Are you feeling stressed lately? It may be time to practice an age-old technique called visualization.
While we’ll cover the definition of visualization in greater depth below, in short, it’s the process of mentally picturing what you want.
Think of visualization like a vision board, only instead of pinning a photo of a boat or new car, you’d pin the portrayal of tranquility and a stress-free life.
Though life will always have its stressors, those stressors don’t have to define your existence. In other words, the stress-free life you’re after is within reach. And the good news? It can all start with the act of visualization!
This article will explore visualization and how to use it to release stress and find tranquility.
What is Visualization and How Does it Work?
Per BetterHelp, visualization is “...the process of picturing in your mind the things that you want in and out of your life. During visualization, you focus on attaining them and think about what it would be like if you achieved those goals.”
In other words, if you want to get rid of stress and enjoy more peace, visualizing those things as your end goal can be the first proactive step.
How Visualization Helps Release Stress
There are a few ways in which visualization helps release stress:
Guided Imagery
As mentioned above, there are a few ways visualization helps release stress. The first is through the act of guided imagery.
In times of stress, we may experience intrusive thoughts, defined by Harvard Health as “...a strange, disturbing thought or a troubling image that pops into your mind.” These images, which are usually triggered by stress, can range in severity and subject matter.
Some of these thoughts, according to WebMD, may include feelings of inadequacy when faced with a challenge, fears about health and safety, and trigger thoughts of previous trauma.
When these intrusive, and often negative, thoughts pop into your mind, it can trap you in the cycle of stress, ultimately making it harder to dig yourself back out.
It’s when situations like these happen that practicing visualization through the art of guided imagery is useful. In it, you can pause and switch your thoughts to images of things that relax you. A common example might be visualizing an empty beach with your toes in the sand or a lush garden.
Guided imagery reduces stress by not only providing a distraction from your negative thoughts but also releasing dopamine, which can lower your body’s stress level naturally. Simply put, when you think of happy thoughts, your body will respond to them.
Traditional Visualization
As described by BetterHelp above, visualization is the act of thinking about what you want. Though guided imagery can help calm you down in the moment, practicing traditional visualization helps promote change long term.
For example, if you find that the state of your current life is stressful, visualizing what you wish would change can be a useful tool in helping you take that first step. A good example might be living paycheck to paycheck or having a lot of debt that places significant stress on your life and ability to move forward.
By visualizing a better financial situation, you can figure out a good place to take action, whether it be paying off a small debt or meeting with a financial counselor.
Visualization is often successful because it highlights the success you’ll experience. If you can imagine it going well, chances are you’re going to do whatever you can to ensure that goal comes to fruition.
Both forms of visualization are necessary to release stress. But how do you get started? Here are some helpful tips.
How to Practice Visualization
Ready to let go of stress? Here are three ways to get started:
Make Time For it Everyday
Did you know you only need to practice visualization for about 5 minutes a day to eventually see progress? The reason why has to do with consistency.
The more you incorporate an action into your day, the more likely it is to become a habit. Once it does, practicing visualization will become second nature, especially in times of stress.
The key to visualization, especially when used as a stress reduction habit, is to adjust it as you see fit. Maybe five minutes is all you need today, but maybe 15 minutes is what you need tomorrow.
Remember, consistency is the goal here - not practicing it for a designated time period.
Connect Your Mental Images to an Emotion
When you’re visualizing, try to connect an emotion to what you’re seeing. Sure, this could be feeling relaxed when thinking about a beach. However, it could also be about the emotion you want to feel when you accomplish your goal.
For example, if you want to get into a better financial situation to reduce stress, what emotion do you want to accompany that achievement? Excitement? Relief? Pride?
Connecting emotions to mental images helps make them real. And, as indicated above, the more attainable they seem, the more likely you are to take steps toward them - like starting with the act of daily visualization!
Don’t Force the Images
When practicing visualization, especially the first couple of times, don’t add more stress to your plate by trying to force the images to come to you. Instead, let them come to you naturally.
If negative thoughts come to you, gently guide yourself back to think of something peaceful. It may be challenging at first but, remember pressure will work against you.
Likewise, if one peaceful image isn’t working, permit yourself to move on to another one.
Visualization, whether through traditional methods or guided imagery, can be a game changer when it comes to eliminating stress in your life. Hopefully the tips above can help you get started.
