Spiritual Lighthouse Healing
Nicole B. Gebhardt

How I have used positive affirmations to heal emotionally from losing a child, sexual abuse, rape and alcoholism

I’m excited to share with you one of my secret weapons to healing my emotional pain. You can empower yourself daily by speaking positive affirmations over yourself to counter attack the emotional suffering you may feel after experiencing abuse or loss. 

 

Did You Know?!

Your brain doesn’t know the difference between reality and what you imagine. Think about it the brain only knows what you experience and tell it. That is why regular repetition of affirming statements about yourself can encourage your brain to take these positive affirmations as fact to reprogram your brain and take your life to the next level.

It’s so important to create and implement positive affirmations into your life, especially if you have been wounded from abuse, rape, or loss. But, obviously the benefits of positive affirmations helps everyone.

You can use affirmations to: 

  • Build belief in yourself
  • Increase your confidence 
  • Increase your self-esteem 
  • Create habitual positive thoughts

Since emotional trauma can put you on the struggle bus of constantly fighting depression, anxiety and dark thoughts, making an effort to use positive affirmations can help you heal and overcome faster.

Affirmations That Are Repeated Frequently And With Feeling Are Most Effective!

Repeating an affirmation can indeed help boost your motivation and confidence, but please remember you still have to take some action yourself. Affirmations are a step towards change, not the change itself. Say it, and then take action like you truly believe it.

Ok, Ok. Let’s back up here.

In all honesty, I use to laugh in disbelief when I would watch a movie or read a book that talked about positive affirmations. Especially positive affirmations for healing. How in the world could writing positive affirmations on sticky notes and then hanging them around your home heal you?

I mean who really does that in real life anyway? Seriously?! 

On top of that how in the heck were positive affirmations going to help me heal from losing a child, rape, sexual abuse and alcoholism? 

It all really sounded bogus to me until one day I sucked it up and actually tried it. 

My life changed that very day and my healing journey finally begun. I know it sounds like I am exaggerating but I’m not. It’s true, and I am telling you this made a huge difference for me.

The first thing I did (in my head; because I wasn’t ready to speak it out yet since it felt so awkward) was, I started listing off ten reasons why I loved myself right after I woke up each morning. I had made an agreement with myself that I would give it 21 days. But, I knew deep down after that very first day I would be doing it for the rest of my life. The healing and mindset change that I needed so badly in my life was almost immediate, as I began to speak those words I so desperately needed to hear out loud. 

Another thing I did after I got out of bed each morning, is I would look into my mirror and say, “I love you, Nicole. You are beautiful, Nicole. You are enough, Nicole”. It was super-duper hard at first. But, after a few days it became easier and easier. 

The crazy thing was after about a month, I started to really believe that I was indeed loved, that I actually was beautiful, and that I truly was enough.

I also began writing in my journal. You know the journal someone gave you for your birthday years ago and you said you would never use it?! Yep, that one. And, little does that person know who gave me that gift, that writing out positive affirmations in the journal likely saved my life because of the action steps I took once I truly believed the affirmations I was telling myself and writing out to myself. The positive affirmations, as well as the empowering habits I began doing (once I believed the affirmations I was saying), with out a doubt helped me start to heal. 

Repeating Affirmations, Writing in my journal and on my mirror is what helped me realize  

  • I was not the reason my 9 week old son died. 
  • The shame I felt from being sexually abused as a child was his to hold not mine
  • That it was also not my fault those fraternity brothers my freshman year at Florida State University raped me even if I was intoxicated
  • Being a recovering alcoholic does not define me.
I started loving life again. 
Feeling empowered. 
Forgiving myself and others from my past. 
I Learned how to turn that frown upside down 
To be get excited about getting out of bed each morning again. 

 

All of this happened by switching my mindset into positive thinking, affirming that I was enough, and taking action with implementing empowering habits so I could heal from the inside out.

So, if you are finally ready to get the help you need to feel like you deserve love, that you are beautiful, you are enough, and you are truly ready to feel empowered then start TODAY with this simple process.  

  1. Stating the affirmation you need to hear to out loud to yourself
  2. Acknowledge any doubt or limiting belief (even though/in spite of…) to take away it’s power
  3. Restate “I know I can/am” 

Do this each and every morning and at night. You can even write it on a sticky note too or ask others you trust to say your affirmations to you as well. I promise you will not regret it and your healing journey will begin!!!

Here Is A List Of 30 Positive Affirmations To Get You Started