 -Kirk Tjalas, F.N.P.
Kirk Tjalas, F.N.P., provides exceptional care and meticulous attention to detail for every patient concern, ensuring comprehensive and personalized treatment for optimal health outcomes. |
Are you feeling stressed? Take some deep breaths, close your eyes, and transport yourself to a peaceful place in your mind. Imagine how that place looks, feels, tastes, sounds, or smells. Relax there for a few minutes. Now, open your eyes and notice how you feel. Do you feel more relaxed? If you do, that’s guided imagery in action.
What is Guided Imagery?
Guided imagery is a stress management and relaxation technique that helps relieve stress and calm the body and mind. It is a type of mind-body exercise, similar to progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, and visualization. With guided imagery, you visualize a calm, pleasant setting in your imagination and focus on it while breathing deeply, pushing out negative or stressful thoughts (Kirk, 2018). Unlike visualization meditation, guided imagery involves all five senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch) to bring the scene to life in your mind.
Benefits of Guided Imagery
Guided imagery can help people calm their bodies and minds during stressful situations and provide an effective technique for improving mental well-being (Nguyen, 2018). Studies have shown that these techniques help people reduce their stress and achieve a state of relaxation compared to a control group (Toussaint, 2021). Guided imagery techniques may be beneficial as a complementary therapy for people coping with certain conditions, such as stress, anxiety and depression, pain, and trouble sleeping.
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Among people undergoing surgery, studies have shown that guided imagery meditation can reduce both subjective and objective measures of anxiety. In a small clinical trial of people having gastric bypass surgery, those who practiced guided imagery self-reported less anxiety and tested for lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in their blood (Kirk, 2018). Additionally, children undergoing anesthesia who listened to guided imagery beforehand felt less anxiety going into their surgery and experienced less pain after surgery (Vagnoli, 2019).
Guided imagery works outside of a healthcare setting as well. When a group of nursing students listened to a 10-minute guided imagery exercise before taking an exam, most said it lowered their test anxiety (Grammatica, 2018).
Helps with Certain Mood Disorders
Living with a serious health condition can contribute to depression. For people in this situation, guided imagery may help improve their mental health. For example, some people receiving dialysis—a procedure to remove waste products from the blood when the kidneys stop working—experience anxiety and depression. According to one study, practicing guided imagery may reduce the amount of anxiety and depression they feel (Beizaee, 2018).
Cancer treatment can also cause significant anxiety and depression. In one study, a group of people undergoing chemotherapy was split into two groups. One group listened to a 20-minute audio recording of guided imagery every day for a week, and one did not (Mahdizadeh, 2019). Those who practiced guided imagery reported reduced anxiety and depression, while the control group’s participants had no difference in their symptoms. The guided imagery group also experienced more pain relief, better appetite, and less nausea and insomnia (Mahdizadeh, 2019).
Decreases Pain
Pain is not just a physiological experience; it is also experienced on a mental and emotional level. When we feel stressed, we may experience pain more intensely (Ahmad, 2015). Given its influence on the mind-body connection, guided imagery may alleviate your perception of pain (Carpenter, 2017). In a study of people with terminal cancer, combining guided imagery with progressive muscle relaxation—a relaxation technique that involves tensing and relaxing each of your muscles—significantly reduced the intensity of pain they felt and the overall distress their symptoms caused them (De Paolis, 2019).
Guided imagery has also been shown to be effective in helping COVID-19 patients manage their muscle pain and anxiety (Parizad, 2021).
Improves Sleep
Several studies have demonstrated that mind-body interventions, like meditation and relaxation, can benefit people with sleep issues (Neuendorf, 2015). More research into the effects of guided imagery specifically on sleep is needed. However, some studies have reported positive results. For example, people with insomnia who practiced guided imagery reported improved sleep quality (Neuendorf, 2015). In a study of people in postoperative care, those who practiced guided imagery also reported better sleep quality (Acar, 2019). Additionally, in a study of people waiting to be discharged from the hospital, participants were offered either a complimentary massage or a guided imagery recording. Both groups reported less pain and anxiety, but only those who practiced guided imagery reported less insomnia (Patricolo, 2017).
How to Do Guided Imagery
One of the best things about guided imagery is you can start instantly. All you need is a quiet place and a few minutes to yourself. Here’s what to do (Kirk, 2018; Nguyen, 2018):
- Find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably.
- Close your eyes and take several deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling deeply.
- Imagine a place and lean into all five of your senses to make it feel immersive. For example, if you’re envisioning a beach:
- What do you see? Waves, palm trees, seagulls, sand, seashells.
- What do you hear? Crashing waves, a bird squawking in the distance.
- What do you feel? The sand beneath your feet, the beach towel in your hand.
- What do you smell? The ocean breeze, the scent of barbecue from a place nearby.
- What do you taste? Maybe just your mouth, perhaps some water or a cool tropical drink.
- Visualize yourself sitting in the scene or walking through it. Relax and enjoy the landscape.
- Visualize for as long as you like. You can start with five minutes and then extend the time as you continue your practice.
- Open your eyes when you are done.
Tips for Beginners
Ready to experience the benefits of guided imagery? Try these tips:
- Make yourself comfortable. Wear loose clothing. Prop yourself up with pillows. Set your phone to silent, so you’re not disturbed.
- Start with a recording. It can be helpful to use an audio recording to guide you your first few times. Download a meditation app or search for “guided imagery” on YouTube.
- Get in the zone. External cues may help immerse you in the mental imagery. If you envision a beach scene, play ambient sounds of rolling waves, or turn on a diffuser with a coconut scent.
- Rely on your memory. Choose a happy or serene memory rather than starting from scratch. You may find it’s easier to build on something you know rather than invent something new.
- Explore nature. Choose a peaceful scene based in nature instead of an urban environment, like a shopping mall. Studies showed that nature-based guided imagery reduces anxiety to a larger extent than urban-based scenes (Nguyen, 2018).
- Combine it with another relaxation method. When guided imagery was combined with massage, it lowered heart rate and blood pressure in a group of people about to undergo a heart operation (Armstrong, 2014). Combining progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery also relieved stress and anxiety for people with breast cancer (Sinha, 2021).
- Adopt a no-judgment attitude. Like anything, guided imagery gets easier with time. There is no “perfect” way of doing it. Just enjoy and let your stress melt away.
Conclusion
Guided imagery is a powerful and accessible tool for managing stress, improving mood, alleviating pain, and enhancing sleep quality. Whether you are dealing with a health condition or simply looking to reduce daily stress, incorporating guided imagery into your routine can offer significant benefits.
Explore more wellness tips and learn how to integrate guided imagery into your life with Priority Medical Group. Our resources and programs are designed to support your journey to better mental and physical health from the comfort of your home.
Disclaimer: If you have any medical questions or concerns, please talk to your healthcare provider. This article is underpinned by peer-reviewed research and information drawn from medical societies and governmental agencies. However, it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
References
- Nguyen, T. (2018). The power of guided imagery: A mental escape. Mind-Body Medicine Journal.
- Toussaint, L. (2021). Mind-body techniques for stress reduction. Stress Management Research.
- Vagnoli, L. (2019). Guided imagery in pediatric anesthesia. Pediatric Surgery International.
- Mahdizadeh, S. (2019). The impact of guided imagery on chemotherapy patients. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.
FAQ:
| 1. How long should a guided imagery session last? | A guided imagery session can last anywhere from 5 minutes to as long as you like. Beginners may start with shorter sessions and gradually extend the duration as they become more comfortable with the practice.
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| 2. Can guided imagery help with chronic pain? | Yes, guided imagery can help alleviate the perception of chronic pain. It is effective in reducing pain intensity and the distress caused by symptoms, making it a useful complementary therapy for chronic pain management. |
| 3. Do I need any special equipment to practice guided imagery? | No special equipment is needed to practice guided imagery. All you need is a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably, and a few minutes to yourself. |
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