It is already well known that imagining certain things can have a physiological effect on us. For example, imagining an intense situation can cause the heart rate to go up, while imagining a quiet, safe place might have the opposite effect (or maybe that one is simply a result of distracting oneself from whatever may cause unrest).Another example would be imagining yourself doing something you don't want to do. From what I understand, this reduces the stress of anticipating work.I wonder, though, what exactly separates this from actually doing what you imagine? what are the differences in the physiological effects? How different is the activation of the brain? (aside from the obvious - for example, imagining something physical happening to you, such as being punched, won't actually cause any bruising)
The line between fantasy and reality
visualization