Have you ever thought:
“I’ll never get better.”
“I’m not strong enough to stick with this.”
“It’s too hard for me to change.”
For so many of us who navigate health issues, what happens inside our heads can either support our health … or help stall it.
What you say to yourself matters. Your tone, words and beliefs send signals to your nervous system and hormones. Diet, supplements and lab work are always important, but the thoughts you carry every day might be just as powerful.
Let’s explore the difference between negative self-talk and self-belief, why thoughts matter to your health, and practical ways to begin shifting that inner voice toward one that supports—not sabotages—your healing journey.
What Is Negative Self-Talk?
Negative self-talk is an inner critic. It can be automatic and habitual, and shaped by years of social messages, past experiences or fear. It may sound like:
- “I’m lazy.”
- “I’ll never stick with anything.”
- “What’s the point? Nothing ever works for me.”
- “I’ll never be able to give up alcohol.”
- “I’ve struggled with weight my entire life, so nothing will change it now.”
This kind of thinking chips away little-by-little at your motivation and confidence.
Research studies demonstrate how self-talk may affect our hormones and our brains.
Daily Ruminations May Affect Cortisol Patterns
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term “rumination” can mean the act of “negative cyclic thinking: persistent and recurrent worrying or brooding.” A study published in Cognitive Emotion explored how ruminating on stressful thoughts may affect sleep and cortisol functioning the following day. Researchers found that after a stressful day and rumination, participants had higher cortisol levels upon waking the following day.
Positive and Negative Self-Talk Activate Different Brain Areas
A 2021 study used fMRI scans to show that both positive and negative self-talk activate completely different brain networks. Positive self-talk increased activity in brain regions associated with reward and goal-setting, while negative self-talk lit up areas tied to threat and brooding.
So What Is Self-Belief?
Self-belief is NOT about blind positivity or reciting positive affirmations. It’s about holding space for trust—trust that your body can heal, that your efforts matter and that you are worthy of care and progress.
It might sound like:
- “I had a rough day, but that doesn’t undo my progress.”
- “I’ve made changes before—I can do it again.”
- “My body is giving me clues, not punishments.”
Self-Compassion May Reduce Inflammation
On the flip side of self-criticism, researchers tested the idea that having self-compassion could reduce stress-induced inflammation. Healthy young adults were exposed to a standardized laboratory stressor. Those who showed more self-compassion had significantly lower responses of the inflammatory marker Interleukin-6 (IL-6) on the first day of testing. Elevated levels of IL-6 have been linked with chronic conditions—from gut issues and hormone imbalance to cardiovascular disease and autoimmune struggles. These findings suggest that self-compassion may serve as a protective factor against stress-induced inflammation and inflammation-related disease.
NOTE: If you missed Jen’s blog last month about how inflammation can raise cortisol levels and lead to chronic fatigue, you can read it here: Is Inflammation Making You Fatigued?
A self-compassionate mindset builds resilience. It calms the nervous system. It helps you stay consistent even when life gets messy (because it will).
Here’s an example: My client, Sue, and I talked about health coaching and nutrition for about a year before we started working together. She was adamant that she couldn’t give up alcohol because she needed it for stress relief. But when she wasn’t getting better, Sue agreed to work together and try going dry for a few days. We brainstormed ideas and she decided to change her thoughts from “My life is so crazy, I need a drink!” to “I will enjoy finding something else besides alcohol to drink tonight.”
Sue used these thoughts every night for a week and saw her sleep greatly improve. Because she had better sleep, she felt better physically and mentally and felt less stressed. Now, she was more open to making other diet and lifestyle changes. Within two months, Sue was down 2 ½ inches at her waist and 9 lbs lighter. She had much more energy and started exercising. Her friends noticed the changes and complimented her. Shifting just one thought about her relationship with alcohol helped Sue to think differently about her abilities and gain confidence in her body.
What we truly believe about ourselves impacts our feelings,
and our feelings impact our actions.
Another client, Michael, had tried dozens of diets to lose weight and relieve his joint pain. He was understandably discouraged and, in our first meeting, he told me “I’ve done it all and nothing ever works for me.” So, together, we reframed his thoughts. Instead of “nothing works,” we focused on “I will figure out what works for me.” We implemented a customized diet for a short period of time to practice consistency and see how his body responded to the changes. Michael didn’t beat himself up when he wasn’t perfect and, over time, he noticed how positive and in control he felt as he gained trust in his body.
How to Shift from Negative Self-Talk to Self-Belief
It takes courage to stop and evaluate our thoughts, then do the work to change them, but I believe the work is absolutely worth it to meet your goals. Here are some ways to pivot our thoughts:
- Ask yourself, “Is this thought true?”
You ate the ice cream again—after telling yourself you wouldn’t eat sugar today. Then the thought comes, “I can’t stick to anything.” Stated this way, this sentence sounds like a fact to your brain and now you might as well eat anything you want. But, is it true? Can you truly not stick to ANYTHING? I venture that it isn’t true, that you have followed through (and will continue to follow through) on lots of wonderful things. Recognizing that your thought isn’t true opens your brain up to other ideas.
- Find an “It’s possible” statement your brain will accept.
When you have a thought that your brain doesn’t want to believe, such as “I will lose 40 pounds” or “I will eat healthy this week,” have your next thought be “It’s possible that I will lose 40 pounds.” This small shift moves your brain from thinking that something could definitely not happen, and sabotage your goals, to it could happen which helps us consider the possibilities you can take to reach your goal.
- Set the intention to not speak certain things to yourself.
I love the game of golf, and its challenges never fail to apply to health coaching. It’s so easy for me to miss a shot that I “should have made” and beat myself up as I walk to the next hole. Guess what happens? The next hole goes even worse for me! I no longer tell myself that I should’ve made a shot. Instead, I tell myself that I “get to” go to the next hole and try all over again! The result is a complete shift in feeling from shame to excitement. This intentional turn-around takes practice, but each time you recognize the thought, you will pivot faster.
- Smile a real smile.
It’s very difficult to continue in negative self-talk when we are genuinely smiling. Try it!
- Give yourself grace, and lots of it.
Changing our thoughts takes time. It’s easy to slip back to negative self-talk, especially when we’ve said it for a long time, so give yourself grace when you recognize it and celebrate how far you’ve come.
The next time that critical inner narrator shows up, ask yourself:
What would it sound like if I spoke to myself with belief? What would I do?
You deserve a voice that honors your efforts.
Want to change your inner dialogue and support your health journey with grace?
This is just a part of what you get with our Health Coaching!
Sign up here for a free 20-minute consult to see how we can move you closer to your health goals!
Resources:
Sladek MR, Doane LD, Breitenstein RS. Daily rumination about stress, sleep, and diurnal cortisol activity. Cogn Emot. 2020;34(2):188-200. doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1601617
Kim J, Kwon JH, Kim J, et al. The effects of positive or negative self-talk on the alteration of brain functional connectivity by performing cognitive tasks. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):14873. Published 2021 Jul 21. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94328-9
Breines JG, Thoma MV, Gianferante D, Hanlin L, Chen X, Rohleder N. Self-compassion as a predictor of interleukin-6 response to acute psychosocial stress. Brain Behav Immun. 2014;37:109-114. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2013.11.006
Nutrition therapy is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or cure for any disease, or as a substitute for medical care. Our nutrition therapists are not licensed medical providers. Nutrition plans are not intended as a substitution for traditional medical care, nor should be interpreted as medical advice, but instead is an adjunctive and supportive therapy.