Erica Spiegelman - 101 Affirmations for Addiction & Recovery: A Practical Guide for Self-Empowerment

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CONTENTS

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101 AFFIRMATIONS FOR
ADDICTION & RECOVERY

Text Copyright 2022 Erica Spiegelman

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-57826-946-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Cover and Interior Design by Carolyn Kasper

Printed in the United States

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To all you courageous warriors who choose self-love, this book is for you!

Words and statements have the capacity to alter moods, emotions, heartbeat, breath and rhythm. What we say to ourselves and to the world matters. Hold a vision in your mind and project it forward. There is power in imagination, feel your words become alive in you.

Introduction: Words Have Power

A ffirmations are simple but powerful statements that help create self-change in the lives of the people who use them.

Affirmations can be inspirational, but they can also serve as everyday reminders that help us focus on our goals as we move through our lives. The simple practice of affirmation has the potential to promote positive and sustained self-change.

Self-change at any point is possible because our brains are constantly adapting and rewiring themselves. Our thoughts, habits, and behaviors influence this rewiring process. If we repeat certain thoughts consistently enough, a strong connection called a neural pathway is created.

Think of the brain as an extraordinary bustling city with connected roads and path-ways that light up every time you think, feel, or do something. Some of these roads are well traveled. These are our habits, our established ways of thinking, doing, and feeling. Every time you make a choice, practice a particular task, or feel a specific emotion, you strengthen this road, and it becomes easier for your brain to travel this pathway.

This also gets to the heart of why it feels so challenging to change or end bad habits and replace them with healthy and positive ones. Your brain may have been paving these roads since your earliest days; they have been rein-forced and strengthened over and over again. This also means that if you havent spent time building new pathways, you may find yourself falling back into old patterns and wondering, What happened?

The key to achieving lasting change is to intentionally spend time creating and strengthening new, positive pathways. The great news is every single person (you included!) has the ability to learn and change by rewiring your brain. We can repeat and direct our attention to our desired changes, and little by little, rewire our brains to move forward and live a healthy and prosperous life.

My intention by writing this book is to make people aware of the power they have to rewire their brain and change their pathways! One of the most effective ways I have found to change your habits, thoughts and overall life, is by making affirmations a part of a daily self-care practice.

Affirmations and Love

Poets, gurus, and philosophers have toiled to define the most potent and indispensable word in the human languageLOVE. Some have heralded it as the force that makes the world go round. Others have described it in terms of the pain it can cause when its not returned.

We hear about love all the time in songs, movies, and social media, but we dont spend time talking about the most important love of all: self-love. We can never love anyone more than we love ourselves, which is why self-love is an essential part of a healthy life because it paves the way for self-compassion.

When we can establish loving affirmations that we can use, habits, practices, and routines of self-love, we will find ourselves to be more authentic and honest, we will tend to enforce healthy boundaries in relationships, and we will be more grateful and compassionate with ourselves.

Affirmations Build Self-Love and Acceptance

Self-love and acceptance are the foundation upon which a healthy life is built. However, investing in yourself may not be something that comes naturally to everyone. Thats why affirmations are so helpfulthey are small ways to show yourself self-love and acceptance. We dont have to make all our changes at once. Start with an affirmation a day or spending 510 minutes going over all the small and big wins of your day, and build up from there.

Many of my clients agree that affirmations were one of the most influential tools in their recovery process, and I know from personal experience how powerful affirmations can be. After years of self-betrayal in an addiction in my twenties, I certainly had to learn the path back to self-love, self-compassion and self-acceptance.

One of the new habits that I developed and which was very helpful in building that positive self-regard was positive self-talk. I would affirm and congratulate myself on the little wins (making my bed, taking a shower, washing my face before bed, returning an email,) to the bigger wins (running a 10k, setting a boundary with someone, ending unhealthy relationships and staying sober).

For example, after my daily run in the mornings, sometimes I would push myself for one more block, saying to myself, You are strong, you can do this! and then after that small win, I would sit and reflect on what I felt grateful for that day.

Each night before bed, when my head hit the pillow, I would go over all the wins in my head, the accomplishments and goals achieved for the day.

Affirmations Help You Practice Self-Care

To begin the journey of self-love, begin by implementing healthy routines for yourself. Be consistent! Go to bed at a decent hour and get six to eight hours of sleep every night. Establish a physical commitment, like walking 30 minutes a day, signing up for a workout class three days a week, or stretching and practicing breathwork when you wake up. Go grocery shopping every Sunday for the week ahead and make healthy food choices!

Create a routine that works for you and that you will be proud of. And when your head hits the pillow every night, congratulate yourself on how you honored yourself that day, that week, and that month, and see how much better you feel.

Affirmations Create a Ripple Effect of Positivity

When we start taking care of ourselves, including our thoughts and habits, our bodies and our minds, positive things, such as renewed health, love, financial abundance and recovery of all kinds will happen. When we feel good about ourselves and have a positive attitude, our lives tend to run more smoothly because we are activating our brains in a way that creates elevated and positive vibrations.

Tips for Creating an Affirmation Practice

Rewiring your brain takes time and action, so these affirmations are designed to be something you can practice every day! I recommend getting started with 35 minutes per day, at least twice a day, and building from there.