Guided imagery is an important tool in trauma therapy. The positive effects are significant.
The things we imagine influence our emotions and stress level. You can test this:
Imagine you are in a small boat in the middle of the ocean, there are huge dangerous sharks all around you and there is a leak in your boat. You are sinking, while the sharks come closer and closer.
This gives you a feeling. Maybe you can feel tension in your gut, your breathing got faster or stopped or you showed other small signs of stress.
Guided imagery can be used to counter the stressful inner picture we have by willingly creating different, positive and relaxing pictures. Those too will have an effect on our body and emotions.
Maybe you can imagine yourself sitting at a hidden beach, there is soft sand, the calming sound of the waves, the salty smell of sea water and freedom to breathe deeply.
Notice what happens.
The pictures we cultivate in our head make a difference. With some practice it is possible to step out of memories of the past or worries about the future and focus all your imagination on things that are calming, supportive and safe. It creates a counter balance to all the difficult things you experienced.
It’s not fake. It is fantasy. Humans were born with the capability of fantasy for a reason. It can help us cope.
There are scripts for different exercises of guided imagery out there. There are some we consider essential:
The Safe Place: create an inner space you can withdraw to when you want to feel safe and taken care of.
The Safe Place for SystemWork describes what to be aware of when you have DID.
Containment offers the possibility to lock away difficult memories for some time.
There are a couple of variations to that exercise.
The BASK-Safe for special security
The jumping box, which is often favored by Littles and works in case other containment seems triggering.
And the inner archive, which is specific for DID SystemWork.
If you learn nothing else, use the safe place and containment. They can get you very far.
There are more imagery exercises that can help you to reduce stress and feel better. Imagery can be a tool of self-care as well.
The inner garden: a beautiful inner place in nature, where you can relax. Some like to have their team meetings here.
The cleansing bath: brings you to a water source of your choice where you can be refreshed and restored.
The healing light: let yourself be filled with a cleansing light to feel lighter and less burdened.
The light of truth: helps you to overcome transference and to get a better idea of yourself or your parts.
The tree exercise: for grounding, stability and finding rest. This can also be done with a DID system, as every part can choose their own tree.
The magic store: a place where you can find protective gear and magic tools to support you in your daily life. Especially Littles might enjoy exploring this.
The Dance: meet loved ones for a sense of connection, comfort or encouragement
The break for re-organizing: for when seasons change, to sort through everything we carry with us and decide what to keep, includes instructions for DID
Feel free to google what you can’t find here or come back later, when we have caught up with writing.
Here are our favorite imagery exercises for Littles (and adults who don’t take themselves too seriously)
The Little baahn’t-go-on: a cute and colorful sheep that helps children to let go of stress.
It’s magic: chasing away nightmares
and invisibility for scared Littles
If you have DID, then imagery is a tool to influence your inner world, the place were parts live, when they are not fronting. It is a little world in itself that follows the rules of a fantasy world: anything is possible. You can create things within your inner world to make it the perfect place for all of you.
Some inner worlds start off as scary places, with parts stuck in trauma time re-experiencing horrible memories. Your T can help you with a “rescue mission” to get them out of a dark place and find them a nice corner in your inner world. You can use your imagination to turn darkness into light. It is your inner world and you can shape it as you like.
Imagination takes practice. No pressure. There is no standard to live up to. Do what works for you. If you realize that you don’t like an exercise, change it. If you still don’t like it, don’t do it. This is supposed to support you, not stress you out.
The nice thing about imagination is that you are the creator of your inner pictures, you rule over your inner world. The possibilities are endless.
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