Recommended Guided Imagery Audio Recordings

Belleruth Naparstek has pioneered "guided imagery" as a form to heal from depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  In this post, I go over some of the guided imagery audio recordings that I have used and find useful.  I hope that you will also find them useful.  If you are on a tight budget then consider looking for them at your local library - my library had several of them.  Some libraries even take requests from users, so you can request that they purchase them. 

Before I begin, let me briefly describe guided imagery.  Guided imagery is basically a form of meditation where symbolism and your imagination are used to explore and process deeper underlying emotions.  For some people, especially people with depression or deep inner turmoil, it can be a very powerful tool to work with your own subconscious.  It also has the added benefit of being something that you can do in the privacy of your own home where you can feel safe and protected and able to really open up and dig deep inside of yourself.  

If you are new to meditation, guided imagery can be a good stepping stone.  Most of the audio recordings come with a set of affirmations that are designed to help you develop positive thinking; these work best if you quiet your mind and block our negative thoughts and truly open up to the positive messages in the affirmations.  Since guided imagery and affirmations work on a subconscious level, they work particularly well when you listen to them right before you go to sleep. Guided imagery also has the advantage that you can do it from the comfort and safety of your own home where you can really relax, focus inwards, and open up to yourself.

I have to admit that the first time I lay down with my head phones on to listen to the guided imagery, I felt skeptical and a little silly.  At first, I couldn't help but laugh a little at the deep, soothing, articulate, and dramatic voice that came on.  I think I laughed more at myself then at the voice, since I felt so nervous and out of my element.  But gradually I settled in and really gave the recordings a chance.  Things were really bad for me when I checked out my my first guided imagery CDs from the library and I was completely destroyed - I spent the days sobbing uncontrollably in my room and drifting in and out of an exhausting series of flashbacks.  Half the time, I couldn't tell if I was alive, in a dream, or had traveled back in time to my childhood self.  I felt isolated, alone, and abandoned.  I felt terrified, enraged, and saddened.  I felt hopeless, powerless, worthless, and defeated.  The world stopped making sense and the future grim if at all imagined.  It was a very dark time as I felt that I was losing my grip on everything - even my own mind was out of my control.  Time ceased to exist.  Everything suffered - I couldn't think, my memory was disjointed, I couldn't focus on a conversation, I would slip in and out of thoughts even if I was in the middle of a conversation.  I felt numb and I lost interest in anything and everything that had ever given me joy.  I felt like a shell of a human being - like some strange phantom.  

I have felt these things and trust me when I say that things can get better and that they will get better.  Have faith.  Look for help from your family, friends, lover, books, audio, spiritual leaders/healers, therapists, travel, writing, exercise, meditation, yoga, etc - do anything and everything that you can.  I hope that my experience can give you ideas and a framework with which to work from.  Guided imagery was one of the first things to help me - it made my mind calm down and it helped me relax.  It especially helped me late at night when I would lie awake in my bed terrified - in a state of panic and hyper arousal - unable to sleep and sobbing as bad memories resurfaced in the form of vivid flashbacks.  The audio recordings became something comforting and soothing that I could focus on.  Many times when listening to them, I would fall asleep, but that didn't matter - they helped me get a deep and restful sleep at a time that that was nearly impossible.  Research also indicates that since the recordings function more on a subconscious level that dosing off or falling asleep while listening to them can actually make them more effective.

Below I list some guided imagery or guided meditation recordings that are designed for people experiencing depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and the associated feelings of anger, stress and grief.  There are many more designed for specific needs like preparing for surgery, getting through cancer, insomnia, alcohol/drug abuse, and weight loss, so you should browse their selection to decide which one is best for you.


Combat Depression



Healing Trauma (PTSD)

 


Panic Attacks




Healthful Sleep



Anger and Forgiveness






Ease Grief



Relaxation and Wellness



Relieve Stress



Self Confidence



NOTE:  To learn more about how guided imagery can specifically help with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) then please refer to Belleruth Naparstek's book, Invisible Heroes where she discusses the scientific evidence that supports its effectiveness: