Reduce Stress with Visualization

Visualization is most often used in goal-setting and self-improvement, but it can also be a helpful technique for turning stress into peace and harmony!

One of the most difficult aspects of stress is the way it continues to repeat and multiply, virtually taking over your life.  The more stressed you feel, the more negative thoughts and feelings you experience, which quickly take over your entire focus and make you feel still more stressed.

Visualization can be extremely helpful in situations like these because you are able to stop the cycle of ever-increasing stress the moment you begin focusing on more peaceful and relaxing images.

Before you begin visualizing, it will be helpful if you can get away from the environment that is causing you to feel stressed.  Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for 15 minutes or so, and perhaps take a few minutes to get your mind and body as relaxed as you can.  This will make your mind more receptive to the calming images.

Once you’re feeling a bit more relaxed, think of a soothing scene in your mind.  This might be a natural place like a forest, beach or public gardens – or even a place you would connect with deeper spirituality and balance like a temple or church.  Imagine that you are in this place now, feeling very relaxed, uplifted and happy.

While you’ll primarily be focusing on the images you “see” in your mind, be sure to also focus on your other senses and make the visions seem even more real.  For example, imagine that you can smell the salty sea air while walking along the beach, hear the gulls crying and waves crashing on the sand, feel the wind blowing through your hair, and so on.  The more detail you can inject into your visions, the more effective they’ll be!

Stay with this soothing scene for as long as you can, becoming more and more relaxed with each passing minute.

It’s possible that you might have trouble keeping your focus at first.  Your attention may wander repeatedly, or random thoughts might keep popping up and intruding on your visualization.  This is actually very common when you’re just getting started!  Simply keep working at it daily and eventually you’ll be able to stay focused without a problem.

When you return to your normal activities, be sure to recall your soothing scene if you find yourself getting stressed again!  Take a few minutes to close your eyes, recall the sights, sounds, scents and feelings of peace and harmony that you experienced during your visualization, and you should be able to avoid becoming as stressed as you normally would.