Managing Stress: 5 Ways to Use Visualization
Whatever you give your attention to gets bigger.
I can’t remember the first time I heard this. It might have been from my mother, who isn’t one to stew or dwell, or an early yoga teacher, or an old book. I know it was during my teenage years, at a time when I was probably stewing and dwelling a lot on things that maybe—imagine ça?!—didn’t really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. Stewing is understandable: It’s what teenagers (and the rest of us) do all the time. But I had an early sense that looping thoughts and unproductive lines of mental inquiry could and should somehow be avoided. Easier said than done, obviously. This early lesson was my first clue as to how.
But what exactly are we talking about? The idea is simple, and it doesn’t require flaky hocus-pocus thinking (which is my specialty, obvs) to accept. Simply, whatever you focus on—good, bad, stressful, pleasant, anxiety-provoking, calming, exciting—is amplified in the mind. It takes up space. It grows. Put even more simply: Whatever you’re thinking about, you’re thinking about. If that thing is bad, then you have bad in your head. If that thing is good, you have good in your head.
None of this would matter, of course, if we saw everything as it really is, but we don’t. We have a single sticky thought and then launch a search-and-capture mission in our mind looking for other things that support that original one. As we do this, the idea pile-on grows and the next thing you know it, that silly, fleeting thought has pitched a tent in our mind and won’t budge, Occupy-styles.
Unfortunately we do this more with negative thoughts than positive ones. Let’s call this, gently, a “not very productive way to use our brains.”
But here’s the good news: The process that can make us miserable can also be flipped on its head to cultivate joy, compassion, peace and love if we do it right. We know our thoughts affect our feelings, and our feelings affect our physical body. They can trigger stress hormones, aggravate chronic pain, promote inflammation, disrupt sleep, trigger breakouts—the list goes on. And nothing on that list is awesome.
On the flip side, focusing deliberately and carefully on positive things can have an opposite effect. I was reminded about this recently when I was struggling with looping thoughts. As anyone who’s been there (all of you) knows, you can get exactly nowhere in that state of mind. Of course, anyone who’s been there (again, all of you) knows that when you’re in that state of mind it can be very hard to rip yourself from it and say: OK, stupid thought, I’m not going to think you anymore. Instead I’m going to think about what I want, what I’m happy about, what I’m grateful for.
But as with all good habits, this one is self-perpetuating. The more you force yourself to do it, kicking and screaming, faking it until you make it, the more you see it works, and then the more likely you are to keep doing it.
An important point here: This is not like The Secret, and not about changing the course of events with your brain. We can’t do that, unfortunately. And sometimes bad things do happen! But thinking about them all the time can’t stop that, so this trains your mind to quiet down in the face of things you can’t control (everything!) and cultivate some good feelings while you’re at it.
Whatever you give your attention to gets bigger.
Trust us! It’s true. Now, what to do about it?
There are a million ways to practice visualization, and it has many different applications. Here are five I like.
1. Mentally rehearse positive outcomes. This is big with athletes, and can have a very practical application…or be an example of magical thinking (see below), depending on how you use it. Good yoga teachers will tell you to spend months literally visualizing the steps to get into a headstand—a challenging pose, no question—before you actually try to get upside down in the middle of the room. When I first learned it, my teacher wouldn’t let us practice against the wall because it would set us up with a crutch, she said. Instead, we had to picture a headstand, step by step, until we could do it. Similarly, a University of Chicago study looked at how mental rehearsing, as it’s sometimes called, might help basketball players with their free throws; the results were unequivocal, with visualizers sinking the ball way more than the controls. Professional athletes talk about this, and Olympians too.
The scientific explanation seems to be that repeatedly thinking about doing something creates neural patterns in the brain for that action—a blueprint, if you will. Your brain then trains your body to execute that thing, because it already knows how to. Crazy! And true.
2. Picture what you want. Of course, if the outcome you’re looking for is of the more interpersonal nature—about your career, or your kids, or your husband or wife—it doesn’t work the same way. You can train your brain all you want, but when there are other people involved, all bets are off, right? Well… Sort of. I’m a big believer in creating the conditions for the outcome you want. You can’t make magic happen (mayyyybe), but you can create the right conditions for things to happen, and part of that, for me, is focusing on positive thoughts—what I want as opposed to what I’m scared of. Alexandra and I are both really keen on this. To do it, simply picture what you want. Not just having it, but getting it. Really imagine, with your eyes closed and your mind focused, what it would feel like to have that thing, or what it would feel like not have to worry about that other thing. Put yourself there, and think about what it looks like, feels like, smells like. Set a scene, and give it your attention and then go back to it often.
3. Imagine thoughts shrinking…or growing. When I have a thought that won’t budge and is stressing me out, I like to name it—Oh, hey, mean thought that is telling me I will never be a prima ballerina—and then picture it in a circle in my mind, almost like a sign that’s been tacked up for me to read. I picture the thought I don’t like, and then I picture the circle shrinking slowly until it’s a speck instead of a menacing, pulsating globe of badness. Similarly, if I want to cultivate something positive, like peace of mind, or the feeling that everything is as it should be, then I do the same, only I start small and picture it growing in my mind until it takes up all the space I can imagine. This fills me with a feeling of wellbeing that is indescribable. I’m not sure why, but I trust it.
4. Do the white light thing. We’re getting increasingly weird here! OK so this one is just what it sounds like. Call to mind a thought, a circumstance, a person, an illness—anything that is giving you a little bit of a headache right now—and really hold that person or idea in your mind. Focus on it like you’re studying a map. Look at it, and identify what it looks like. Try as best you can not to THINK about it, but just see it in your mind. Then you get out your magic white-light wand and tap your thought three times (LOL), basking it in white light. If you want to pick another color, feel free. Whatever color signifies peace and healing to you is the color to pick here. Bask that thing in light like your life depends on it. Then when you’re done, do it again.
5. Picture a person you see as an evolved being and stare at them. This can be your grandpa or your guru, your lover of your childhood best friend—anyone who to you represents peace or wisdom or love. Maybe it’s someone who loves you unconditionally or a spiritual guide. I was taught this by one of my teachers, and he recommends picking someone you actually know or have come into contact with, as opposed to someone sort of remote, like Gandhi or the Virgin Mary (unless, of course, you’ve met them). Picture them sitting in front of you at eye level and just give them a gander. Look at the outline of their body, and their eyes, and their face. Smile at them, maybe. Hold them in your mind for a few minutes, and then when you’re done, say thank you.
Has anyone else tried visualization or mental rehearsing? Do you think it could help you stop bad thoughts in their tracks?
Awesome image (cc) via Flickr user Robert Bruce Murray III
Cool ideas, I look forward to the comments on this one and hearing how people deal.
I’ll start by saying I’m perfectly aware that I’m crazy or at least appear so to many people. I’m totally OCD, though very functional!
I do the mental rehearsing thing – sometimes it goes negative. But for me, it helps to acknowledge the worst possible outcome (what I fear), confront it and then dismiss it. Years ago I started shaking my head a little, as in saying “no,” as though to shake the bad thought out, then I tell myself it’s over and dismiss the thought. Or I visualize the thought/issue getting sealed up and zipping off to be destroyed in a black hole or something. And afterward I try to stick to the positive images.
I also do something akin to the light thing, though I pick a color relevant to the problem (just a personal association). I use this mostly for physical healing though I need to be using it more for stress.
This way or another, we can choose to be relaxed. For example I’m studying pharmacy and I’ve exams, a rent to pay, a work, a boyfriend.. There could be lots of-loots of problems everyday. Even your life and partner is ok, than other people may create negative situations. And I chose not to feel stress or pressure. I study for an exam like a crazy person, but I dont feel stress- I tried to teach myself like a cat’s toilet education.. I think there isnt just 1 way, every one can teach themselves. Just want it. I believe that if we really want something like losing 10 lbs, we do something about it.
It’s kind of weird how often this happens! Siobhan will write a post out of the blue, and it will be the exact thing I too have been thinking about. I’ve really been connecting to the power of visualization lately. I’m not always great with details, so if I feel myself spiraling sometimes I’ll just try to visualize/feel a white energy light around myself (not specifically a thought) and that seems to work well for me.
I also love the mentally rehearsing positive outcomes. I don’t do that one enough. Thanks S! Where’s the usual reader input ladies, or is visualization too far out there for ya?! ;)
Mental rehearsing is a real winner for me. I’ve used it for everything from competative singing to labor and delivery. Dd you know that a woman greatly reduces the chance of a c-section by imagining labor and delivery for the nine months previous to it? I don’t remember the name of the study, but I’m pretty sure I read about it in the book Gentle birth choices by Barbara Harper.
I also try to fill my mind with good thoughts and images in order to avoid stress. (for me that means no horrors or thrillers!) those pictures are something that I can never get out of my head and even though I know that they are just movies, I prefer to avoid them.
This is awesome! I love that you girls have been incorporating spirituality into your blog…I too use the “white light” technique to find my thoughts/get away from my thoughts…
What are your takes on different environmental issues that we face?
A few months ago I viewed the documentary, “What in the World Are They Spraying?” and found it to be shocking, yet eye-opening and motivational. I encourage you to watch it. You have taught me so much already and I hope to pass something important on to you…Below is the youtube link to the full-length documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0khstYDLA
Be Well!
~Love, Alyssa
Thanks for such a great post! I am studying music at university and get very nervous when I perform, so I am going to try mentally rehearsing positive outcomes. It is very funny that you wrote about this because yesterday I watched an interview with a successful opera singer talking about using this method before a big performance or audition.
Thanks again! Very helpful advice.
Beautiful post. The white light and good things will continue even further!
This is a really interesting post. I’m a real believer in the “fake it ’til ya make it” mantra and apply it to situations where I don’t feel overly confident or where my teenage shyness is in danger of reappearing full force. I do recall hearing about these “self-fulfilling prophecies” but they were more in the context of failure, like if someone gets totally stressed about blowing a meeting or a date they will likely do just that, regardless of what other factors are present for success. So I’ve learned to concentrate on what I do know (in the case of professional situations, like my facts, etc) or what feels right (a good hair day on a date) instead of the million and one things that can go wrong. I’m going to try progressing this to the visualisation you’ve described here. Look out, world!
I have not tried visualization or mental rehearsing–I don’t think I have the mental “muscles” to do either yet. Lately (as in, just in the past week or two), when realize I have caught myself in a thought pattern that will certainly throw me into a tailspin, I stop, exhale and make myself pay attention to whatever sounds there are in my environment. I make myself focus on those sounds, and, if I’m really in a state, to name them–That is the refrigerator humming; That is the radiator; That is steam from the radiator; That is the evil train announcement; etc.
This was a good post, and timely, too–I will be working up toward visualization. This post will help me to set myself up to continue undoing negative thought patterns. Thanks, dolls!
I’m a little uncomfortable with this practice. There is a difference between noticing thoughts, (as in meditation), and repressing thoughts and this seems much more like repressing thoughts. Also, in meditation, the focus is not on the thought, but on what your body is feeling while you are having the thought. You are essentially taking the energy out of the thought. And this goes for what we consider negative or positive thoughts, because it is just as damaging to cling to the positive as it is the negative. We are just resting with the thoughts – perhaps giving the entire psyche a mini holiday.
I’m with Barbara Ehrenreich on the false promises of visualization and positive thinking, which she refers to as mass delusion.
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.”
~Lao Tzu
http://aflourishinglife.com/2011/12/confused-how-to-make-decision/comment-page-1/#comment-4263
@ Comagirl: I am not sure that learning to stop engaging in self-destructive thought patterns is repression. And it certainly doesn’t have to mean developing some kind of Pollyanna-ish perspective. A tailspin of negativity is probably an inverse reaction to the pop-psych culture of false positivity, and I think part of the point of these exercises, when done correctly, is to develop a picture of reality that can see both good and bad and not either to the exclusion of the other.
I too love that you girls are incorporating the spiritual philosophies. I read this yesterday and had to laugh. I have fallen out of the positive take on life lately and have been back to panic attacks. What a perfect time to be reminded of the easier way to travel through one’s life. I find that visualization works wonders.
Every time I focus on the negative it does get bigger. I also do the white light or energy process.
I know that many people think this is too new age-ish but I have found that when I am more positive and I focus on the good whether it is meditation, yoga or thoughts, it works. The negative just drags you into the dark and it will bring you more problems. Sorry if that doesn’t resonate with everyone, but it works for me.
Excellent post. Thanks Siobhan.
Awesome! Have you guys heard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? It employs a lot of these methods as a way of ‘retraining’ the brain how to deal with stress and anxiety. I do quite a bit of ‘thought-stopping’ to get away from negative thought patterns. It works, but like Rebecca, sometimes requires me to speak out loud to myself :)
I need to try these techniques. I tend to both dwell on and avoid unpleasant situations. I think this could be really helpful to put things in perspective.
I love this post. Visualization helped me win a state championship 400m race when I was 18. I am now using it to prepare for giving birth naturally. I recently learned something that is very helpful. When I feel stress from a current situation or thought or from a previous memory, I pray and ask God to transform the stress I am feeling to light, love and positive energy. It really helps. God is a master physicist and can transform anything. I find this is better than simply releasing the negative emotion. I have also recently been doing an awesome meditation on YouTube. It is Merkaba meditation 1. It opens chakras and activates energy systems. You should try it!
FANTASTIC post ladies !! I love your blog and to know that you have a spiritual essence quietly woven in to your wisdom excites me that much more and has me sharing your posts to those around me via social media !! :_