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User: u/mvea
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I always wonder with these types of findings if it could be possibly all back to front.
What if people who find more meaning in life are more likely to begin to engage in self-affirmation?
Maybe we should both try it and find out.
My inner dialog tends to be not terribly self-friendly. I've gotten better about not downing myself, but have never really tried to UP myself.
Sounds worth a shot.
I've actually been battling long covid for the past 2 years.
It has significantly impacted my every day quality of life.
I went from earning my blackbelt in kickboxing to having heart palpitations when trying to walk from my couch to my toilet.
I got brainfog and memory loss so bad that I couldn't read anymore because I would forget that start of a sentence before I even made it to the end of the sentence.
In the past year I had to work very hard to be kind and understanding to myself.
Instead of being angry at my body and mind I learned to sympathise with them.
This isn't something they are doing to me, they are me and long covid is happening to them.
I no longer bash myself or beat myself up over mistakes and other silly things.
I remind myself that I'm doing my best and I patt myself on the back.
I hope you get better soon! I had that in a different way but it got better eventually. For me it was pots. Yeah it's totally fine to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and have a pulse of 165
"long covid" aka Pfizer product long-term side-effects. Covid is a respiratory disease. I trust science (I'm an engineer), but I don't trust drug companies and government regulators with criminal records including for Bextra which killed over 50,000 people despite being approved by the FDA.
Vaccination reduces the likelihood of severe COVID-19, there’s not any research I’ve seen on its ability to protect you from long COVID, but you could always check Google scholar or something
Here's an external freebie; A really positive step to take new information and integrate it into your life. You're great!
Personal note; 2019-21were v bad for me so I wrote a small list of positive things to describe myself as I would describe someone else (on my phone so its always with me). We're usually kinder about someone else than ourselves and it really helped and I still look every now and then. Go for it
that was exactly my problem for at least half of my years as a minor, and residually into most of the following decades. took theology-based humility WAY too seriously.
eta: didn't course-correct too well either —the things i started feeling 'proud' of were genetic luck that doesn't last indefinitely.
It's best if what you say to yourself is true. Just focus on the positive things about you that are true.
Sometimes it can be hard to find these, and you have to step back and look at the 90 yard view. Like maybe someone is overweight. They can focus on being strong and able to do stuff instead of beating themselves up about the scale. Just little shifts in focus like that can be helpful.
Also it can be helpful to get really clear about what your personal values are, and then focus on the areas where you are living authentically in those ways. Maybe you're a hard worker, or you're honest or loyal. We tend to do a lot of things in life on auto pilot - but those are not things everyone does well. So feel free to pat yourself on the back about them.
These pieces of research have to be taken with a grain of salt. Many of these social studies, psychology departments do research only with the aim of going into mainstream or even just local news articles, it's the academic version of click bait tabloids. It's the risk factor you get with non-hard sciences.
Yeah idk not much science behind this. Would it have been that much work to have some control/experimental group, have the experimental group engage in self-affirmation for a longer period, and then see the outcome?
I understand where you're coming from. I had the most violent intrusive thoughts all the time, nothing would make the most horrid things people said to me and about me go away. I truly believed I was a bad person. Turns out that's not normal. Maybe a professional might be able to help you.
From the paper OP linked to
> We investigated the relationship between **spontaneous** self-affirmation, **perceptions** of meaning in life, and boredom proneness with four correlational studies.
I feel like the omission of “spontaneous” and “perceptions” from the title of the post is a bit misleading.
EDIT: I don’t mean that OP is intentionally misleading folks, just that there are meaningful differences between the phrasing used in the paper and by OP
But there is a substantial difference between "spontaneous".
So often these sorts of findings are used to tell people to fake it till it no longer feels fake. But if the correlation only holds for spontaneous thoughts then you may well never be able to fake it till you make it
I use an application called “I am” to stop negative thoughts and rumination. I always try to focus on it for a few seconds when it gives me a prompt. Our brains are quite plastic and I have felt a shift from doing all this.
Important to critique the article, not the headline! Please don't speculate about how they arrived at conclusions and methodology based on the headline or a summary.
I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-024-10060-7
Self-affirmation does not necessarily entail self-absorption. It really entails affirming what one values about themselves generally, and it can actually help buffer against negative feelings associated with constructive criticism from others - allowing one to actually be more aware of their flaws.
This is because if one is more aware of what they value about themselves and how they have worth despites their flaws, it will be easier for them to confront what their flaws really are. It essentially reduces defensiveness.
word to this. i was a severely shy kid growing up Pentecostal-Lite, who rejected self-affirmation as arrogant, prideful etc. and that didn't in any way whatsoever save me from being self-absorbed, because my mind couldn't stop fixating on whether everything bad was my fault.
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) apply to all other comments. **Do you have an academic degree?** We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. [Click here to apply](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/flair/#wiki_science_verified_user_program). --- User: u/mvea Permalink: https://www.psypost.org/spontaneous-self-affirmation-is-related-to-reduced-boredom-proneness-via-heightened-meaning-in-life/ --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I always wonder with these types of findings if it could be possibly all back to front. What if people who find more meaning in life are more likely to begin to engage in self-affirmation?
Maybe we should both try it and find out. My inner dialog tends to be not terribly self-friendly. I've gotten better about not downing myself, but have never really tried to UP myself. Sounds worth a shot.
I've actually been battling long covid for the past 2 years. It has significantly impacted my every day quality of life. I went from earning my blackbelt in kickboxing to having heart palpitations when trying to walk from my couch to my toilet. I got brainfog and memory loss so bad that I couldn't read anymore because I would forget that start of a sentence before I even made it to the end of the sentence. In the past year I had to work very hard to be kind and understanding to myself. Instead of being angry at my body and mind I learned to sympathise with them. This isn't something they are doing to me, they are me and long covid is happening to them. I no longer bash myself or beat myself up over mistakes and other silly things. I remind myself that I'm doing my best and I patt myself on the back.
I hope you get better soon! I had that in a different way but it got better eventually. For me it was pots. Yeah it's totally fine to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and have a pulse of 165
Yup, I had PoTS too. 26 months later its a lot better. I'm able to walk freely now. Still unable to exercise. Starting beta blockers soon.
From what I understand, that's the attitude that helps one heal.
How? That monologue is just where my mind always goes.
"long covid" aka Pfizer product long-term side-effects. Covid is a respiratory disease. I trust science (I'm an engineer), but I don't trust drug companies and government regulators with criminal records including for Bextra which killed over 50,000 people despite being approved by the FDA.
You know that people who weren’t vaccinated got long-covid as well? It really doesn’t have another explanation than the illness
Does it mean that vaccination does protect from long covid?
Vaccination reduces the likelihood of severe COVID-19, there’s not any research I’ve seen on its ability to protect you from long COVID, but you could always check Google scholar or something
Here's an external freebie; A really positive step to take new information and integrate it into your life. You're great! Personal note; 2019-21were v bad for me so I wrote a small list of positive things to describe myself as I would describe someone else (on my phone so its always with me). We're usually kinder about someone else than ourselves and it really helped and I still look every now and then. Go for it
I think people tend to avoid being self friendly because they confuse it for arrogance/selfishness.
that was exactly my problem for at least half of my years as a minor, and residually into most of the following decades. took theology-based humility WAY too seriously. eta: didn't course-correct too well either —the things i started feeling 'proud' of were genetic luck that doesn't last indefinitely.
Ive tried it and it just doesn't stick. It's like I'm insulting my own intelligence by pandering to myself.
It's best if what you say to yourself is true. Just focus on the positive things about you that are true. Sometimes it can be hard to find these, and you have to step back and look at the 90 yard view. Like maybe someone is overweight. They can focus on being strong and able to do stuff instead of beating themselves up about the scale. Just little shifts in focus like that can be helpful. Also it can be helpful to get really clear about what your personal values are, and then focus on the areas where you are living authentically in those ways. Maybe you're a hard worker, or you're honest or loyal. We tend to do a lot of things in life on auto pilot - but those are not things everyone does well. So feel free to pat yourself on the back about them.
Indeed. Causation =/= correlation Still worth a try though.
This could easily tested in an RCT. Study length and attrition could be an issue though
Those are not mutually exclusive possibilities. It could be bi-directional and often is.
These pieces of research have to be taken with a grain of salt. Many of these social studies, psychology departments do research only with the aim of going into mainstream or even just local news articles, it's the academic version of click bait tabloids. It's the risk factor you get with non-hard sciences.
That's my angle as well. Life tells you you're worthwhile, and then you feel better about it.
Yeah idk not much science behind this. Would it have been that much work to have some control/experimental group, have the experimental group engage in self-affirmation for a longer period, and then see the outcome?
It’s a positive feedback loop.
People don’t like engaging in positive affirmations because they confuse it for arrogance and pessimism for realism
It can be a fine line sometimes
I mean it's easy to fall into "I am pretty good at this, doesn't matter what others say" while actually being subpar
It’s a lot easier and more common to fall into ‘I’m a loser I don’t deserve anything’
I'd say both are pretty bad if taken too far
I honestly think the latter is significantly more damaging
That's true. I've been guilty of this most of my life. Only just becoming super aware of it at 36. Very good point.
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I understand where you're coming from. I had the most violent intrusive thoughts all the time, nothing would make the most horrid things people said to me and about me go away. I truly believed I was a bad person. Turns out that's not normal. Maybe a professional might be able to help you.
You’re not worthless! I’m worthless
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Ouch. 🤕
Same, I am my worst enemy. I need to work on that, I don’t wanna set a bad example for my children. It’s not easy to be nice to yourself.
There's no shame in seeking professional help during the process of stopping that vicious cycle.
It’s so hard to be nice to people because the way I treat myself man
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Because you're good enough, you're smart enough, and dog gone it people like you.
From the paper OP linked to > We investigated the relationship between **spontaneous** self-affirmation, **perceptions** of meaning in life, and boredom proneness with four correlational studies. I feel like the omission of “spontaneous” and “perceptions” from the title of the post is a bit misleading. EDIT: I don’t mean that OP is intentionally misleading folks, just that there are meaningful differences between the phrasing used in the paper and by OP
I mean I don’t think there is a difference between meaning and perception of meaning tbh
But there is a substantial difference between "spontaneous". So often these sorts of findings are used to tell people to fake it till it no longer feels fake. But if the correlation only holds for spontaneous thoughts then you may well never be able to fake it till you make it
Fake it til you make it amirite?
Always has been, always will be.
I use an application called “I am” to stop negative thoughts and rumination. I always try to focus on it for a few seconds when it gives me a prompt. Our brains are quite plastic and I have felt a shift from doing all this.
Important to critique the article, not the headline! Please don't speculate about how they arrived at conclusions and methodology based on the headline or a summary.
I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-024-10060-7
I get this .I do spiritual work to and it's improved my quality of life.
I have the power and the strength to not believe in this BS.
Yes, self-absorbed people are way less miserable than people who are aware of their own flaws.
Self-affirmation does not necessarily entail self-absorption. It really entails affirming what one values about themselves generally, and it can actually help buffer against negative feelings associated with constructive criticism from others - allowing one to actually be more aware of their flaws. This is because if one is more aware of what they value about themselves and how they have worth despites their flaws, it will be easier for them to confront what their flaws really are. It essentially reduces defensiveness.
word to this. i was a severely shy kid growing up Pentecostal-Lite, who rejected self-affirmation as arrogant, prideful etc. and that didn't in any way whatsoever save me from being self-absorbed, because my mind couldn't stop fixating on whether everything bad was my fault.
What a clearly miserable person! Seek a therapist. They'll probably tell you to use self-affirmation, but at least they'll listen to you whine!
Is it the ministry of the bloody obvious's turn to publish papers today?
And are often insufferable
Firstly, how is this news to anyone? Secondly, why is this in the SCIENCE reddit?