Guided Imagery Can Help Reduce Work Stress
Your mind and your body are connected. If your mind thinks that you are stressed, then you become stressed. So it also follows that if you tell your mind to relax, your body also obeys the mind. It is on this premise that guided imagery as a stress relief is based.
Try this simple exercise to see if indeed the body can be affected by what the mind is thinking: Think of an orange. Imagine holding an orange in your hand. Think of its shape and its color. Imagine peeling the orange. Imagine the scent being released from its skin. Imagine a little bit of juice squirting to your fingers. Imagine taking a bite of the orange. Imagine its juice squirting in your mouth.
Now, on which part of the exercise did you begin to salivate? So you see, our bodies can be made to make physical reactions based on a mental activity.
The orange exercise is what is called guided imagery. Simply, guided imagery is an exercise wherein thoughts are directed to guide the imagination towards a relaxed state. And since what is relaxing is subject to a person’s perception, guided imagery differs individually. Some people might find a soothing waterfall image reduces their stress, others may prefer a sunrise and still others might opt for “calm” animals such as butterflies. Others will be able to simply think of an image and focus on that and achieve a reduction of stress within a few minutes while others may need to employ suggestive accessories like tapes, scripts or visual cues.
The efficacy of guided imagery in reducing stress is recognized in the medical community. The Trilogy Guided Imagery for Healing stated in its website that, “The Cancer Section of the Medical Librarian Association states that Guided Imagery “…is considered a complimentary therapy that works well with traditional treatments. Guided Imagery can reduce stress, anxiety, enhance personal awareness, and improve psychological coping skills.” Further, the same site said that Hartford Hospital reports that, “in addition to inducing a relaxation response and reducing chronic pain, guided imagery has been effective in many areas for the mind, body, and spirit by lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure and lessening the adverse effects of chemotherapy, etc. Guided imagery can be used to reacquaint patients with their healthy side, give them back a measure of control, enhance their immunologic response to stress, reduce side effects of treatment and diminish anxiety and fear.”
What is great about guided imagery is that it can be done even in the office, even during your coffee break. Here are three steps to reduce stress through guided imagery:
1. Settle down in a quiet place in the office. (You can do guided imagery sitting down, standing up, or lying down.)
2. Take a few deep breaths and begin to imagine a soothing image. (You may employ tapes, scripts or visual cues.) Continue with the deep breathing and let your body relax as you focus on this image. Guided imagery uses all the senses so be sure to imagine the image not only visually, but also including the sounds, scents, tastes and textures associated with it.
3. Tell yourself that you will be calm when you end your guided imagery exercise.
The best things about using guided imagery in reducing work stress is that it is free, you can do it at almost anytime and anyplace in the office. For a few minutes a day, you can significantly reduce work stress.
Thanks for reading this coffee break tidbit on work 
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