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BBC NEWS | Health | Self-help 'makes you feel worse'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8132857.stm

In the low self-esteem group, those who repeated the mantra felt worse afterwards compared with others who did not. However people with high self-esteem felt better after repeating the positive self-statement - but only slightly. The psychologists then asked the study participants to list negative and positive thoughts about themselves. They found that, paradoxically, those with low self-esteem were in a better mood when they were allowed to have negative thoughts than when they were asked to focus exclusively on affirmative thoughts. Writing in the journal, the researchers suggest that, like overly positive praise, unreasonably positive self-statements, such as "I accept myself completely," can provoke contradictory thoughts in individuals with low self-esteem. Such negative thoughts can overwhelm the positive thoughts.
BBC NEWS | Health
Repeating affirmations which are, in your perception, not true will not actually help. Just the opposite, in fact.
A UK psychologist said people based their feelings about themselves on real evidence from their lives.