Visualisation: Training your brain for Calm, Clarity and Confidence

Understanding how visualisation rewires your brain and how to use that elite power to prepare, perform and prevail.

Visualisation Techniques of High Performers: A Formula One driver, military pilots, and an elite athlete highlight the mental focus and strategy required in their demanding fields.

I recently stumbled across a fascinating Instagram reel. It showed a group of military pilots sitting in silence, eyes closed and mentally flying a mission.  I was captivated by their precision and intent. Each one mentally rehearsing flying a jet! Quite frankly, I had forgotten that many years ago, I had read about elite athletes and Formula One drivers engaging in this sort of mental training. Apparently, they mentally followed the track, and visualised the perfect lap moment by moment, challenge by challenge. Most of us use this mental ability, when we are reading, or for example if we are planning to go somewhere or do something.  This is called visualisation. It is a sort of mental rehearsal that is grounded in psychology and neuroscience. It is not just motivational babble. This mental process prepares individuals to manage high-pressure situations through simulation. In the real situation, the brain then responds as though it has already “experienced” the scenario. This means there is less anxiety, and the body follows with much more confidence and calmness. Amazing right!

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The Psychology Behind Visualisation

Exploring the power of visualization: A creative workspace scene depicting a man deep in thought, surrounded by vibrant visual symbols of ideas and aspirations, illustrating the cognitive technique of mental practice.

In this blog I explore the psychology and neuroscience of visualisation and how the technique can be applied in our everyday life. It is a method that supports our well-being and can even help reduce feeling overwhelmed when we have important things to face. Essentially, visualisation is a type of mental practice or cognitive technique that is well supported by scientific theories. I have selected the psychological theories I found compelling to further explain the effectiveness of this training. Hopefully, you will be more prone to trying the technique if you can make sense of how it affects your body and emotions.

• Cognitive Theory of Mental Imagery

  According to this theory, mental imagery is a cognitive ability, like the mind’s eye or an internal visualisation process. This means, we can experience sensory perceptions such as taste, sound, sight touch or smell without engaging in direct sensory involvement. An example: imagine an elephant standing on a table, think about the the mental imagery when reading a book. These examples demonstrate the power of the brain’s ability to engage in this process.

• Psychoneuromuscular Theory

  Rooted in sports psychology, it proposes that mental rehearsal activates neural pathways in the brain and muscle memory as physical movement. In other words, even if we do not move, our brain sends low intensity pulses to the corresponding muscles which can contribute to real improvement in motor skills or performance. 

• Symbolic learning Theory

  This theory suggests that we learn through symbols and patterns as well as direct experience. Thus, when an individual participates in visualisation, the mental process creates a blueprint in the brain of the mission or race or whatever they wish to accomplish. In fact, field sports like football and rugby are known for using mental mapping to plan their moves and strategies. The patterns are encoded in the central nervous system (CNS), making the actual movement more fluid and automatic.

• Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura)

  Albert Bandura developed the self-efficacy theory.  He proposed that our belief in our ability to succeed has an impact on our motivation, persistence and emotional regulation. Thus, visualisation can reinforce self-efficacy as we can “see” ourselves succeed. By rehearsing positive outcomes, we can build confidence and resilience which can as a result help us manage stress or being under pressure,

• Dual-Coding Theory (Paivio)

  A cognitive theory that suggests we process information better when it is encoded visually and verbally. In other words, during visualisation the individual engages in both self-talk and mental imagery. The combination makes the programming process stronger and thus we can retain plans, instructions and manage emotional regulation when applied in real life. This powerful pairing is useful in learning and performance.  

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Imagery Rescripting

  Imagery rescripting is a technique is where individuals are asked to reimagine a painful experience and more empowering outcomes. This is a form of visualisation that shifts the emotional response and challenge the limited beliefs while developing new coping skills. This is effective in anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and low self-esteem.

The Neuroscience Behind Visualization

Harnessing the power of the mind: An artistic depiction of mental energy and its transformative potential.

The brain is a powerful machine. You might have heard the phrase “mind over matter”? A bit cliché but three words that reinforce the concept that we can control a physical challenge by using our minds.  This is fascinating because the brain does not distinguish between a real or imagined experience.  Physical practice is necessary for the body to be stronger, more agile and more precise depending on the requirement. Similarly, with repeated visualisation the neural pathways or mental maps become stronger which helps someone to act with more precision and confidence.

Brain Regions Involved

In case you are curious, the following outlines the different brain regions that fire up during visualisation are:

• Motor Cortex (frontal lobe): responsible for planning and movement. Lights up during visualisation almost as if the body was moving. Results in enhancing emuscle memory and coordination. 

• Prefrontal Cortex: responsible for the focus, planning attention and decision making. During visualisation, the future planning maps out what is required and through anticipated outcomes prepares adaptive responses.

• Amygdala: processes emotions. The brain stress response can be down regulated when we imagine scenario calmly. Visualisation is very effective in improving performance anxiety, phobias and emotional dysregulation.

• Cerrebullum and basal Ganglia: involved in learning through feedback. The cerebellum supports error-based learning, and the basal ganglia is reward-based learning and habit forming. They work together supporting coordination, movement and habits.  Visualisation strengthens the neural loops and links intention with action which is key for learning new skills.

Application of Visualisation

There are many ways of applying visualisation, it is not only for elite athletes and adrenalin producing careers or sports.  We can all use it and benefit from something that we all have the power to do – and this – using our minds to create calm. in our lives from well-being, to work and just everyday lives.

In the workplace, it can be used to rehearse presentations or prepare for negotiations and leadership positions. It is even used in criminology to prepare for interviews with criminals so that the interviewers remain calm and focused.

In mental health, visualisation can be applied to reduce anxiety, reframe trauma or increase self-compassion. We can build resilience, rescript painful memories, imagine calmness and visualise nurturing experiences by rewiring them away from negative inner narratives.

But what matters to us on a day-to-day basis is the most important.  It can help us with those everyday unavoidable stressors. We can plan a hectic day, (young mothers are exceptionally good examples of juggling important tasks. We can mentally plan our days and even remain calm in traffic jams. Another important element to reduce anxiety is learning to set boundaries without feelings of guilt.

At the end of the day – what is visualisation? It is basically a script that we can prepare and mentally rehears so that we do not react to situations but respond more appropriately.

Mind’s Eye is a Tool

The takeaway from this, I hope, is that visualisation is not wishful thinking or psychobabble. It is mental training. Fighter pilots, therapists, teachers, parents, students are all trying to maintain a level of internal balance.  We are all trying to navigate busy and potentially stressful situations.  This is where visualisation can help.  You can mentally rehearse success, regulate your emotions and prepare your mind to face challenges with confidence.  And, the best part…… you already have the tools.

Now close your eyes……

take a deep breath in….

hold….hold…hold…..hold….hold….

now slowly breathe out through the mouth by pursing your lips….

keep doing this…..

When you’re ready….

Begin……

NivsD (8th June 2025)

Further reading:

• Auvinen-Lintunen, L., Ilonen, T., Kieseppä, T., Suvisaari, J. and Lindgren, M. (2021). Mental Imagery in Early Psychosis. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, p.027623662110217. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/02762366211021762.

• Bi, Y. (2021). Dual coding of knowledge in the human brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(10), pp.883–895. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.07.006.

• Boccaccio, F.M., Pennisi, A., Guerrera, C.S., Platania, G.A., Torre, V., Varrasi, S., Venera Francesca Vezzosi, Coco, F., Castellano, S. and Pirrone, C. (2024). Mental Imagery between Cognition and Emotion: A Narrative Review. Psychiatry International, [online] 5(4), pp.697–717. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint5040049.

• Borah, B. and Yadav, A. (2017). EFFECT OF PSYCHONEUROMUSCULAR THEORY AND VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE IN REDUCING ANXIETY LEVEL OF SOCCER FEMALE PLAYERS IN COMPETITION SITUATIONS. International Journal of Behavioral Social and Movement Sciences, [online] 6(2), pp.01–06. Available at: https://ijobsms.org/index.php/ijobsms/article/view/339.

• Clarke, R., Kelly, R. and Hardy, A. (2022). A randomised multiple baseline case series of a novel imagery rescripting protocol for intrusive trauma memories in people with psychosis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 75, p.101699. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2021.101699.

• Gallagher, M.W. (2012). Self-Efficacy. [online] ScienceDirect. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123750006003128.

• Todorov, D.I., Capps, R.A., Barnett, W.H., Latash, E.M., Kim, T., Hamade, K.C., Markin, S.N., Rybak, I.A. and Molkov, Y.I. (2019). The interplay between cerebellum and basal ganglia in motor adaptation: A modeling study. PLOS ONE, 14(4), p.e0214926. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214926.

• Walker, B. (2015). The mechanisms underlying imagery in sport. [online] BelievePerform - The UK’s leading Sports Psychology Website. Available at: https://members.believeperform.com/the-mechanisms-underlying-imagery-in-sport/ [Accessed 18 Apr. 2023].

• Waters, F., Blom, J.D., Dang-Vu, T.T., Cheyne, A.J., Alderson-Day, B., Woodruff, P. and Collerton, D. (2016). What Is the Link Between Hallucinations, Dreams, and Hypnagogic–Hypnopompic Experiences? Schizophrenia Bulletin, [online] 42(5), pp.1098–1109. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbw076.