Guided Visualisation involves applying all of your attention and focus in imagining that you are physically in another place, typically somewhere that invokes feelings of calm and relaxation. Much more than simply daydreaming, the ‘Guided’ element of the exercise involves prompts to aid you in exploring your visualisation, using all 5 of your senses to notice as much detail as possible.

Research and randomized clinical trials (such as Felix et al 2018) have demonstrated that guided visualisation can significantly reduce feelings of anxiety.

It’s normal to feel awkward or self-conscious when first using this technique, but with a little practice you can become focussed and absorbed in your visualisation, so that without your attention to sustain them, the anxious feelings you were experiencing will naturally reduce and subside.