What Positivity Mantras Promote Mental Health?

Positivity mantras can be inspiring and healing when you’re dealing with mental illness. Whether you have a diagnosed mental health condition or you're just trying to banish negative thoughts, words can help connect you to your goals and aspirations. Science shows that mantras, when repeated often, can actually retrain your brain and help restore a healthier mindset. But what are positivity mantras and how do they promote mental health?

What Are Positivity Mantras?

Positivity mantras are repeated words or phrases that encourage positive thinking or assist meditation. Mantras and affirmations can be spoken, written down or repeated in the mind. Despite their religious origins, you don't have to hold spiritual beliefs to benefit from mantras – anyone can practice them to achieve a calmer, more positive mindset.  

According to the Annual Review of Nursing Research, mental health mantras can be used effectively to treat PTSD, reduce stress and even decrease blood pressure. Nurses describe manta repetition as a "quick, portable and private complementary practice,” applicable to various mental and physical health conditions.

Which Positivity Mantras Should You Practice?

When it comes to your positivity mantras, the word “should” doesn't enter the picture. Your mantra or positive affirmation can be anything that makes you feel good or restores a feeling of wellness. What's important is that your mantra helps restore mental wellbeing, so it must be personal to you.

That said, we could all use a little creative inspiration at times, especially during the fugue of depression or anxiety, so here are some positivity mantras to try:  

• “Keep your head up and your heart open.” Hailing from The Tiny Buddha, this mantra can be applied to almost any situation– good or bad. By keeping your head up and your heart open (even on your toughest mental health days), you remain open to love, compassion and new opportunities.
•  “A relaxed mind is a creative mind.” This positive mantra helps calm anxiety and stress, especially at work ("How to be More Positive at Work When Mental Illness Makes It Hard"). If you’re the type of person who is plagued by negative or anxious thoughts when you have a deadline looming, remember that your best ideas flow when you slow down and take care of yourself.
• “This too shall pass.” Perhaps one of the oldest adages in human history, no one knows the exact origin of this saying. However, its wisdom has been shared in many languages and cultures for centuries. Now, it serves as a reminder that no matter how bad you feel in the moment, everything has an endpoint.

Again, there is no right or wrong way to create a positivity mantra. There is also no guilt in borrowing someone else’s mantra, nor is this the time for perfectionism or judgment. Your mantra is a safe space for private reflection and positivity, just for you.

Positivity Mantras as Part of Your Daily Routine

It’s not always easy to stay positive, especially if you have a mental health condition. In fact, there will be times when repeating a mantra for positivity is the last thing you feel like doing – but this is exactly when positivity mantras are the most effective ("Positive Messages for a Mental Health Crisis").

Mantras as part of your daily routine will give you a safe space to fall. They’ll provide you with positive checkpoints to help you combat negative thinking. Whether you use them at a regular time – such as first thing in the morning or during your lunch break – or repeat them when you feel the need, mantras are like snacks for the mind: they’ll replenish your positivity stores when you feel down and depleted.

Of course, you can practice more than one positivity mantra at a time. Positive morning mantras can set you up for a good day, while sleep mantras will help you drift off at night. If you find your commute to work particularly stressful or you’re anxious at social gatherings, you can also create positivity mantras specifically for these events.

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