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b y j a m e s n e w e l l d i l l a r d
(9/8/2010 4:54:18 PM
EDT)
Imagine You're Healing - Can I reduce my menstrual cramps?
Q: My girlfriend, a yoga teacher, says that I can reduce my menstrual cramps by just imagining that the muscles down there are melting away. I tried it, and it kind of worked, but maybe I'm just imagining that, too. Is there anything to this visualization stuff, or is it just more New Age hogwash?
A: Hogwash is a little harsh, particularly because there is some good evidence that using your imagination can have real effects on your health and your physical performance. Besides, if something simple like this can make you feel better, then why should you care what other people think about it? Using your imagination to have effects on how you feel, how well you heal and what you're able to do is not a new idea. I'll give you some examples of what we call guided imagery, talk about the scientific rationale and suggest some practical applications. This hog water is actually pretty clean.
Did you see the episode of ER where George Clooney (who plays Dr. Doug Ross) was treating a teenage boy who was going into a crisis with his sickle cell anemia? Sickle cell is an abnormality of the red cells in the blood that can cause tremendous tissue pain. The kid was already in a lot of pain and quite agitated. As "Dr. Ross" was preparing pain medicine, he put the kid through a perfect imagery relaxation routine by asking him, "Where's the safest place you know?" The boy said, "my grand mama's kitchen." Ross told the child to go there in his mind, and before the pain medicine was even delivered, the boy was much more relaxed and calm. This was an excellent illustration of how imagery can be used.
This is not just the stuff of Hollywood. Competitive athletes have been using similar techniques for years. Olympic high jumpers will imagine the jump in their minds before they start their run. Mentally walking through a challenging performance or maneuver actually trains the mind to do it correctly.
There's real science behind it. It turns out that when you imagine a particular activity, you activate the exact same parts of the brain that you would activate if you were actually doing the motions. There appears to be a one-to-one relationship in the cortical brain between action and thought. This has been shown by using a very sophisticated brain imaging process called a PET scan. The scientists call this brain phenomenon "isomorphic representation." One of the best papers describing it is in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, (Volume 8, January 1996) if you're into looking up papers.
For more information on this subject, I talked to my colleague Jeanne Achterberg. She is the senior editor of the journal Alternative Therapies and author of the book "Rituals of Healing" (Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1994). She has been teaching, writing about and using therapeutic imagery with her patients for many years.
The classic guided imagery techniques have involved things like imagining that each of your white blood cells is the old video game character Pac-Man, and that they will go out and gobble up bad things in the body like bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. This is still fine, but therapeutic imagery has come along way since the early days.
Achterberg clarified that we don't like to call these techniques "visualizations" now, because as many as one-fourth of us can't actually create clear pictures in our minds. We use the term "imagery" instead, because it is "thought using all the senses." Musicians may find sounds more powerful than visual images, chefs will prefer smells, and dancers may best conjure up physical motions. The idea is to use all of your senses and create images with them that feel soothing and healing. These techniques have important concrete applications.
Before someone undergoes chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, Achterberg will work with that patient to find what images and sensations work best for that individual. She will often make tapes for the patient to listen to that are made up of that person's own healing images. After listening to the tapes, the patient will go into the procedure in much better emotional and possibly physical shape than they would have without this work.
I know that some of you are thinking, "Yeah, right, this stuff sounds just a bit too fluffy." I understand that thought, but let me tell you something. I bet I could describe some things that I've seen in the hospital well enough to make you come close to throwing up. How is that possible when nothing is actually going on in present time? It is possible, and this shows the power of the mind. If the clear sound of a dental drill and the smell of burning tooth enamel can make you squirm and raise your blood pressure, then why couldn't positive, soothing images have the opposite physical effects?
One word of caution here. Though these techniques have been used for years, and many patients and practitioners swear by their therapeutic power, it has yet to be proved that guided imagery can be relied upon to cure serious illnesses like cancer or heart disease. There is good science behind many of the positive responses, but all the answers aren't in. As with many alternative techniques, more and better research is needed. But remember that unproven is not disproved. Guided imagery can certainly make people relax and feel more positive. And if imagery can make a patient less scared and more comforted, then that alone is of great value.
How do you get into using guided imagery? Well, you can buy Achterberg's or others' books on the subject, or look for guided imagery tapes in your local bookstore or health food store. Many mental health professionals know these techniques well, and can give you personal assistance. There may be a course in guided imagery offered by your local hospital, such as the one that Achterberg will soon be teaching along with healing heavyweights Dr. Martin Rossman and Dr. O. Carl Simonton at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York City. With a little digging around, you can find lots of these kinds of resources.
So it's not crazy to use positive internal body images or to conjure up other soothing sensory experiences in your mind. They can have real effects, and you've got to like price tag. With a little extra training, you can really sharpen up your imagery skills. Our imaginations are a powerful tool, and are always available to us. And now, I imagine I'm done.
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