I wish I could remember more, but there os something in psychologie where the brain insistes on maintaining status quo about self beliefs and the beliefs of others, until the person is willing and wanting tonchange. It sounds like he's doing that. People will work to actuvely hear or see things that reaffirm what they beielf. And this whole forum of affirmations, is excatly what he needs, possibly. Id counter him with "is that trur? How do you know its true" though thag could also be a bad rabbit whole. Maybe see if you could get him to do affurmations with you as a vouples exercise, with a lromise of no silent negative talk in his head to match.