Controlling Adrenaline Stress: Mental Imaging

I have previously discussed controlling adrenaline by means of breath control and by means of the battle cry. Now I want to address the topic of how to control your adrenaline by means of creative mental imaging. The first question to answer is whether you can actually use your imagination to manage adrenaline.

Anyone who has heard Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" routine and remembers being scared silly by a story on radio, TV, the movies or just sitting around the campfire knows the power of imagination to stimulate adrenaline flow. If your imagination can initiate adrenaline stress, it's not too far a stretch to accept the fact that you can use your imagination to learn to control that same stress.

The technique is the same that I've seen described in books on sales training. Beginning salesmen often have a fear of the prospective customer (closely associated with a rush of adrenaline). Even experienced professionals become "gunshy" at a prospect's objections. To overcome that stress, the knowledgeable pro will use a technique based on creative imaging.

In "Controlling Adrenaline Stress: Mental Imaging, 2" I plan to describe the technique of mental imaging as it's used for controlling stress.