Read the text and answer the following questions
A person P stays stressed all the time. Whenever P is asked how is he doing? his most common response is either showing worry on ‘what am I going to do’, ‘this isn’t happening to me’ or just saying ‘let it be, let us go out for dinner’. His friends and family are really concerned because he is not able to do the activities like he wanted to and even misses out deadlines at workplace very frequently. His friends and family supported him throughout and helped him seek professional help. The therapist helped him in deciding his priorities, and dealing directly with stressful situation. In addition to this, he was also taught strategies to relax through deep breathing and muscle relaxation, and practice creative visualization. After 10 sessions, finally he has learnt how to manage stress better, he is able to complete the task on deadlines, his health and social life has also improved. He has moved out of the city with his wife and his newborn child. This time he is much happier and stress free.
Which of the following technique reduces the risk of interference from unbidden thoughts and provides the creative energy needed for turning an imagined scene into reality?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Creative visualization
Option (1) Systematic desensitisation — Incorrect. Introduced by Wolpe, it is a behaviour therapy technique for treating phobias or irrational fears. The client, kept relaxed, imagines fear-provoking situations from the least to the most frightening. It uses imagination to remove a fear, not to turn an imagined scene into reality.
Option (2) Modelling — Incorrect. Here the client learns a behaviour by observing a role model, often the therapist at first, and small changes towards that behaviour are rewarded. It works through observation, not through imagery.
Option (3) Biofeedback — Incorrect. It monitors and reduces the physiological aspects of stress, such as heart rate, by giving feedback about the body’s current activity. The person learns to control that response, first in quiet conditions and then in everyday life.
Option (4) Creative visualization — Correct. It is a stress-management technique that uses imagery and imagination. One first sets a realistic goal, then visualises it with a quiet mind, a relaxed body and eyes closed. This calm state keeps unbidden thoughts away and gives the energy needed to make the imagined scene real. P was taught this technique in therapy.
Note: The case of P is built from NCERT’s own lines on coping with stress: the task-oriented strategy (‘deciding priorities and acting so as to deal directly with the stressful situation’), the examples of the emotion-oriented strategy (‘tell myself that it is not really happening to me, or worry about what I am going to do’) and creative visualisation, whose description this question quotes. The coping strategies and stress-management techniques make up most of this case; read their definitions and the book’s small examples line by line.
NCERT (2025-26): “Stress Management Techniques … Creative Visualisation : It is an effective technique for dealing with stress. Creative visualisation is a subjective experience that uses imagery and imagination. Before visualising one must set oneself a realistic goal, as it helps build confidence. It is easier to visualise if one’s mind is quiet, body relaxed and eyes are closed. This reduces the risk of interference from unbidden thoughts and provides the creative energy needed for turning an imagined scene into reality.” |