Guided Imagery and Smoking Cessation
Some smokers may be able to quit by seeing themselves do it in their minds. A study of 71 smokers found that those who went through guided-imagery therapy had more than twice the abstinence rate 2 years later as their peers who received only standard counseling. The guided imagery involved progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises to calm and focus the mind. Then study participants were led in visualizing themselves in a healthful state and performing specific activities, such as exercising, eating well -- and not smoking. The tactic seemed to work for at least some. Two years later, 26 percent of the smokers had quit, compared with 12 percent of those in the comparison group. Though most smokers in each group had failed to kick the habit, the abstinence rate in the guided imagery group was, in context, "very good." SOURCE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Winter 2005.

Guided Imagery Script

Guided Imagery Exercise