The Decider Skills for Self Help online self help course

Imagery for Physical Health Conditions

There is some evidence of benefits of using imagery in treating physical conditions including tumours, and/or the symptoms of cancer and its associated treatment.

Many individuals report finding it empowering and helpful to use imagery to help them fight the illness themselves. See links below for more information about the suggested effectiveness and recommendations of imagery for tumours/cancer.

Start with a short relaxation exercise or mindful breathing.

Then bring up an image of the tumour or cells being destroyed by the treatment and the body's immune system. The tumour cells should be seen as weak and ineffective, whilst the treatment is seen as strong, powerful and friendly. Individuals find their own idea for this - perhaps firemen with hoses, 'pacman' type creatures, or knights on white horses. This should be done 10-15 minutes a day, 3 times daily.

Simonton et al (1978) stress the importance of the following:

the cancer cells are seen as weak and confused
the treatment is strong and powerful
the healthy cells are able to repair slight damage caused by the treatment
the body's natural defences - the white blood cells - are vast in number and overwhelm the cancer cells
the white blood cells are aggressive and energetic, quickly targeting and destroying the cancer cells
dead cancer cells are flushed out from the body in the normal way
the individual should then imagine him/her self healthy and free of cancer, reaching their life goals

cancer cell being invaded

This technique can also be used to either increase and strengthen or decrease the numbers of blood cells, for instance increasing neutrophils in treating chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

Start with relaxation or mindful breathing
Take a few breaths, then imagine yourself travelling down through your body into your bone marrow.
Look and listen around you and notice what is happening - how the blood cells are created, what speed they're being created at, how many there are going into blood stream
As you look around, notice a control system, and see how it works - how to speed up or slow down the process, how to increase or decrease the number of particular blood cells
Imagine yourself altering this control system in order to decrease or increase the numbers of cells, or speed at which they're being created
Notice the effect this has

If the aim is to increase in number of blood cells or speed of production....

Notice the powerful and enthusiastic youthful energy of these new cells as they are released into the bloodstream
See those cells purposefully setting off to do what to do what they do, increasing in numbers and strength
See any unhealthy cells as weak and confused
See them gathering as great armies of cells at sites where they're needed, fulfilling their purpose, being added to as reinforcements continually arrive
See yourself strong and healthy, achieving your goals

Colour

If using colour in imagery, do not use red to denote the cancer cells as this suggests strength and energy. Most people choose to see the cancer as black or grey. Green or turquoise are good colours for healing, blue for relaxation, but you can use any colour (other than red) that you associate with healing. See this webpage for use of colour

HEALING COLOURED LIGHT visualisation mp3Female voice, with music. 13 mins 40

2.50

Using colour imagery to target particular psychological or physical problems such as anxiety, stress, insomnia, depression, chronic pain, infections and tumours.

HEALING COLOURED LIGHT visualisation mp3
Male voice, with music.

15 mins
2.50

Using colour imagery to target particular physical or psychological problems such as chronic pain, infections and tumours, anxiety, stress, insomnia and depression.

MINDFUL BREATHING mp3
Female voice, with music.