Visualising a peaceful face to overpower a dark feeling .

Imagery is a powerful tool in coping with the pitfalls of a negative experience.

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We all suffer a negative event or encounter every now and then.

Negative, here, would be something or anything that has made you feel let down, belittled, exploited, piqued and other similar heart burning feelings.

Event or encounter could be a one off with an acquaintance or even a stranger or it could be a series of subtle backstabbing’s by a close aid.

Either way, our feelings get marred and our thoughts are so negative that we keep spiralling into an abyss.

Using our imagination or visualisation in the words of therapists is not about tricking our minds rather about thought stopping and gaining perspective into our feelings.

When we shift our focus from a constant negative thought process into a relaxing image we actually provide our minds with the bandwidth to process the anxiety created by the unfortunate encounter.

This rest period that we allow ourselves by means of visualising an image or scene is therapeutic enough to help us overcome the emotional repercussions of a negative event.

For me, imagining a peaceful face( an image of a Guru from my faith) puts me at ease even if momentarily. It feels like an anchor from the quicksand of negativity I was getting sucked into.

The pause it allows strengthens me. There is more clarity around what I was feeling and why I was feeling so. I also become more accepting of my feelings. There is no running away from them. I also do not judging myself for feeling so down and out.

The more often I went back to visualising the peaceful face, the easier it became to handle my emotional setback.

I didn’t feel challenged anymore from the event rather challenged my negative, irrational and unhelpful thoughts.

This form of visualisation is of course informal and unstructured and totally curated as it works for me.

For those of you seeking a more formal set up and structured visualisation techniques can do so under the guidance of a professional.

Visualisation can involve utilising more than just one sense.

When I was imagining the peaceful face, I was captivated by the serenity of expression and felt it encompassing my being and leaving me healed.

This seems like a spiritual experience and may seem surreal to some but truth is that there is enough empirical evidence to back this psychotherapeutic technique as effective in dealing with a range of disorders including panic attacks and agoraphobia.

Let go of the thoughts that don’t make you strong. -Karen Salmansohn

Big shout-out to peaceful images.

Use the potential of mental imagery and empower yourselves.