In the late 1950s, patients walked into Montreal’s Allan Memorial Institute expecting treatment for anxiety, depression or everyday struggles of the mind. What many of them encountered instead was the work of Dr. Ewen Cameron, a psychiatrist with an outsized reputation and a dangerous obsession with “reprogramming” the human brain. Cameron believed he could break down a person’s mind and rebuild it from scratch. His methods were as crude as they were cruel.

He called it “psychic driving.” Patients were put under heavy sedation, often for weeks at a time, and then forced to listen to negative phrases looped again and again through speakers or headphones. Sometimes the messages ran for 16 hours a day.

The results were devastating. Patients developed crippling fear, confusion and dependency. Families reported that their loved ones came home like strangers – haunted not by their original illnesses, but by the relentless flood of negative suggestions that had hollowed them out.

One former patient described her experience years later. She recalled being placed in a hospital room, sedated and wired to a tape recorder that played commands, accusations or statements of worthlessness, repeated until they carved themselves into her mind like grooves in a record. “You are weak. You will never get better. You’re worthless.” Hour after hour, day after day, the messages ran until they became the background noise of her mind.

While most of us were never subjected to cruel experiments, many of us know what it’s like to live with words that cut deep. Some of those words didn’t come from strangers in a lab coat, but from the people closest to us.

The child who was told “you’ll never amount to anything” grows into an adult who whispers the same phrase to themselves before every job interview.

The athlete who was told “you always choke under pressure” starts to believe it, replaying the line before every big game until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The student who constantly hears “you’re not smart enough” can carry that soundtrack into adulthood, replaying it in moments of stress until it feels like the truth.

I recall a history teacher in high school who would stand in front of the class and call us “a bunch of losers.” He didn’t just say it once – he said it often, as if repeating it might make it accurate. Thankfully, I’d been raised to believe otherwise.

For years, psychologists have documented what happens when people are repeatedly exposed to harsh or abusive words. Over time, those external voices get internalized, turning into the person’s own inner critic.

Researchers at UCLA found that repeated negative self-talk actually reshapes the brain. The brain begins to treat your own words like weapons. A single negative phrase repeated often enough rewires your entire system of motivation, and the only way to cope is to shut down and detach.

But here’s the good news – those stories aren’t permanent. Psychic driving can work both ways. As hard as it feels at the moment, you can interrupt them.

The next time you catch yourself repeating the same old phrases, flip the script. Tell yourself: “I’m a winner. I’m strong. I’m healthy. I am loved. I’m rising higher. I have what it takes.”

You won’t believe it at first; it will feel fake, as if you’re lying to yourself. But keep saying it – because the more you speak life over yourself, the more your mind and spirit will begin to believe it. You’ll feel empowered; you’ll see opportunities where you once only saw dead ends.

Repetition works both ways. If negative words can burrow deep and take root, then positive ones can heal, strengthen and grow.

While we can’t all be star athletes or famous actors, every one of us carries strengths that no one else can duplicate. It may be your creativity, kindness or ability to solve problems in ways others can’t.

When you begin to recognize and honor those gifts, you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s spotlight and start shining on your own. That’s when success becomes inevitable – not because you copied anyone else’s path, but because you walked on your own with confidence. I believe in you. Now it’s your turn to think the same.

• Toby Moore is a Shaw Local News Network columnist, star of the Emmy-nominated film “A Separate Peace,” and CEO of CubeStream Inc. He can be reached at feedback@shawmedia.com.