原文作者：佚名

i was 18 the first time a therapist2） tried to get me to embrace the idea of daily affirmations. i was dealing with depression， anxiety， and an eating disorder， and the only thing i told myself regularly was that i was the most terrible， disgusting person on earth. daily affirmations， the therapist told me， were little sayings i could use to combat the default3） negativity that was always running through my mind. "it sounds dumb，" she said. "but it works." she gave me a little box of cards， each with a happy image and a saying such as "i am a good person"， or "i deserve recovery"， or "i am lovable and capable of sharing love with others". i rifled through4） them on my bed， rolling my eyes at each card and feeling as if i'd been transported to one of those old stuart smalley5） sketches from saturday night live6）， where now-senator al franken7） would parody8） the entire idea of daily affirmations with his signature catchphrase9）， "i am good enough， i'm smart enough， and doggone it10）， people like me！" in short， i felt like an idiot. this， i decided， was not for me.  [论文网]
　　so for years i kept up my typical routine11） of doing the difficult work that recovery and treatment entails12）， and then retreating home， looking in the mirror， and thinking， "you're a piece of crap13）." it was so automatic， so natural， that i didn't even recognize that i was essentially undoing hours of hard work just by allowing such thoughts to take control as they'd always done. i started wondering why i couldn't make recovery work， why i never seemed to feel better. when i began to relapse14） this year， i didn't even notice， because these feelings had become so normal.
 　　while struggling through outpatient15） treatment last month， i came to rely on repeated spins of fiona apple's16） the idler wheel ... both for comfort and catharsis17）， and i went back and read the interviews she'd given after its release. i felt like i could hear the darker and lighter parts of myself in her songs， and i wanted to know how she felt when she was writing them. i came across this new york times article from last may， and something she said really stuck with me： "if you keep on having these negative thoughts or being angry all the time， then that area of your brain is going to get stronger." i realized that i'd never opened up a pathway in my brain for positive thoughts to flow through.
 　　this kind of self-encouragement was foreign to me and extremely difficult， and it would require practice. i needed all the help i could get. so i dug out the stupid cards and read one aloud.

"i am a good person."
　　i stood in front of the mirror and watched my mouth make those words and listened to my voice push them out into the air. i said it again.
 　　"i am a good person."
　　i felt so stupid and corny18） and ridiculous， but i said it again.
　　"i am a go

od person."
　　and then i started bawling19）. not because i'd miraculously allowed myself to suddenly believe in the positive words i was saying， but because i'd been able to see how routine the negativity had become， how cruel i'd been to myself on a regular basis， and it was shocking to feel something inside of me that had been dimmed for a very long time， to recognize that maybe there was something good there， something worth saving， and that maybe all my brain needed was a little encouragement from the healthy side of me， as opposed to a constant stream of bullying from my illness.
 　　these days i use daily affirmations as needed： in dark times i try to keep an affirmation book or stack of cards around when i need a little support， and i've also developed little sayings of my own. if you don't want to buy affirmation books or cards， it's super easy to make your own， just by writing down a bunch of positive thoughts and quotes on scraps of paper and sticking them into a jar and pulling one out when you need one. here are some examples：
 　　i am beautiful.
　　i am loved and love others.
　　i am trying my best.
　　should you feel that all of this is too corny for your liking—and trust me， it does feel that way for a while until you get used to it， and then it's like a tiny meditation20）， a self-esteem boost， a little shot of empowerment that helps make the world seem better—you can also tackle daily affirmations by keeping a journal and listing five things you've done or noticed during the day， including even the simplest stuff， which you may be surprised to notice adds up to a deeper appreciation of the universe around you and your place in it. for example：
 　　1. got out of bed
　　2. laughed really hard at a dumb movie
　　3. drank a delicious glass of lemonade
　　4. hung out with my dog
　　5. noticed how warm the sun felt on my skin
　　sounds kind of basic， right？ but when you do it often enough， you become more aware of how beautiful tiny moments in your life can be， which helps to make the bigger， more overwhelming21） stuff seem a little less scary.
 　　i know that this kind of thing isn't for everyone—there are days when i hop off the daily-affirmation train and forget to show myself， and the world around me， the love and empathy it deserves. but i always seem to come back to them， because sometimes you need to love yourself before you can notice it coming from anywhere else， and if you can take two seconds to stare yourself in the mirror down and pay you a compliment22）， you'll eventually stop feeling like a total poseur23） and start believing the things that are coming out of your mouth. you are beautiful. you do deserve to be loved. you are good enough， you are smart enough， and doggone it， people like you.

我18岁那年，平生第一次有心理医生努力说服我接受“每天自我肯定”的想法。那时候，我正陷于抑郁、焦虑中，还要对付厌食症，只会经常对自己说，我是这个世界上最糟糕、最讨人厌的人。那位心理医生告诉我，所谓“每天自我肯定”，就是让我通过一些只言片语来对付那些时刻萦绕在脑海中的、仿佛被设定好的消极想法。她说：“这听着有点傻，但是很管用。”她给了我一