Aging comes with several health complications. You have limited control over complications related to genetics. However, any aging-related illness resulting from inactivity or poor diet will only disrupt your life if you give it a chance.
Thanks to positive thinking, you can reduce your chances of suffering hereditary illnesses like diabetes. According to Johns Hopkins research, people with a positive outlook can reduce their chances of suffering hereditary conditions like heart disease.
Different studies indicate that a positive attitude toward life can eliminate the risks of stress, improve physical health, and limit the chances of injuries. Affirmations are one approach you can use to bring positivity to your life.
What's the Magic behind Positive Affirmations and Aging?
As aging knocks, changes begin to occur in the body. All these new alterations can easily take a toll on your mental health and make stress a part of your daily struggle. Among the numerous disadvantages of stress is a decline in immunity, which makes you susceptible to several diseases and pains.
Positive affirmations have proven to help people from all walks of life (senior citizens included) by altering their thought patterns from negative to positive. With the consistent recitation of these concise, positive, and present-tense sentences, you're teaching your brain to approach life from an optimistic perspective and focus on every situation's constructive side.
That way, you eliminate stress in your life, encourage healthy lifestyle habits, and improve your health as you age.
How Can You Use Positive Affirmations as a Senior?
Seniors can use positive affirmations to get a positive outlook on themselves, their situations, their health, and their lives. The first step to using positive affirmation is choosing the right words to improve your current life and situation.
Then, recite them as often as possible, and follow up with the right actions.
Here are the steps.
1. Choose the Right Affirmation for You
There are several affirmations you can recite to improve your health. But, their effectiveness and relevance differ depending on the negative situations or thoughts you're banishing. Also, these sentences will most likely change since we don't wake up fighting the same battles daily.
For example, today, you may be fighting poor health and loneliness tomorrow. Depending on your situation, you can form an affirmation that helps you feel positive and confident. Here are the steps.
- List the negative thoughts you want to transform.
- Reverse them in their positive form.
You may be feeling your health is deteriorating. In that case, the negative thought could be, "I don't feel good about my health." Consider a positive affirmation like, "I deserve to be healthy and strong." That way, you're telling your brain to think of things and activities that make you healthy rather than wallow in self-pity and hate.
While choosing an affirmation, make it short and direct. A sentence or two is enough.
2. Recite the Affirmations Several Times Daily
If you recite it several times daily, an affirmation will only uplift your thoughts and actions. You can write it somewhere and read it as many times as possible, speak the words to yourself, or get someone to keep repeating the sentences. It may feel awkward initially, but it will get better with time.
3. Follow Your Words with Healthy Activities and Habits
Positive affirmations can help you take care of yourself and age healthily. But, you have to accompany your words with actions to be more effective.
Here are some habits and activities to adopt.
- Avoid Stress: According to research, stress and anxiety can reframe the brain and affect your mood and decision-making abilities.
- Stay Active: Exercise matters a lot as far as healthy aging is concerned. Live an active lifestyle and keep your weight goals alive daily.
- Eat Healthily: Healthy eating habits will help you keep your weight in check and avoid diet-related diseases.
- Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes: Using alcohol, cigarettes, and other drug-related substances increases your risk of suffering from heart, liver, and kidney diseases. While transforming your thought patterns, ensure you stay away from all these substances.
- Visit the Doctor: Doctor visits are crucial to keep you healthy and strong. Listen to your body and visit your doctor as soon as you feel you need to.
- Be Happy. Smile, Laugh, and Love More: Negativity isn't unhealthy in all aspects. It's the brain's normal response to disappointments and frustrations. But reduce the time and effort you commit to negative thoughts. Try and be positive as much as you can. For instance, when you're caught up in traffic, appreciate that you own a car and find something you can do while waiting for the situation to improve instead of complaining. Acknowledging that no amount of negativity will change your situation will help you adopt the positive side while you seek solutions.
4. Use Affirmation to Build Resiliency
Start cultivating the habit of using positive affirmations to build resiliency and fight off stress. Some affirmations that you can start using include:
- I free myself from all the negative thoughts in my mind right now.
- My life is fun.
- I love my family, and they love me back.
- I'm the best grandmother to my grandkids.
- I'm the best grandfather to my grandkids.
- My health is my first priority.
Positive Affirmations and Seniors: Final Thoughts
Aging comes with several complications. But it doesn't mean you can't live a healthy life and enjoy your golden years. Positive affirmations help you stay healthy and improve the quality of your life.
Here are some products with affirmations to help you in your daily life.
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Image Credit: 13107714 | Senior Couple Bed - Free photo on Pixabay
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