Star in Your Own Story: Using Creative Visualization to Tackle Your Triggers

On Tuesday, Terry turned in his resignation at the post office. He had just been offered a great job as an information specialist at a local bank. Years of working and going to school had finally paid off. His coworkers decided to host a big going-away party at the closest sports bar on Friday right after work.

Terry was grateful and excited, but nervous, too. During those years of office work and study, he had gained 14 kilograms and been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He was losing weight, and the prospect of starting the new job a few kilograms lighter and with better glucose levels was especially motivating. So how was he going to get through the big celebration and stay on track?

Terry tackled this situation using a technique called visualization, which is the focus of this article.

• It explains what visualization is and how it works.
• It describes how to use visualization to create and edit your own mental videotapes, so you can handle events and situation that you’re concerned may throw you off track.
• It explains how strong, positive self-statements, called affirmations, can help you use this technique successfully.

Terry’s Triggers and Temptations

Terry imagines the upcoming celebration ahead of time. Like watching a taped video of his celebration, he sees himself facing a whole lineup of possible pitfalls and tempting triggers:

• He sees himself entering the bar, which is already packed with lots of happy, eating, and drinking guests. It’s a big celebration!
• He sees himself as the center of attention among people — most are his good friends, but some he doesn’t know well.
• He sees and can almost smell a large pepperoni pizza.
• He sees large pitchers of beer that never seem to be empty.

In his mind, Terry plays the tape. He sees himself walking in to greet his coworkers and being immediately bombarded by noise, movement, smells — and lots of food and drink. He sees himself trying to make small talk with people he scarcely knows. He gets nervous and looks for something to calm him. Chips. Pizza. A cold glass of beer.

He sees himself nibble and sip without paying attention to how much he’s consuming. Before the tape and the evening are over, he has polished off a whole pizza, at least one basket of tortilla chips, lots of cheese dip, and a pitcher of beer.

A sad story? An unhappy ending? Not necessarily. Terry knows he could hop back on track the next day. But he doesn’t want the setback, and he doesn’t like the way the story ends. After all, he’s the hero.

Terry’s Tactics

So Terry decides to retape it and do some serious editing so that the scenes lead up to a different ending.

First, Terry identifies his trigger points. Then, he visualizes a different outcome to his encounter with each of them.

• In this new tape, he gets to the bar first, before it’s crowded and noisy — and before the food is ordered. He finds a chair in a comfortable spot that’s not too close to the bar.
• Terry asks a couple of his closest friends to stay with him, to offer support and encouragement, and to deflect a lot of the attention that he has trouble handling.
• Because Terry’s there early, he orders first. He sees himself ordering a small vegetable salad and eating it while he waits for his coworkers to arrive. He also finds out that he can order a tray of veggies with a light ranch dressing to dip them in. He has the tray ready and waiting when the pizzas are brought to the table.

In this edited version of Terry’s tape, the set is the same but the props have been replaced, and the story plays out differently. Terry’s in charge — star, director, and editor. He doesn’t succumb to nervous nibbling. He pays attention to what he eats. He eats more veggies than pizza and chips, and after a little glass of beer, he orders a pitcher of diet cola. End of story.

Well, not quite the end. Terry played the tape over in his mind several times before the party until it seemed both real and natural to him. He knew he could do it. By Friday, he was ready to go.

Visualizing Success

Consider using visualization the next time you’re facing a situation that has the potential of derailing you and getting you off the diabetes control track. Visualization is based on the following ideas:

• Start with a vision, an image, and keep that vision in your mind. What you envision is what you will come to believe.
• What you come to believe shapes your actions and the ways in which you create your life.

Suppose you want to sign up for a 10-kilometer run/walk to help raise money for your favorite cause. Play the tape forward. Do you see pitfalls on the path? Even though you’ve been walking regularly for a few weeks, you still don’t have the endurance to walk 10 kilometers at once. You see yourself faltering after a couple of kilometers. You see yourself stopping, turning back.

Now edit your tape. In the revised tape, you see yourself creating and carrying out a realistic strategy to get in shape and increase your endurance. You see yourself setting a realistic pace, taking breaks when you need them, drinking plenty of water, and reaching your goal. That’s the version you want to play over in your mind.

Just remember, though, that your story isn’t fiction. Set yourself up to win: Don’t create a tape in which you accomplish this overnight.

Affirmations to Help You Over the Humps

If you think you may need help going from vision, to belief, to action, you might try affirmations. Affirmations are brief, strong, positive, empowering statements a person repeats to himself or herself about something he or she wants to achieve or become. Affirmations are often used by people who follow mind/body practices like yoga.

Keep in mind that, although affirmations are about change, they are not cast in the future. Here’s how they work:

• Start an affirmation with “I … .” It is a personal statement.
• State it in the present tense. “I am …”
• Make it a positive statement about you. “I am a strong person and in control of my life.”
• Repeat it every day until it actually reflects how you see yourself. You can think your affirmation, say it aloud, and write it down — whatever works for you.

Try Out This Technique

First, write some event or situation you will encounter in the next two or three weeks that might test your ability to stay on track. Or choose one you struggled with in the past.

Now, picture yourself at that event or in that situation, and play the tape. What pitfalls or eating triggers do you encounter and how are you likely to react to them?

Now, edit your tape. Walk through the event or situation again. In this version, describe how, every time you encounter a pitfall or eating trigger, you see yourself successfully dealing with it.

Write down one affirmation to help you put your new tape into action.

I

Summary

• Visualization is a wonderful strategy for anticipating and handling events or situations where you may struggle and possibly get off track in your diabetes control program.
• Visualization includes picturing yourself in that problematic situation, then playing that tape. In other words, you imagine how you may react as you come across possible pitfalls and triggers. Then, you edit your own mental tape to create a more successful scenario, and play it over and over in your mind until that tape becomes a blueprint for a successful experience.
• Using strong, positive, empowering self-statements called affirmations can help you go from your vision, to a belief that you can fulfill this vision, to making it happen in the real world.