoughts. According to research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, deep focus on the present also allows us to enter into a state of flow which is not only accompanied by high levels of productivity, but also feelings of elation and joy.
Affirmations have also been shown to help people sleep better. The fears and concerns about being a mum might be keeping you up at night, and a good night’s sleep is so important for both you and your new baby. Because affirmations have been shown to lower anxiety by a number of studies, these same affirmations can also help you fall asleep quicker.
So, What’s Next?
Now that you know about what affirmations are and that they’re effective, look out for our next article on how to choose the best affirmations for yourself. Thanks for reading this article and taking another big step towards being the best mum you can be!
By Dave Roebuck