EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDED IMAGERY ON PERCEIVED STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG ELDERLY IN SELECTED SETTINGS, CHENNAI

The word ?Stress? was originally an engineering term used to refer to the amount of force that a beam or other physical support could bear without collapsing under the strain. The problem comes when we push ourselves beyond our limitations, beyond what we were intended to bear without permanent damage. Stress is a normal part of everyday life. As long as we keep that stress with reasonable limits, there are no problems but when we allow it to exceed its reasonable limits, trouble begins. Guided imagery is a simple intervention which uses one?s imagination to promote mental and physical health. It helps the elderly to cope up with the activities including memories of plans as developed to solve the difficult situation. A pre experimental research design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of guided imagery regarding perceived stress and quality of life. The data was collected by using older adult perceived stress scale to identify the stress and quality of life to identify the quality leads by the elderly. Guided imagery (Audio ? Walking on the beach) was administered for the group. The collected data were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that the 2(6.6%) doesn?t have stress level and they gain normal level, 18(60%) were fully developed mild stress level, 8(26.6%) having moderate stress level and 2(6.6%) were having severe stress level had neutral level after the post test. This study finding showed that the stress level of the elderly decreased quality of life has improved after received guided imagery. There was significant association for perceived stress with sex, education, type of family, and treatment. There was no significant association for the quality of life with any other demographic variable.