Strengthening Immunity: The Science Behind Guided Visualization
The immune system is a powerful entity within the body that fights outside contagions and keeps the body safe. However, various diseases and treatments intended to treat health conditions can deplete the immune system, making people susceptible to illnesses that the body will struggle to fight.
Guided visualization has been shown to improve immune function. Some of these effects are due to its relaxing and stress-reducing effects, whereas others stem from the active imagining of the immune system functioning more effectively. There’s a reason why children strengthen their imagination through play, and it’s not a skill that we should forget the power of as we grow older.
Compiled below are five studies and reviews investigating the effect of guided visualization on the immune system and how activating the mind can protect the body as a whole.
Table of Contents
1. Guided Visualization Increases White Blood Cell Counts
2. Guided Visualization Reduces Inflammatory Markers and Signs of Biological Aging
3. Immune Cells Increase in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Thanks to Guided Visualization
4. Imagining an Effective Immune System Increases Natural Killer Function
5. Guided Visualization Activates the Immune System During Breast Cancer Treatment
1. Guided Visualization Increases White Blood Cell Counts
While many studies have investigated the effects of guided imagery on the immunity of different patients, Ephraim C. Trakhtenberg compiled all the existing evidence into one complete review, exploring how guided visualization, one of the world’s oldest healing resources, affects the immune system.
The impact of guided visualization is more wide-reaching than many know, and it primarily stems from the connection between immune functioning and stress, with stress depressing the immune system and declining an individual’s health. As such, interventions that reduce stress, such as guided visualization, should positively affect the immune system. This theory has been confirmed through practice and research.
One measure of immune function is white blood cell (WBC) count, with a poor immune system correlating to a depressed WBC count. However, a study completed in 2000 found that WBC counts significantly increased after 30, 60, and 90 days for ill patients who completed guided imagery. Interestingly, WBC counts initially decreased, which may be due to margination as the WBC moved to locations where they were most needed. However, with continued use of guided visualization, WBC counts increased, occurring earlier in medical patients than in healthy individuals.
2. Guided Visualization Reduces Inflammatory Markers and Signs of Biological Aging
Mindfulness meditation is a form of mental training that engages the mind, and research has now revealed that it can also affect the biological mechanisms that underlie disease and aging.
Black & Slavich completed a literature review of 20 randomized controlled trials concerning the effects of mindfulness meditation on the immune system. The researchers found that mindfulness meditation is associated with reduced proinflammatory processes, increased enzyme activity guarding against cell aging, and increased cell-mediated defense parameters.
The results of this literature review demonstrate the specific areas of the immune system that improve with the help of mindful meditation and how engaging the mind can reduce inflammation and protect the body from cellular aging.
3. Immune Cells Increase in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Thanks to Guided Visualization
A breast cancer diagnosis can be a stressful situation, with different treatments further contributing to these feelings of stress. However, stress can suppress immunity through its activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA)—when stress activates the HPA, the production of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) increases, which releases immune-inhibitory hormones and suppresses the immune system. Thus, chronic stressful events can modulate the body’s defenses and suppress the immune system, potentially influencing a patient’s possibility of cancer survival.
Eremin et al. completed a study investigating how guided visualization impacts the amount of immune cells present in advanced breast cancer patients. Eighty women were included in the study and had undergone chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, surgery, or hormone therapy. On ten occasions during the 37 weeks following diagnosis, blood was taken to measure various immune cells and inflammatory markers as the participants completed guided imagery.
The number of mature T cells after treatment was significantly higher in patients who completed guided imagery. Even more interesting is that the women who rated their imagery highly had elevated levels of NK cell activity.
Overall, this study revealed the immune cells and inflammatory markers affected by guided visualization, showing how this practice can activate the immune system. These effects of guided visualization can be especially helpful for cancer patients undergoing treatment that otherwise depletes the immune system.
4. Imagining an Effective Immune System Increases Natural Killer Function
What we imagine within our mind can significantly affect our physical well-being, as evidenced in a study by Zachariae et al., in which imagining the immune system as being effective brought it to reality.
Ten healthy subjects were included in the study and asked to complete a 1-hour relaxation procedure and one combination of relaxation and guided imagery practice. The participants completed this every day for ten days. For the guided imagery procedure, the participants were instructed to imagine their immune system as being very effective.
The results of the study were fascinating. While the number of natural killer cells remained the same, there was a significant increase in their function after completing guided visualization for ten days, with each immune cell becoming more effective.
Not only does this study show that imagining a more effective immune system can bring the thought to reality, but it also showed this effect in healthy people instead of those with an already depleted immune system. With this study, we see that it’s possible for a healthy individual to further strengthen their immune system with guided visualization.
5. Guided Visualization Activates the Immune System During Breast Cancer Treatment
Guided visualization can activate the immune system during a treatment which otherwise suppresses it. A study completed at the University of South Florida on 28 breast cancer patients found that guided imagery and its relaxation abilities can increase natural killer cell cytotoxicity and cytotoxicity after IL-2 activation. These two values were measured before surgery and four weeks post-operation, with significant increases seen in those who underwent guided visualization compared to those who did not.
This study shows the value of guided visualization as an adjunct to surgery to improve immune function and offer breast cancer patients extra protection as their body recovers from surgery.
Support the Immune System with Guided Visualization
Immune function is a vital component of healthy living as it fights disease, infection, and the effects of aging. However, stress can significantly affect immune function, making stress-reducing practices, such as guided visualization, powerful tools for improving immune function.
The five articles summarized above demonstrate the ability of guided visualization to improve the immune system in both healthy and ill individuals, showing that the stress-reducing effects of guided visualization can help a person recover from illness or treatment while also serving as a way to protect the body from future infection and disease by boosting immune function.
Overall, guided visualization is a powerful adjunct to treatment for people looking to improve their immune function and minimize the risk of subsequent infections.
Read more in our series highlighting recent research on guided visualization’s effect on health and well-being below:
The Healing Power of Guided Visualization: A Journey to Shorter Recovery Times
Harnessing the Calming Power of Guided Visualization: Research on Reducing Anxiety and Stress
Elevating Well-Being: The Transformative Power of Guided Visualization
Navigating Chronic Illness: The Empowering Role of Guided Visualization
References
Trakhtenberg E. C. (2008). The effects of guided imagery on the immune system: a critical review. The International journal of neuroscience, 118(6), 839–855. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207450701792705
Black, D. S., & Slavich, G. M. (2016). Mindfulness meditation and the immune system: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12998
Oleg Eremin, Walker, M. B., Simpson, E., Heys, S. D., Ah-See, A. K., Hutcheon, A. W., Ogston, K. N., Sarkar, T. K., Segar, A., & Walker, L. G. (2009). Immuno-modulatory effects of relaxation training and guided imagery in women with locally advanced breast cancer undergoing multimodality therapy: A randomised controlled trial. The Breast, 18(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2008.09.002
R Zachariae, Kristensen, J. S., P Hokland, J Ellegaard, Metze, E., & M Hokland. (1990). Effect of Psychological Intervention in the Form of Relaxation and Guided Imagery on Cellular Immune Function in Normal Healthy Subjects. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 54(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1159/000288374
Lengacher, C. A. (2016). Immune Responses to Guided Imagery During Breast Cancer Treatment - Cecile A. Lengacher, Mary P. Bennett, Lois Gonzalez, Danielle Gilvary, Charles E. Cox, Alan Cantor, Paul B. Jacobsen, Chiu Yang, Julie Djeu, 2008. Biological Research for Nursing. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1099800407309374
