Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHealing PropertiesTechniquesIs It Meditation?Developing a PracticeFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Healing Properties
Techniques
Is It Meditation?
Developing a Practice
Frequently Asked Questions
Guided imagery is arelaxationtechnique that works on the premise that the mind and body are connected. It involves creating and focusing on positive images in the mind, using all the senses to make the image feel as real as possible. It is often performed along with an instructor or a recording that guides the visualization.
Guided imagery can also help to visualize a specific goal.
Read on to learn more about guided imagery and what it can do.
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Healing Properties of Guided Imagery
Research shows that guided imagery can help the mind and body relax. It may also help with:
Stress and Anxiety
When we face distressing situations, our body’s stress response activates. Unpleasant symptoms can linger if the stress response stays activated after the situation is finished. Relaxation techniques, such as guided imagery, can help elicit the relaxation response, lowering the sympathetic nervous system’s heightened arousal and stress hormones such as cortisol.
In addition to stress relief, guided imagery can help with anxiety. Spending time in nature has demonstrable anxiety-reducing effects, but it’s not always possible or convenient to head out into the wild. Guided imagery offers a way to visualize calming surroundings from anywhere. Using all of the senses in the visualization can feel quite realistic.
Research has shown that guided imagery can reduceanxiety symptomsin a variety of studied populations such as nursing students, first-time mothers, people experiencing public speaking anxiety, and people undergoing radiation treatment.
Depression
Guided imagery can help counteract thedepressionrumination spiral, reduce feelings ofdepression, and increase feelings of well-being.
Positive mental images have a calming and relaxing effect that extends to the body. They can also help reorient thoughts away from unpleasant stimuli.
Sleep
A small 2016 study involving adults with cancer found that guided imagery helped improve fatigue and sleep disturbance scores. The study also suggested that guided imagery may be a way to help tune out hospital noises, allowing patients to have a better sleep.
A small 2021 study of 36 people who had congestive heart failure found that the group who experienced guided imagery therapy had significantly increased quality of sleep, while the control group did not experience a significant increase in the quality of their sleep.
Headaches
A study of 60 people suffering from chronic tension-typeheadachesreceived guided imagery via an audiocassette (group one) or were asked to imagine their happiest personal memory (group two) three times per week for three weeks. Both groups experienced significantly more improvement in the frequency, intensity, and duration of theirheadachesthan the control group.
Immune Health
Though more research is needed, one small study showed that practicing guided imagery may temporarily increase the number of certainimmune systemcells. This could have a positive impact on overall health.
Pain Management
Guided imagery and other mind-body therapies are well recognized for their ability to relieve pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. For some people, visualization involves a calming atmosphere, while for others, it can involve visualizing the pain leaving their bodies.
There is encouraging evidence that guided imagery may be able to reduce musculoskeletal pain.
A 2015 study reviewed seven randomized-controlled trials examining the effects of guided imagery for arthritis and other joint diseases. All of the seven studies reported statistically significant reductions in pain. The review also found that guided imagery reduced the need for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) andother pain medicationsand improved movement and function.
Types of Guided ImageryTypes of guided imagery include:The Simonton method: People with cancer imagine their bodies fighting the cancer cells using visualizations such as picturing breathing in a cloud of soft healing energy with deep regular breaths and feeling the healing spread throughout their body.The palming method:This involves placing your palms over your eyes and imagining that different colors represent different things. For example, imagine a color you’ve chosen to represent anxiety or fear, then imagine replacing that color with the one you have chosen to represent strength, courage, or healing.
Types of Guided Imagery
Types of guided imagery include:The Simonton method: People with cancer imagine their bodies fighting the cancer cells using visualizations such as picturing breathing in a cloud of soft healing energy with deep regular breaths and feeling the healing spread throughout their body.The palming method:This involves placing your palms over your eyes and imagining that different colors represent different things. For example, imagine a color you’ve chosen to represent anxiety or fear, then imagine replacing that color with the one you have chosen to represent strength, courage, or healing.
Types of guided imagery include:
Techniques to Get Started
There are several ways to engage in guided imagery, but they all involve directing the mind to create positive images. The visualization you create is meant to elicit a feeling of safety, security, and well-being.
Imagery Ideas
The setting you picture in your mind is entirely up to you. As long as it is a place that elicits calm for you and offers you plenty of room to engage your senses (mentally), you’re off to a great start.
Some examples of settings people choose include:
Or if you are on a tropical beach, smell the sunscreen, hear the sea birds, taste your pineapple drink, and feel your feet sinking into the warm sand. The more you are able to use your senses to immerse yourself, the better.
Guided imagery can also involve going within to visualize. For instance, a person who hascancermay imagine a warm, healing light on the area where their cancer is or was, picture their immune system attacking cancer cells, or even imagine Pac-Man chasing down and eatingcancer cells.
At the end of your guided imagery session, take a moment to breathe deeply and notice how you feel.
Setting
The only thing you absolutely need to do guided imagery is your imagination, but you may wish to include other things to help you with your exercise.
You can do your visualization on your own without any guidance, but other methods you can use include:
You may also want to use things to set the stage or create ambience, such as pictures to guide your setting or a scent you love.
Where you practice guided imagery is also up to you. Find somewhere you can relax uninterrupted for the 10–30 minutes or so you are doing your exercise.
It works best if you are able to give your whole focus to it, so avoid doing the exercise when your concentration is split, like when you’re cooking or when it’s not safe, like when you’re driving.
Finding Your Breath
Deep breathing, or belly breathing, involves concentrating as you take slow, deep breaths, feeling your belly expand as air goes in and deflate as air goes out. This type of breathing encourages relaxation and enhances your guided imagery experience.
Audio Resources
Audio recordings for guided imagery can be found in many places. Here are a few to get you started:
How to Get in the Mind FrameTo get in the frame of mind for guided imagery:Get comfortable in a place of your choice, sitting or laying down, and close your eyesTake a fewdeep breathsChoose your relaxing setting and let your mind picture it or turn on your audio recording
How to Get in the Mind Frame
To get in the frame of mind for guided imagery:Get comfortable in a place of your choice, sitting or laying down, and close your eyesTake a fewdeep breathsChoose your relaxing setting and let your mind picture it or turn on your audio recording
To get in the frame of mind for guided imagery:
Guided imagery is arelaxation technique. Some consider it a type of meditation, but others view it as a separate technique.
Developing a Thoughtful Practice Over Time
Guided imagery can be done whenever and wherever you like, but it can be helpful to build it into your daily routine as you do other wellness practices.
You can also do it when you find yourself feeling stressed, nervous,angry, worried, or in pain.
Tuning Out Mental Noise
The more you engage with your visualization, the more you use your senses, and the more specific and detailed you make it, the better you are to tune out anything “extra” and the more therapeutic it is likely to be.
If you find yourself thinking pleasant thoughts, you can choose to go with it if you’d like and if it doesn’t interfere with your visualization.
If negative thoughts pop in, just acknowledge them without judgment and let them keep rolling past out of your calm place.
Summary
Guided imagery is a relaxation technique in which a person uses their imagination to visualize a calming place and mentally uses their senses to engage and interact with their visualization.
Guided imagery can be done alone or with an instructor. It can be self-guided, done using an audio recording, or following a written script.
Guided imagery has been shown to have several health benefits, including stress and anxiety reduction, pain management, andbetter quality sleep.
Guided imagery is a technique that has been used for centuries.
Relaxation exercises are a great way to help manage stress. In addition to guided imagery, you can try exercises such as:Progressive muscle relaxationBreathing exercisesMeditationYogaTai chiAnd more
Relaxation exercises are a great way to help manage stress. In addition to guided imagery, you can try exercises such as:
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.dos Santos Felix MM, Ferreira MBG, de Oliveira LF, et al.Guided imagery relaxation therapy on preoperative anxiety: a randomized clinical trial.Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2018;26(0). doi:10.1590/1518-8345.2850.3101Canadian Cancer Society.Guided imagery.Johns Hopkins.Imagery.Children’s Health of Orange County.Guided imagery.Arthritis Foundation.Guided imagery for arthritis pain.Blödt S, Pach D, Roll S, Witt CM.Effectiveness of app-based relaxation for patients with chronic low back pain (Relaxback) and chronic neck pain (Relaxneck): study protocol for two randomized pragmatic trials.Trials. 2014;15(1):490. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-490Nguyen J, Brymer E.Nature-based guided imagery as an intervention for state anxiety.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1858. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01858BreastCancer.org.Guided imagery.Jyoti, Parel JT.Impact of guided imagery on depression, stress and anxiety among wives of patients with alcohol use disorder. IJONE. Published online April 2, 2021. doi:10.37506/ijone.v13i2.14645Nooner AK, Dwyer K, DeShea L, Yeo T.Using relaxation and guided imagery to address pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances: a pilot study.CJON. 2016;20(5):547-552. doi:10.1188/16.CJON.547-552Yeci Y, Afelya TI, Syahrul S, et al.The effectiveness of guided imagery therapy to increase sleep quality of congestive heart failure patients.Enfermería Clínica. 2021;31:S700-S703. doi:10.1016/j.enfcli.2021.07.020Abdoli S, Rahzani K, Safaie M, Sattari A.A randomized control trial: the effect of guided imagery with tape and perceived happy memory on chronic tension-type headache: Guided imagery and chronic tension-type headache.Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 2012;26(2):254-261. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00926.xKaiser Permanente.Stress management: doing guided imagery to relax.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Visualization/guided imagery.Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Relaxation techniques: what you need to know.
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.dos Santos Felix MM, Ferreira MBG, de Oliveira LF, et al.Guided imagery relaxation therapy on preoperative anxiety: a randomized clinical trial.Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2018;26(0). doi:10.1590/1518-8345.2850.3101Canadian Cancer Society.Guided imagery.Johns Hopkins.Imagery.Children’s Health of Orange County.Guided imagery.Arthritis Foundation.Guided imagery for arthritis pain.Blödt S, Pach D, Roll S, Witt CM.Effectiveness of app-based relaxation for patients with chronic low back pain (Relaxback) and chronic neck pain (Relaxneck): study protocol for two randomized pragmatic trials.Trials. 2014;15(1):490. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-490Nguyen J, Brymer E.Nature-based guided imagery as an intervention for state anxiety.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1858. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01858BreastCancer.org.Guided imagery.Jyoti, Parel JT.Impact of guided imagery on depression, stress and anxiety among wives of patients with alcohol use disorder. IJONE. Published online April 2, 2021. doi:10.37506/ijone.v13i2.14645Nooner AK, Dwyer K, DeShea L, Yeo T.Using relaxation and guided imagery to address pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances: a pilot study.CJON. 2016;20(5):547-552. doi:10.1188/16.CJON.547-552Yeci Y, Afelya TI, Syahrul S, et al.The effectiveness of guided imagery therapy to increase sleep quality of congestive heart failure patients.Enfermería Clínica. 2021;31:S700-S703. doi:10.1016/j.enfcli.2021.07.020Abdoli S, Rahzani K, Safaie M, Sattari A.A randomized control trial: the effect of guided imagery with tape and perceived happy memory on chronic tension-type headache: Guided imagery and chronic tension-type headache.Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 2012;26(2):254-261. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00926.xKaiser Permanente.Stress management: doing guided imagery to relax.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Visualization/guided imagery.Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Relaxation techniques: what you need to know.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
dos Santos Felix MM, Ferreira MBG, de Oliveira LF, et al.Guided imagery relaxation therapy on preoperative anxiety: a randomized clinical trial.Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2018;26(0). doi:10.1590/1518-8345.2850.3101Canadian Cancer Society.Guided imagery.Johns Hopkins.Imagery.Children’s Health of Orange County.Guided imagery.Arthritis Foundation.Guided imagery for arthritis pain.Blödt S, Pach D, Roll S, Witt CM.Effectiveness of app-based relaxation for patients with chronic low back pain (Relaxback) and chronic neck pain (Relaxneck): study protocol for two randomized pragmatic trials.Trials. 2014;15(1):490. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-490Nguyen J, Brymer E.Nature-based guided imagery as an intervention for state anxiety.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1858. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01858BreastCancer.org.Guided imagery.Jyoti, Parel JT.Impact of guided imagery on depression, stress and anxiety among wives of patients with alcohol use disorder. IJONE. Published online April 2, 2021. doi:10.37506/ijone.v13i2.14645Nooner AK, Dwyer K, DeShea L, Yeo T.Using relaxation and guided imagery to address pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances: a pilot study.CJON. 2016;20(5):547-552. doi:10.1188/16.CJON.547-552Yeci Y, Afelya TI, Syahrul S, et al.The effectiveness of guided imagery therapy to increase sleep quality of congestive heart failure patients.Enfermería Clínica. 2021;31:S700-S703. doi:10.1016/j.enfcli.2021.07.020Abdoli S, Rahzani K, Safaie M, Sattari A.A randomized control trial: the effect of guided imagery with tape and perceived happy memory on chronic tension-type headache: Guided imagery and chronic tension-type headache.Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 2012;26(2):254-261. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00926.xKaiser Permanente.Stress management: doing guided imagery to relax.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Visualization/guided imagery.Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Relaxation techniques: what you need to know.
dos Santos Felix MM, Ferreira MBG, de Oliveira LF, et al.Guided imagery relaxation therapy on preoperative anxiety: a randomized clinical trial.Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2018;26(0). doi:10.1590/1518-8345.2850.3101
Canadian Cancer Society.Guided imagery.
Johns Hopkins.Imagery.
Children’s Health of Orange County.Guided imagery.
Arthritis Foundation.Guided imagery for arthritis pain.
Blödt S, Pach D, Roll S, Witt CM.Effectiveness of app-based relaxation for patients with chronic low back pain (Relaxback) and chronic neck pain (Relaxneck): study protocol for two randomized pragmatic trials.Trials. 2014;15(1):490. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-490
Nguyen J, Brymer E.Nature-based guided imagery as an intervention for state anxiety.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1858. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01858
BreastCancer.org.Guided imagery.
Jyoti, Parel JT.Impact of guided imagery on depression, stress and anxiety among wives of patients with alcohol use disorder. IJONE. Published online April 2, 2021. doi:10.37506/ijone.v13i2.14645
Nooner AK, Dwyer K, DeShea L, Yeo T.Using relaxation and guided imagery to address pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances: a pilot study.CJON. 2016;20(5):547-552. doi:10.1188/16.CJON.547-552
Yeci Y, Afelya TI, Syahrul S, et al.The effectiveness of guided imagery therapy to increase sleep quality of congestive heart failure patients.Enfermería Clínica. 2021;31:S700-S703. doi:10.1016/j.enfcli.2021.07.020
Abdoli S, Rahzani K, Safaie M, Sattari A.A randomized control trial: the effect of guided imagery with tape and perceived happy memory on chronic tension-type headache: Guided imagery and chronic tension-type headache.Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 2012;26(2):254-261. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00926.x
Kaiser Permanente.Stress management: doing guided imagery to relax.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Visualization/guided imagery.
Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Relaxation techniques: what you need to know.
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