Holistic Therapy #4: MENTAL – Guided Imagery with Journaling Training

If you would get to know Claire, you might observe that she is unable to multitask, focus her anxious mind, on even perform a single task without being easily distracted. You might also observe that she has an ever-present tendency to stutter along with a constant need to “pace” in her room many times throughout the day. Her pacing often sounds as if she was literally (vs. figuratively) bouncing off the walls!

Yet at times in her past when she had been sent off to summer camp, I had observed that she was much more calm and able to converse in a more mature manner after spending those weeks with lots of structure and no TV.

One of Claire’s addictions is the enticing world of “zoning out” with technology’s many forms of offered distraction. From “regular” TV, to video games, and various computer activities, Claire is quite capable of escaping from her “inner turmoil” by using these things as her chosen “drug.” And honestly, I was glad that she had not chosen anything worse!

When she and I discussed this “need” of hers to “escape,” along with her chosen form of drug to numb her response, she was fortunately at an age where she was able to discern all this too.

So we began our journey to discuss many deep topics with great understanding (even though I had to accept the fact that changes were NOT occurring spontaneously from these chats … even when they came with the epiphany of deep understanding!).

I learned early on through my efforts with Claire, that we both needed to approach all this with great patience, and maintain these holistic therapies with great faith over a very-much-unknown period of time!

Now guided imagery is a very “old” therapy in that it has been used for centuries as a way to envision health. It’s nothing more than invoking the imagination, except that someone’s voice is used to GUIDE the imagination intentionally vs. allow it to go off on its own random tangents.

Since I teach guided imagery certification to many medical professionals, I have many of these resources available and planned to take advantage of them. Guided imagery is best when it is combined with journaling, so I set out to explain to Claire how she should approach this as a “packaged” therapy.

Every day of the week, Claire is to pick one of the different guided imagery CDs I had put before her. She is to take whichever one she feels drawn to, except that I had asked for her to START with the one CD called “Begin Again” and continue on with that one daily until she was bored.

This particular recording of “Begin Again,” takes an “inexperience” listener of guided imagery to a relaxed state, where they are then led to envision the assembling of their own healing team that has come together in order to be able to offer their gifts and skills out of love and compassion. It’s a beautiful imagery that Claire enjoyed immensely from the very first day.

The “routine” I taught her is very simple, (although with Claire’s initial lack of focus, this would sometimes occupy her for HOURS!!!)

This routine, which take place in a location that is quiet and will not offer interruptions, while being certain that she is also a location that will not lend itself to her falling asleep, involves the following three steps:

1. Journaling to Purge. Using a pen that offers smooth and easy writing, and paper that she can throw away afterwards if she wishes, Claire writes down all her fears, feelings, angers, concerns, etc, of that moment. Anything perceived as even slightly ‘negative’ is to be expressed here so that she can get it OUT and symbolically ‘purge’ it, so that she can even ‘rip it up’ afterwards in order to be done with it! The ‘secret’ to successful purging is to be without fear that someone else will ever read it!! Over time, a person gets better and better at saying thing they would normally not express to ANYONE else! And this is exactly the purpose of Clair’s journaling to purge: to be able to express things to herself because she is finally learning to become her own best friend! Then you, as the caregiver, must honor and protect her complete right to privacy! Anything less is inconceivable and actually detrimental to her overall improvement toward health!!! (Technically this should take only 5 to 10 minutes, but since Claire was not restricted in any way, so she usually took much longer with this step … although it SEEMED that a major part of her time was due to the many “distractions” that came with such thoughts).
2. Receiving. Claire then places a guided imagery CD into her player (which happened to be her computer), using headphones to help her eliminate outside noises so that she can better listen to the voice inside her own head. (Each guided imagery recording has a duration of about 20 or so minutes).
3. Journaling to Cement. Now using paper that Claire intends to KEEP, this segment of journaling is when she captures all of her guided imagery experience … noting what she “saw” and “felt” during her time listening to the imagery. This is to make it more real and help it “come to life,” for this step is to change neurons, body chemistry, etc … in other words, rewiring the brain! Journaling to REINFORCE these changes taking place in the bodymind is the reason that this second time with pen and paper is never to be ignored! (This step too should take only 5 to 10 minutes. But again, since Claire was not restricted in any way, she usually took more time for this one too. I also always gave her the option to DRAW or work with clay for this capturing of her experience, but usually [and surprisingly] all she ever wanted to do was simply write).

Guided imagery is a wonderful tool to bring about change. It's not expensive either! But it IS important to follow the above schedule consistently and with duration.

So to help this process run smoothly, I gave Claire the following SEVEN guided imagery recordings to choose from, in whatever order and number of times she wanted to repeat them throughout the seven days of the week:

1. Begin Again; creating your healing team; $9.99
   
2. Imagine: Peace from Anxiety; setting healthy boundaries; $9.99
3. Imagine: A Gift for the Caregiver; there are times when it's okay to just 'be'; $9.99
4. Imagine: Lifting Up; in times of sadness and grief; $9.99
5. Imagine: A Focus on Wellness; all that you envision health to be; $9.99
6. Imagine: Freedom from Pain; connection is at our very core; $9.99
7. Your Body, Your Mind, & Their Link to Your Health; (book with CD) $15.99

Feel free to contact me directly if you wish to discuss the needs of your own particular situation, client, or loved one.

But just know that with any guided imagery that RESONATES, a person can simply enjoy it for it's own sake … for I think that guided imagery is no different from some much needed self-pampering!

It's like taking the time to experience the pleasure of what I call a “mental massage!”