Take a mental picture, it'll last longer....

Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible.  - Cherie Carter-Scott

I know that several weeks ago, I talked a little bit about visual imagery, as related to your future goals, but we are going to review it today as we talk about coping skills.  I often combine this with the deep breathing, so feel free to "mix and match" coping skills as I continue to talk about them. 

As a reminder, I'm still looking for SUPERSTAR SATURDAY submissions.  Those are some of my most read posts and I haven't been able to post one for 2 weeks--let us NOT make it 3 in a row.  I'd also love any comments/suggestions about various coping skills you'd like to see me blog about--so send any of that in an email.

Peace

Visual imagery is the art of capturing, in your mind, a feeling of what is going to help you remain calm--or return to calm if you've already left calmville.  If you would like to use your goal image, then go for it.  That can be helpful as you remember why remaining calm is important.  Otherwise, try picturing a place where you feel calm.  This might be the beach, or being alone in the wilderness, maybe a place that brought you safety as a child such as your home.  As vividly as possible, capture every detail, and begin to focus on all 5 of your senses.  What do you see?  Hear?  Feel?  Smell?  Taste?  I encourage you to take deep breaths and close your eyes as you create a calming setting within you, and as a result, feel a calming result.  I like to picture the ocean where I can taste and smell the salt in the air, hear the rolling waves crashing in and out, and feel the sand underneath me as I sink in with each crash of the wave.  In creating this image, I would like you to pick one word that describes this--could be a label of the setting (beach) or a word that helps you think of it (calm).  Write that word down and post it in various locations that will help you recall this.

While we often use coping skills only while under stress, they are actually more effective if we use them even when we are calm.  This trains our brain and our body to relax more quickly when we utilize them.  So while your word reminder may be in a lot of locations in which you usually are not stressed, use it as an opportunity to practice the visual imagery technique regularly to help keep you calm and relaxed, in addition to training the brain to calm more quickly when stressors do arise.

Let me know what your word & your image is--give me all 5 senses.  I love to hear about everybody's various mental  pictures!!

TGIF, my friends!!