Great news for the millions of people who find it excruciatingly awkward to stand in front of a mirror and say things like:

I’m a wonderful person.

The world loves me.

I deserve good things.

I am lovable.

What’s the good news? You can stop the embarrassing love affair with yourself.

A study published in the Association for Psychological Science has found that while some surveys show people using positive self-statements believe they’re effective, others aren’t getting such, um, “positive” results. Two experiments have found that, among those who have low self-esteem—in other words, the specific kind of people positive self-statements are supposed to help—repeating such statements actually makes them feel worse than if they just leave themselves alone and say nothing. And while those with high self-esteem may feel better than those with low self-esteem, it’s only to a limited degree.