Neuroscience has confirmed that the same pathways fire in your brain when you visualize doing something and when you actually do that thing. This fact holds incredible potential for us! An exercise I often walk my clients through to illustrate this concept is to visualize your safe place. It can be a real place you’ve been to before, or one totally made up. It should be a place where you can feel soothed, calm, and grounded. It doesn’t have to be one place: for some people the thought of staying in one place is agitating- in that case I suggest the safe place be a car, a bicycle, a horse, or a boat, and you are traveling through many safe places. There are no hard rules about visualizing a safe place: whatever feels best to you is perfect, even if it seems a little weird. Once you’ve decided on a safe place, practice visualizing every sensory detail you can. What does this place smell like? What are the sounds you can hear? Try to notice small details as you visualize looking around. What temperature is the air? It’s okay if you have trouble imagining vivid details: the practice of trying will increase your brain’s flexibility over time. Allow yourself to notice any changes in your body as you visualize yourself in this safe place. Maybe you notice your heart beat got a little slower. Maybe you feel a little heavier on the earth- more grounded. Maybe there is a softer sensation in your belly than there was before. When you are done with the visualization, consider how powerful it is that you can hold this place in your mind EVERYWHERE you go. It’s always there to take a “mini vacation” in when you need it. It’s present, waiting, and through the power of your own mind you always have access to it. #safeplace #visualization #ptsdtherapy #anxietytherapy #anxietysupport #ptsdrecovery #traumarecovery #mindfulness #mentalhealthtips #mentalhealththerapy #mentalhealththerapist #eugenetherapist
