Anxiety affirmations are self-statements we can use in situations we perceive as a threat. Those stressful situations may trigger negative thoughts that we can question with statements that: 

• change unhelpful thoughts 
• focus on our strengths
• highlight intrinsic personal values
• remind us of calming strategies to help us cope with physical symptoms

In today’s blog, I focus on statements that can challenge anxiety-triggering thoughts, situations (e.g., exams, public speaking), or physical symptoms of anxiety. 

Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety is an adaptive emotion. Feeling anxious is normal and we all feel worried or anxious at times.

Anxiety is an alarm system in our body that anticipates threats.  Anxiety becomes a problem when:

• our body alarm is triggered too often
• it responds to harmless everyday situations, or
• the response is so intense that it affects how we function

Common anxiety symptoms include:

• feeling restless or tense
• feelings of panic, danger, or threat
• worried thoughts
• difficulty focusing
• increased heart rate
• rapid breathing
• fatigue
• trembling
• sleep problems

Understanding Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are positive statements that we tell ourselves for self-motivation or to challenge negative thoughts. Self-affirmations remind us of our self-worth and adequacy in situations that we perceive as threatening.

What Are the Benefits of Positive Affirmations?
Research suggests that self-affirmation can have many benefits:

• Mitigate the effects of stress
• Enhance positive mood
• Reduce depressive rumination
• Enhance sports performance
• Promote pro-social behavior
• Improve problem-solving abilities under stress
• Improve academic performance in negatively stereotyped groups
• Improve self-esteem (note: people with low self-esteem problems may feel worse when practicing this type of positive self-talk because it contradicts their deep beliefs and they may end up focusing more on their negative beliefs.)

What are Anxiety Affirmations?
Anxiety affirmations are self-statements that we can use in situations that we perceive as a threat. Those stressful situations may trigger negative thoughts that we can question with statements that:

• challenge unhelpful thoughts
• focus on our strengths
• highlight intrinsic personal values
• remind us of calming strategies to help us cope with physical symptoms
• contribute to a positive mindset

Best Anxiety Affirmations for Kids
These are some examples of daily affirmations that we can use to challenge self-defeating thoughts and negative self-talk to promote positive thinking and more realistic statements in daily life situations.

1. I can control how my thoughts make me feel
2. I can control my emotions
3. I can change bad thoughts into good thoughts
4. I can change my worried thoughts into helpful thoughts
5. I can turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts
6. Thoughts are not facts, I will keep this thought only if it serves me
7. I will look for a happy thought
8. I can change my thoughts and make things better
9. Today I´m going to have a great day
10. I am feeling relaxed
11. I am going to be happy today
12. I will let worry go
13. I can (totally) do this
14. I will take one step at a time
15. The world is a good place
16. All is good in my world
17. The future will bring good things
18. Life is a beautiful gift
19. I enjoy the good things in life
20. I am strong
21. I will try my best
22. I am enough
23. I know how to solve this problem
24. I am going to make a plan
25. I will learn something from this situation
26. I trust myself
27. I trust change will bring good things
28. This stressful moment will past

Affirmations for Fear(*)

(*) Physical or psychological perceived threats trigger anxiety am safe

1. I am brave
2. I can move past this situation
3. I can overcome my fears
4. I am in control

Positive Self-Statements for Social Anxiety

1. I can breathe in and show my confidence
2. I will say hello to somebody new
3. I can cope with being around people
4. I can enjoy this party
5. I will feel comfortable in class today
6. Hanging out with friends will be nice
7. Conversations are fun
8. Nobody is judging me
9. I’m lovable
10. People like my company
11. Being around myself is nice
12. I can relax in front of other people
13. I like meeting people

Affirmations for Anxiety symptoms / Feelings of Panic / Feelings of Tension

1. I do my breathing exercises and I manage to control my anxiety
2. I feel anxious but I can cope with the situation
3. I am feeling calmer
4. I can calm down taking deep breaths
5. I am calm
6. My body is relaxing
7. I will practice my breathing techniques
8. I will tense and relax my muscles
9. I spread out my toes, then pretend to pick up a pea with my toes (relaxing a part of my body)
10. I tense and relax my fist
11. I focus on my breathing
12. This will pass too
13. I am relaxing each part of my body, from my head to my toes
14. It’s okay to feel a bit anxious.
15. Everybody worries, it’s just normal
16. I breathe in and out. Each breath out takes a bit of tension away
17. My breathing exercise helps me relax
18. My feelings of anxiety will pass

Affirmations for Test-Taking Anxiety

1. I am prepared for this test
2. I’ve studied for this test and I’m well prepared
3. A test doesn’t measure my worth
4. I will pass this test
5. Tests are kind of fun and can show how much I’ve learned
6. Deep breathing relaxes me and helps me think better
7. It’s not about the result; it’s about learning useful things
8. I am a great student
9. I will focus and nail the exam
10. I will achieve my goals
11. I will feel relaxed while I take my test

Public Speaking Affirmations

1. I am delivering an important message to my classmates
2. My message will have a positive impact on my audience (classmates)
3. I feel confident
4. I have important things to share
5. I’ve worked hard and I want to share what I’ve learned

How to Practice Positive Affirmations

• Write them down
• Formulate affirmations in the first person: “I am…”
• Write them in the present tense.
• Phrase them in a positive vs a negative way
• Repeat them regularly
• Repeat them when a negative thought intrudes
• Prepare affirmations that link to your personal goals and to ways to achieve them
• Find the practice method that best works for you:
  • repeating them aloud
  • writing them down and reading them to yourself
  • looking at your reflection in the mirror while saying the affirmations
  • linking your affirmations to visualization of how you will achieve your objectives
  • keeping a gratitude journal where you write down your affirmations
  • creating affirmation cards that you randomly extract and repeat
  • practicing just when a difficult situation presents (worry, anxiety, fear of failure)

About the author: Clara Muriel is the founder of Very Special Tales that allows her to support parents, teachers, school counselors, and mental healthcare professionals. She draws from her education in psychology, her experience as a parent of two neurodivergent kids, and her love for writing and design to inspire the creation of social-emotional learning resources. Clara hopes her resources will assist in building and nurturing skills and abilities that will help your kids, students or clients thrive.

You can also find me in “Cuéntame Un Cuento Especial,” the site where I share valuable tips and insights in Spanish.