Kaitlyn Bruneau (Mindful Self-Talk)
Kaitlyn is a psychotherapist specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy who helps individuals recognise and change unhelpful patterns while nurturing self-appreciation. She’s co...
Select an answer to get started
What should you do if you're unsure how to practice positive self-talk?
And if you're ever feeling stuck on how to respond to yourself with positive self-talk, just ask yourself what you would say to a friend or a loved one in a similar situation as yours. So knowing that putting a little effort into positive self-talk can have big outcomes for our mood and wellbeing. What are some areas where you'd want to be more mindful of how you talk to yourself? Are there any ways you'd want to start to incorporate a little bit of more positivity, self-compassion and empowerment to what you're saying?
How can positive self-talk help reframe negative thoughts?
Positive self-talk can also be grateful for reframing negative thoughts. Imagine that your thoughts are not just a one-way conversation, but instead can interact with one another. You might catch yourself struggling and saying, Ugh, I can't do this, but then you have a few choices. You can respond consciously or unconsciously that, yeah, that's right. I'm going to give up. Or maybe you can respond with positive self-talk. I've done so many hard things before. I deserve to at least give this one a try and see what happens. Maybe I even succeed.
What is positive self-talk and why is it beneficial?
Positive self-talk is the practise of purposefully and consciously using empowering, affirming, and encouraging language when thinking or speaking to yourself. And yes, it's okay and completely normal to take some time to speak to yourself. Just by setting the intention of practising positive self-talk. You might even start to notice some of the thought patterns you've been engaging in and how they impact you. Hence, you might be making changes before you even shift how you're speaking or thinking to yourself. There's a lot of research to back up the benefits of positive self-talk. For example, there have been studies showing how a practise of positive self-talk can improve sports and academic performance, reduce symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, increase resilience, and even improve physical health and mental.