Can you fantasize? Think imagination is childish nonsense? Coach Olga Armasova disagrees and suggests developing imagination to cope with stress.
In my practice, I often work with clients’ imaginations. This is a resource for raising the mood and an opportunity to be distracted. I noticed that some clients find it difficult to imagine themselves in an imaginary place and circumstances, turn off critical thinking and dream up.
These limitations come from childhood, when the development of visual abilities was hindered by the “right” adults. Scolding the child for purple elephants and flying frogs, parents devalued the imaginary world.
Such clients often reject the use of rendering-related methods. But imagination is a property given to us by nature, and what is the surprise of clients when, in practice, they note that they are very capable of imagining.
I use visualization to put a person into a meditative state. It helps connect with a sense of peace and security.
You need to start small. Mental images can give rise to very real feelings and sensations. Imagine that you are cutting and biting a lemon. I’m sure some of you even grimaced, as if your mouth was sour. From the imaginary heat you can warm up, and from the imaginary cold you can freeze. Our task is to use the imagination consciously.
I use visualization to put a person into a meditative state. It helps connect with a sense of peace and security. As a result, external circumstances, problems and anxieties fade into the background, and a person can meet his inner child and overcome the traumatic experience. Imagination helps to see the result already achieved, which inspires and pleases.
The depth of immersion is different. Someone lacks concentration, and their imagination «does not obey», constantly returning to reality. Those who perform the exercise not for the first time are able to imagine more and more details, to change their places. They are less and less consciously controlling the development of events, thereby allowing themselves to relax.
Imagination training gives good results. You can train on your own or with a partner.
My clients really love it when I ask them to imagine themselves on the ocean in the Maldives. Women with pleasure and a smile plunge into the proposed circumstances. This exercise is well suited for group activities and helps to lighten the mood, relax the participants and show them that their imagination is working.
The images that clients share after the exercises amaze with their beauty, individuality, and creativity of solutions! And visualization exercises used to work with the unconscious often put an end to the resolution of difficult life situations, giving answers to questions that seemed unsolvable.