Unleash the Power of Your Mind Through Imagery

By Bonnie Groessl, MSN, APNP

Nurse Practitioner, The Bridge to Health

Just imagine….boosting your immune system with the use of your mind! It’s a great way to attain optimal health or enhance medical care you may be receiving, and can help you regain some of the control you may feel is missing.

The effectiveness of guided imagery in demonstrating a positive impact on health has been increasingly established by research findings over the past 25 years. We now know that in many instances even 10 minutes of imagery can reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and strengthen short-term immune cell activity. It can considerably reduce blood loss during surgery and morphine use after it. It lessens headaches and pain, and has shown again and again its effectiveness in reducing the adverse effects of chemotherapy, especially nausea, depression and fatigue.

Your body hears every thought you have, whether it’s a conscious or subconscious thought. Chemicals are released in your brain when you’re having pleasant thoughts, and this makes you feel good. Very different chemicals are released when you have unpleasant thoughts, and generally the consequence is that you feel worse. Unpleasant and negative thoughts also produce stress hormones that can deplete your immune system.

To the body, images created in the mind can be almost as real as actual, external events. The mind doesn’t really know the difference. That's why when we see pictures of food in a magazine or think of biting into a juicy, sour lemon, we begin to salivate. The mind constructs images of the food – how it looks, tastes and smells; how it feels in our mouth – and we have a physical response.

Now, imagine you are a hopeless, helpless victim of illness or poor health, and picture what response your body might have.

Guided imagery is a gentle but powerful technique that focuses and directs the imagination. It can be accomplished passively by listening to CDs or tapes, or interactively with a specialist who does interactive guided imagery.

Imagery can be as simple as an athlete’s split-second image of making the basket just before shooting the basketball, imagining the ball swishing through the hoop. Or it can be as complex as imagining the busy, focused buzz of thousands of immune cells on a search-and-destroy mission to wipe out unsuspecting cancer cells.

Although it’s been called “visualization” and “mental imagery,” these terms are somewhat misleading. Guided imagery involves far more than just the visual sense – and that’s a good thing, given the fact that only about two-thirds of the population is strongly wired visually. Instead, imagery involves all of the senses, and almost anyone can do this. If you’ve ever worried…you have imagined!  

People can invent their own imagery or they can listen to imagery that’s been created for them. Either way, sooner or later their imaginations will take over. Even when listening to imagery that's been created in advance, the mind will automatically edit, skip, change or substitute what’s offered for what’s needed. A tape, CD or written script will become a kind of internal launching pad for each person’s unique imagination.

The altered state is the power cell of guided imagery, boosting our capability for more rapid and intense healing, growth, learning and performance. When we consciously apply it, we have an awesome ally – a tremendous source of internal strength and skill. Relaxation techniques are a good way to access an alerted state when desired. We wander in and out of altered states all through the day as a matter of course. Sometimes it’s not a conscious choice, and we drive right past our exit on the highway. At best, the altered state is a state of relaxed focus, a kind of calm but energized alertness. Attention is concentrated on one thing or on a very narrow band of things. You may hear athletes refer to this as being in “the zone.”

When we have a sense of being in control, that in and of itself can help us feel better and do better. Feeling in control is associated with higher optimism, self-esteem, and the ability to tolerate pain, ambiguity and stress. Conversely, a sense of helplessness lowers self-esteem, our ability to cope and our optimism about the future.

Because guided imagery is an entirely internally driven activity – and the user can decide when, where, how and it’s applied – it provides us with the feeling that we have some control.

Interactive Guided Imagery^sm (IGI) is accomplished with the aid of a clinician specifically trained in this technique.  It utilizes imagery, the natural language of emotions and the subconscious mind to evoke inner healing resources. IGI is an interactive, permissive, client-centered approach to clinical guided imagery that enables the client to develop an enhanced sense of personal empowerment. To find a trained practitioner in your area, visit www.academyforguidedimagery.com.

 

There are many different techniques in which the specialist in Interactive Guided Imagery^sm  may work with a client. For example, once in a relaxed state, a client can be asked to close their eyes and allow an image to form for a personal place of comfort they can use as a refuge when needed. Learning to take a mini-mental vacation is a great stress reduction technique. Using IGI techniques, the client may also be guided in an imaginary dialogue with their own inner healer or other images to explore the meaning and relevance to their problem or issue. Clients learn how to access their self-healing abilities, boost their immune systems, deal with the stressors of life and attain optimal health. 

For more information visit www.academyforguidedimagery.com or www.thebridgetohealth.org