One of the best ways to cope with anxiety, whether it’s because of bad news or because of problems in your personal or work life or problems in your personal life, is to resort to the practice of visualization. Only not with the help of a vision board, but with special techniques.
It’s common for people to struggle with managing their emotions at the best of times, and in times of crisis and turbulence, it’s even more so: for many, the task of calming down in the moment can seem impossible. Yes, we know to take deep breaths and “ground” ourselves by pressing our feet to the floor and focusing on sensations, but how do we do that in a panic attack?
Peg Streep, a writer and author of books on family relationships, suggests using visualization as a self-help tool in such situations – her confidence in the effectiveness of this method is backed by scientific research.
“GOOD BAD EVIL”
Participants in the study, conducted by researchers Sander L. Cool and David Fockenberg, first took a test of emotion regulation and then described in detail either a difficult person they had interacted with or an understanding and friendly person.
Why? Our emotional states are influenced by many cues, so the researchers wanted to see how a negative or positive focus affected the participants. They were asked to visualize the person they were writing about, and then look at images of faces with polarized emotions — for example, a smiling face among gloomy ones, and vice versa. Finally, the participants were asked whether they identified with the negative or positive facial expressions.
The results of this study showed that people with good self-regulation skills were able to think about an unpleasant person in their life without slipping into negative feelings. And those with weaker emotion management skills were unable to contain anger, irritation, shame, guilt at the mere memory of a difficult person. And, what is even more interesting, those who remembered a good friend, imagining him, felt better and dealt with emotions more easily.
SETTING UP FOR VISUALIZATION
Ideally, this practice should be done in solitude, away from family, phones, and news, as this is a time for an emotional and mental break. And you need a place where you feel comfortable. If you want, you can turn on music that helps you calm down.
1. Visualize a person who helps you relieve stress
According to research by Katherine B. Carnelly and Angela K. Rowe, visualization can affect your state of mind not only in the short term, but also over a longer period of time—even for several days.
It takes some time to prepare and write down specific details about the person’s actions and words to make the practice more effective. Experiments have shown that this works.
“Visualize the person of your choice using all your senses. Recreate his or her voice, laughter, smile. Remember interactions and conversations in which you felt safe, and try to take a deep breath as you fill in the imaginary picture with details,” the expert advises.
2. Visualize a place where you are calm and happy
Perhaps you have been there, or perhaps you only dream of visiting. Images found in advance – photographs, paintings – will help you imagine this place more accurately. The more details, the better.
Imagination can take us from our home to the middle of a green forest, to the banks of a babbling brook, or to the top of a mountain. You can imagine a place and an activity that brings you joy, such as hiking, photography, or gardening.
“Remember to use all your senses. For example, if you imagine you’re on a beach by the ocean, remember the sound of the waves and the cries of the seagulls, the taste of salt on your lips, the fresh scent of the breeze, and the feeling of your feet touching the sand,” says Peg Streep.
3. Visualization to feel the energy of inner growth
This practice helps you focus on your inner growth, playing the role of a gardener for yourself.
- Relax and focus on your visualization. Imagine yourself in a garden filled with beautiful, fragrant flowers. Smell the earth, listen to the birds singing, and the soft rustling of leaves in the wind.
- Find the areas of your body that feel the most tension and stress – this could be your back and shoulders, or your arms. Take a deep breath and try to release the tension.
- Imagine that you are a sprout, breaking through the earth and slowly opening up to the sun. Imagine bright light and rays on your face, feel how they slowly move through your body, warming your neck and chest.
- Relax your arms and palms, releasing the inner strength you have long forgotten about.
- Take another deep breath and imagine yourself as a gardener growing a flower.
- Keep this image in your mind – you are both the gardener and the flower.
- Take a deep breath and stretch well.
Everyone can come up with their own visualization options or use those suggested by Peg Streep. Practice and you will easily be able to bring to life images in your imagination that will take you to a beautiful place, restore your inner strength, self-control and calm.