Guided Imagery
What is guided imagery?
Guided imagery is a type of focused relaxation or meditation. Focused relaxation involves concentrating on a specific object, sound, or experience in order to calm your mind.
In guided imagery, you intentionally think of a peaceful place or scenario. The goal is to promote a calm state through relaxation and mindfulness. The idea is that your body reacts to your own thoughts.
For example, when you think about a stressful situation, your body and mind become tense. Your heart rate and blood pressure might increase, and you may feel jittery and unfocused.
But if you focus your attention on pleasant scenarios, your mind and body tend to relax. You may feel less tightness and tension in your muscles, while your mind might feel calmer and more at ease.
By calming your mind and body, you may be better able to cope with mental, emotional, and physical stress.
The mental imagery exercises below can be used to solve a variety of issues in your life.
Guided Imagery Exercises
What are the benefits?
According to research, guided imagery may be able to positively affect your health and well-being in several different ways.
Reduces anxiety and stress
There’s plenty of scientific evidence that shows that guided imagery may help reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. In a studyTrusted Source published in 2014, women with fibromyalgia were divided into two groups. One group practiced guided imagery on a daily basis for a 10-week period, while the other group practiced their usual care routine.
Improves sleep
Anxiety and stress can make it difficult to sleep well. But according to several studies, guided imagery may help improve your sleep. In the 2017 study mentioned above, the participants who practiced guided imagery also reported that their sleep had improved.
Decreases pain
ResearchTrusted Source has shown that stress has the ability to worsen your perception of pain. A 2017 reviewTrusted Source found that guided imagery may help manage pain after orthopedic surgery. Similarly, another studyTrusted Source done in 2019 found that guided imagery decreased post-surgery pain in children.
Reduced depression symptoms
According to a 2014 review, depression is often associated with negative mental images. However, the positive images that are created through guided imagery may be able to change this.