When we think of obsessions, we almost always think of the person who washes their hands dozens of times a day, who needs to walk without stepping on the lines on the floor, or who is a neat freak. However, this is the most visible part of obsessions; they are rituals that provide a little calm, but often they are not even the most worrying part of the situation. In fact, in many cases the real turmoil occurs inside, in the mind. Recurrent thoughts can be very exhausting.
Unfortunately, fighting obsessions is not easy; there is no magic formula that can erase those annoying thoughts in one fell swoop. In fact, a curious phenomenon often occurs: the more we try to avoid unwanted thoughts, the more they intensify, since the self-monitoring system we put into practice is totally counterproductive. Therefore, there comes a time when we feel that these thoughts are taking over our mind and we don’t know how to stop them. What to do?
Effective visualization techniques that you can easily apply
1. Back on the line
A good strategy for eliminating obsessions is to imagine that our mind is a straight line, like a road, and our thoughts are a car moving along that line. When you have an unwanted thought that obsesses you, imagine the car going off the road, straight into the ditch, and staying there for some time.
It is important that you imagine this situation in as much detail as possible, so you may need to take your time. Afterwards, simply go on your way as if nothing had happened, and you will notice that the obsessive thoughts will stop bothering you. It is likely that at first you will find it difficult to imagine all the details, but with practice you will improve and be able to control the obsessions more quickly.
2. Stop
Another, much simpler strategy is to imagine a big stop sign on the road. Imagine that you are walking along a path, again, trying to make the image as vivid as possible. Try to recreate the details of the path. At a certain point, you start to see a stop sign, and as you get closer it gets bigger and redder. You know that when you get to that point, all the thoughts that are bothering you will have to stop.
You continue walking and stop when you reach the sign, feeling how everything around you is calm. Once you have absorbed that serenity, you can continue on your way, leaving unwanted thoughts behind.
3. Let it flow
This time, imagine a fast-flowing river stretching out before your eyes, carrying with it the leaves of the nearby trees. Visualize yourself submerged in the river. Do not move on to the next phase until you have visualized the river and its surroundings well, until you feel that you are really there. You can recreate all the details you need to make the experience more real.
Now, go back to the thoughts that bother you and that you want to free yourself from. Imagine that they come out of you and become a sphere. Feel its texture, size and weight. Take that sphere in your hands and place it in the river, next to the leaves. Leave it there and watch how the current drags it, further and further away, until you see it disappear completely. As it disappears on the horizon, feel how the feeling of tranquility and inner peace fills you.
