Visualization & Imagery

What is Descent Journey?

Descent Journey is a guided visualization in which you imagine descending into an inner landscape, a cave, ocean depths, or a mythic underworld, to meet and work with hidden aspects of yourself.

Experiential Practice

Last Updated

4 Jul 2026

We are still reviewing this page. Our research team checks every technique page for accuracy and evidence quality before final release. Details may change as that review completes. The evidence badge shows our current reading of the published research.

RECOMMENDED DOSE

Recommended Practice Dose

No direct dose-response literature exists for this technique. These recommendations are based on general practice conventions for guided meditation and should be treated as starting points only. No direct dose evidence; editorial synthesis.

Session length

Session length: 5–10 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 2–3 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

Session length

Session length: 10–20 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 3–5 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

Session length

Session length: 20–30 minutes

MIN

How long each individual practice session should last from start to finish.

Frequency

Frequency: 5–7 days

DAYS

The number of days per week to fit a session into your routine.

About this card. No direct dose-response literature exists for this technique; the ranges shown are conservative starting points based on general meditation practice conventions. These recommendations are not a substitute for personalised guidance from a qualified practitioner.

Related Techniques to Descent Journey

Threshold Crossing

Archetypal Encounter

Common questions about Descent Journey

Quick answers to what people most often ask. Each card links to the deeper section below.

evidence

What does the research say about Descent Journey?

No controlled trials have tested Descent Journey, so its research base is early and theoretical. Its rationale draws on depth psychology and the descent myths of Inanna, Orpheus, and Persephone, supported only indirectly by general research on decentering and absorption during guided imagery. It is best understood as a promising, theory-led practice rather than a proven treatment.

good for

Who is Descent Journey good for?

Descent Journey may appeal to people carrying stuck grief, wanting a fresh perspective on a life transition, or hoping to understand parts of themselves that feel hard to face directly. Depth-psychology accounts associate it with emotional release and self-understanding, but these are indicative uses, not tested results, and it does not treat any diagnosed condition.

safety

Is Descent Journey safe?

Most healthy adults can explore Descent Journey at their own pace as a low-risk imaginative practice. Because the descent imagery softens the mental guardrails that hold difficult feelings at a distance, strong grief, fear, or vivid memories can surface intensely. People with trauma, active addiction, acute depression, dissociation, or thoughts of self-harm should work alongside a qualified therapist.

how it works

How does Descent Journey work?

Descent Journey is thought to work by deepening absorption, a narrowing of attention in which everyday self-monitoring quiets and inner imagery turns vivid. As the imagined descent carries you downward, that loosening of mental guard is thought to let feelings usually kept at arm's length surface as symbols you can hold rather than confront. These pathways come from depth-psychology theory.

For clinicians, researchers, and curious readers

What's in a session?

How does it work?

What does it do to the body?

What is it used for?

What does the research say?

Where does it come from?

Is it safe?Who should practise with care?How to practise safely?

How does it compare?

What does a Descent Journey session involve?

Descent Journey is a guided visualization where you imagine descending into an inner landscape to meet hidden parts of yourself.

The practice unfolds as a guided inward journey. Following a voice or your own imagination, you picture descending into a cave, an underground chamber, ocean depths, or a mythic underworld, and let the scene deepen step by step. As you go down, you meet symbolic figures or images that stand for hidden feelings and disowned parts of yourself, working with whatever surfaces rather than analysing it from the outside.

Descent Journey is a symbolic, depth-psychological visualization, not a literal out-of-body or supernatural experience and not a diagnostic or medical procedure. It differs from calming or sleep-focused imagery in that it deliberately moves toward difficult material rather than away from it. It is also not a proven treatment; its benefits are drawn from tradition and theory, not controlled trials, so it is best understood as experiential inner work rather than clinical therapy.

Not to be confused with

Astral projection / out-of-body experience

Descent Journey is symbolic inner visualization, imagining a descent to meet parts of the psyche. It makes no claim that awareness literally leaves the body or travels to a real place, which is what astral projection asserts.

Guided relaxation or body scan

Relaxation and body-scan practices aim to settle the nervous system and stay comfortable. Descent Journey deliberately deepens absorption to surface difficult material, so it is depth work rather than a wind-down, and the emotional charge can be far higher.

Past-life regression

Past-life regression frames surfacing imagery as memories of prior lifetimes. Descent Journey treats the underworld and its figures as symbols of one's own psyche, making no claim about literal past lives.

Lucid dreaming

Lucid dreaming happens during sleep, when you become aware you are dreaming. Descent Journey is a waking, guided visualization; the trance-like absorption it induces is not sleep, and you stay awake and directed throughout.

How does Descent Journey work?

Descent Journey is thought to work by deepening absorption, a narrowing of attention in which everyday self-monitoring quiets and inner imagery starts to feel vivid and immersive. As the imagined descent carries you downward, that loosening of ordinary mental guard is thought to let feelings and memories usually kept at arm's length surface as symbols, images you can hold and turn over instead of confronting head-on. For this practice these are proposed pathways drawn from depth-psychology theory and the shared descent motif in myth, not mechanisms measured in controlled studies.

Possible Mechanisms

Trance Absorption

Racing thoughts tend to recede as the imagined descent deepens, and attention draws steadily inward. Researchers call this absorption, a state where everyday self-monitoring quiets and inner imagery starts to feel vivid and immersive. For Descent Journey this is a proposed way the practice works rather than a measured one, drawn from depth-psychology theory rather than controlled trials.

Symbolic Processing

Working with images of descending into a cave, deep water, or an underworld gives a vague heaviness a shape you can hold and turn over. This is symbolic processing, the mind's use of metaphor and story to reach material that is hard to face head-on, which can make a stuck feeling seem more nameable and easier to work with. The science here is early and largely theoretical, so this is best read as how the practice is thought to work rather than a proven effect.

Affective Release

Grief or emotion that has felt stuck, or too hard to face head-on, may begin to move during a Descent Journey, as imagining a descent into an inner landscape offers a contained, symbolic space where held feelings become easier to reach and express. Practitioners often experience this as something moving through them and a sense of lightness or relief afterward, what depth psychology calls affective release, feelings that were held back becoming accessible rather than suppressed.

What does Descent Journey do to the body?

What Descent Journey does in the body has not been measured directly, so no physiological recordings exist for this specific practice yet. In experience, people often describe the body settling as attention turns inward, the breath slowing, and sometimes a physical charge, tears, warmth, or a loosening in the chest, as held emotion begins to move. Researchers have proposed shifts in the default mode network, the background pattern of self-referential thinking that tends to quiet when attention absorbs into imagery, but this is inferred from studies of related visualization rather than recorded during a descent.

What is Descent Journey used for?

Emerging evidence is where this practice stands: Descent Journey has not been tested in controlled trials, so no outcome has been confirmed for any specific condition. Practitioners and depth-psychology accounts associate it with emotional release and grief processing, perspective shifts and self-understanding, and a felt sense of working with difficult inner material, but these are indicative uses rather than demonstrated results. Not yet supported: randomized trials, effect sizes, long-term follow-up, or any claim that it treats trauma, depression, addiction, or any diagnosed condition.

What does the research say about Descent Journey?

No controlled trials have tested Descent Journey, so its research base is still early and largely theoretical. Its rationale comes from depth psychology and the wider mythological lineage of the descent story, supported only indirectly by general research on decentering, the shift from being caught in your thoughts to observing them at a distance, and on absorption and symbolic processing during guided imagery. People often describe the imagery as a doorway to feelings that are hard to approach head-on, but for now it is best understood as a theory-led practice that shows early promise rather than a proven treatment.

The available material is useful for setting expectations, but it is theory and indirect research rather than trials of this practice. Treat the ideas as general guidance rather than a promise about any single session, and not a replacement for clinical care.

Read the full reference list

Where does Descent Journey come from?

Descent Journey grows out of depth psychology and a descent theme that runs through world mythology, from the Sumerian goddess Inanna's journey to the underworld to the Greek stories of Orpheus and Persephone, later framed by Joseph Campbell as a stage of the hero's journey. Depth-psychology practitioners adapted this downward movement as a way to turn deliberately toward grief, shadow, and material below ordinary awareness. These roots help explain the practice's form, its structured descent toward hidden material, rather than proving any clinical effect.

Is Descent Journey safe?

For most healthy adults, Descent Journey is a low-risk imaginative practice you can explore at your own pace. The descent imagery is deliberately built to soften the mental guardrails that usually hold difficult feelings at a distance, so strong grief, fear, or vivid memories can surface faster and more intensely than they do in ordinary reflection. This caution is inferred from how the practice works and informed by practitioner experience, not measured in controlled trials of the technique. Anyone living with trauma, active addiction, acute depression, or current thoughts of self-harm should treat this as depth work to approach slowly, ideally alongside a therapist who can help steady whatever rises.

Who should practise with care?

Descent Journey warrants extra care for people with trauma histories, active addiction, acute depression, or current thoughts of self-harm, because the practice can bring up strong emotion or memory faster than it can be held alone. This caution comes from practitioner experience and from how the descent works, rather than from controlled trials of the technique. People prone to dissociation, the sense of feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings, should also approach the deep, absorbed state carefully, since it can heighten that detachment. In any of these situations, working with a qualified therapist rather than practising solo is the safer starting point.

Trauma history

lowpractice-informed

The descent imagery is built to soften the mental guardrails that usually hold difficult feelings at a distance, so strong grief, fear, or vivid memory can rise faster and more intensely than in ordinary reflection, which can be destabilising when trauma is present. Approach this as slow depth work alongside a qualified therapist who can help steady and reintegrate whatever surfaces, rather than practising alone. This caution is inferred from how the practice works and informed by practitioner experience, not from controlled trials of the technique.

Active addiction

low

How does Descent Journey compare to similar techniques?

Technique	Best for	Use with care	Evidence strength	Distinction
Shamanic Journey (broader practice)	Practitioners who want the full journeying cosmology and rhythmic drumming as the vehicle, not only downward imagery.		EVIDENCE	Descent Journey is one direction within the wider shamanic journeying family. Shamanic Journey as a whole also includes upper-world and middle-world journeys and is often carried by steady drumming or rattling, framed within a spirit-world cosmology. Descent Journey narrows that to the downward, underworld route used for meeting shadow, grief, and material below ordinary awareness.
Active Imagination (Jungian)	People comfortable following unscripted imagery without a set path or descent frame.		EVIDENCE	Active Imagination lets spontaneous inner images arise and unfold in open-ended dialogue, wherever the psyche leads. Descent Journey uses a guided, progressively deepening downward structure to reach that material. Both draw on depth psychology and symbolic processing; the descent gives the work a fixed direction and container, while Active Imagination stays deliberately unstructured.

Glossary

Descent (as metaphor)

The imagined movement downward, into a cave, deep water, or an underworld, used as a symbol for turning toward hidden, difficult, or below-the-surface parts of yourself.

Shadow material

The feelings, memories, and parts of yourself you tend to hide, avoid, or disown, which descent imagery is used to approach and work with more safely.

In depth psychology, the shadow refers to repressed or unintegrated aspects of the personality that fall outside conscious self-image.

Trance absorption

A state where attention narrows onto inner imagery and ordinary self-monitoring quiets, so the imagined scene feels vivid and immersive and you feel drawn inward.

Absorption / hypnotic susceptibility: reduced executive self-monitoring and critical evaluation under sustained focused attention, with lowered reality-testing.

Affective release

Held-back emotions becoming easier to feel and express, so they can move through you rather than stay suppressed, often felt as relief or lightness afterward.

Emotional catharsis / affect expression: reduced avoidance and suppression allowing difficult affect to become accessible and discharged, theorised to engage limbic-prefrontal circuits.

Symbolic processing

The way the mind uses images, metaphor, and story to reach and reorganise meaning that is hard to approach literally, so a vague heaviness can become more nameable.

Symbolic cognition / metaphorical reasoning: engaging associative networks that link abstract meaning with felt experience to support insight and integration.

Decentering

Stepping back from your thoughts and feelings to watch them as passing mental events rather than being swept up in them, which loosens automatic reactions.

Decentering / cognitive defusion: a shift from immersion in mental content to observing it with psychological distance, reducing identification and reactivity.

Full References

[1]other peer reviewed

Nicolas Farina, David J. Llewellyn, Mokhtar Isaac, Naji Tabet (2017). Vitamin E for Alzheimer's dementia and mild cognitive impairment. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd002854.pub5

DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd002854.pub5

Cited in: –

[2]other peer reviewed

Pike Kerryn E, Ellis Kathryn A, Villemagne Victor L, Good Norm, Chételat Gael, Ames David (2011). Cognition and beta-amyloid in preclinical Alzheimer's disease: data from the AIBL study.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.04.012

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.04.012

Cited in: –

Descent work can surface strong emotion or memory faster than it can be held alone, which may be difficult during active addiction. Treat it as depth work to approach slowly and ideally with a qualified therapist rather than as a solo practice. This is precautionary guidance from how the practice is used, not a measured safety finding.

Acute depression or thoughts of self-harm

lowpractice-informed

Because the practice can bring up strong feeling quickly, it is not a substitute for care when acute depression or current thoughts of self-harm are present. Work with a qualified therapist alongside any inner work rather than practising solo. This caution comes from practitioner experience and from how the descent works, not from trials of the technique.

Proneness to dissociation

lowpractice-informed

The deep, absorbed state a descent induces can heighten a sense of feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings. If you are prone to dissociation, approach the absorbed state carefully, keep sessions shorter, use grounding cues such as feeling your feet on the floor, and consider working with a therapist rather than practising alone.

Strong emotion surfacing faster than expected

lowpractice-informed

For most healthy adults this is a low-risk imaginative practice, but the loosening of ordinary mental guard means held grief, fear, or memory can surface faster than you can stay with it. Titrate the depth to what you can hold, slow down or come back up whenever you need to, and use a grounding skill to bring attention back to the room. This is a mechanism-inferred, practice-informed caution rather than a measured adverse-event rate.

How to practise safely?

Descent Journey is best approached slowly and on your own terms, in a private, unhurried space where the imagery has room to deepen and you have time to return gently afterward. Because this practice can let strong feeling or memory rise faster than ordinary reflection, it helps to begin from a place where you feel steady and in charge, easing off rather than pushing when something surfaces. If you are living with trauma, active addiction, acute depression, or thoughts of self-harm, a gentler starting point is to explore this alongside a qualified therapist rather than alone.

Set up a safe container

Choose a private, comfortable place where you will not be interrupted, and leave yourself unhurried time afterward so you can return gently rather than rushing straight back into your day.

Learn a grounding skill first

Before you begin descending, practise one simple way to reorient yourself, feeling your feet on the floor, naming a few objects you can see, or slowing your out-breath, so you have a reliable way to steady yourself if strong feeling rises.

Descend gradually and stay in charge

Let the imagery deepen slowly, and remember you can pause, slow down, or come back up at any point. You are guiding the journey, not handing yourself over to it.

Match the depth to what you can hold

If grief, fear, or a vivid memory surfaces faster than you can stay with it, ease off instead of pushing deeper, and use your grounding skill to bring your attention back to the room.

Reintegrate before you finish

Leave a few minutes to come fully back up, notice your surroundings, and let ordinary awareness return before you stand, drive, or make any decisions.

Pair with professional support where relevant

If you live with trauma, active addiction, acute depression, or thoughts of self-harm, work through this practice with a qualified therapist who can help you reintegrate what emerges, rather than practising alone.

Medical Disclaimer

This information is educational and is not medical advice. This practice is not a substitute for professional care and should not replace prescribed medication or treatment for any medical or mental-health condition. If you are managing a health condition or taking medication, talk with a qualified health professional before changing your practice. If you are in distress or crisis, seek professional support.

Does a Descent Journey actually work?

Not proven yet. No controlled trials have tested Descent Journey, so there is no direct evidence it works for any condition. It is best understood as an emerging, theory-led practice grounded in depth psychology and myth, with reported benefits still indicative rather than demonstrated.

Not proven yet. Descent Journey has not been studied in randomized trials, so there are no effect sizes, outcomes, or long-term follow-up confirming that it helps with grief, perspective, or any diagnosed condition. Its rationale comes from depth-psychology theory and cross-cultural descent myths, supported only indirectly by general research on decentering, the shift from being caught in your thoughts to observing them at a distance, along with absorption and symbolic processing during guided imagery. It shows early promise as an inner-work practice but is not an established treatment, and the benefits people describe are indicative uses rather than tested results.

Is there any research behind Descent Journey?

Not directly. No controlled trials have tested Descent Journey, so no outcome is confirmed for any condition. Its rationale comes from depth psychology and cross-cultural descent myth, backed only indirectly by general research on decentering, absorption, and symbolic processing in guided imagery.

Not directly. Descent Journey has no randomized trials, effect sizes, or long-term follow-up of its own, so it is best understood as suggestive rather than confirmed. Its foundation is theory-led, resting on depth-psychology accounts and the shared descent motif in world myth, from Inanna and Orpheus to Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, alongside general imagery research on decentering, absorption, and symbolic processing. Decentering is the capacity to observe your thoughts at a distance rather than being carried along by them. Treat listed benefits as plausible expectations awaiting direct testing, not demonstrated results.

Why does imagining going downward bring up buried feelings?

The proposed reason is absorption: as the imagined descent deepens, everyday self-monitoring quiets, loosening the mental guard that normally holds difficult feelings at a distance so they can surface as images. This is a theory-led explanation from depth psychology, not a pathway measured in controlled studies.

The likely mechanism is a chain rather than a single switch. Deepening the downward imagery is thought to build trance absorption, a narrowing of attention in which ordinary self-monitoring fades. That loosening in turn softens the usual suppression of hard-to-face emotion, an affective release that lets held feeling move, and allows the material to re-emerge in symbolic, image form. These are inferred pathways drawn from depth-psychology theory, the shared descent motif in myth, and adjacent guided-imagery research, not effects recorded during a descent journey itself. It explains why the practice can feel evocative; it is not evidence that it treats any condition.

Can a Descent Journey make you cry or feel a physical release?

Often, yes. Many people describe tears, warmth, or a loosening in the chest during a Descent Journey, a felt sense of something moving through them. These are commonly reported experiences, not certain reactions, and they haven't been measured in controlled trials of this specific practice.

Often, yes. As the imagined descent softens the mental guardrails that normally hold difficult feelings at a distance, held emotion can surface more readily than in ordinary reflection, sometimes as tears, warmth, or a physical loosening. This fits the affective release the practice is thought to engage, where reduced suppression lets emotion be felt and discharged, but it is a mechanism-inferred, practice-informed pattern rather than a measured physiological effect, and it is not a sign the practice is treating any condition. If a release feels like more than you can hold, easing off and grounding is a reasonable response.

Can a Descent Journey feel overwhelming or bring up too much at once?

Yes, it can. Because the descent imagery is built to soften the mental guardrails that normally hold difficult feelings at a distance, strong grief, fear, or vivid memories can surface faster than in ordinary reflection. If that happens, pause, open your eyes, and use a grounding skill; this is a practice-informed caution, not a measured adverse-event rate.

Yes, it can. The practice deliberately deepens absorption, a narrowing of attention in which everyday self-monitoring quiets, and that loosening can let held emotion rise more intensely and more quickly than usual. The safe approach is practical: titrate the depth to what you can hold, slow down or come back up whenever you need to, and ground yourself by feeling your feet on the floor or slowing your out-breath. Anyone living with trauma, active addiction, acute depression, thoughts of self-harm, or a tendency toward dissociation should approach this slowly and ideally alongside a qualified therapist. This caution is mechanism-inferred and practice-informed rather than drawn from controlled trials of the technique.

Is a Descent Journey safe if you have a trauma history?

Use care. With a trauma history, a Descent Journey is depth work that can surface strong emotion or memory faster than it can be held alone, so practising solo is not advised. The safer starting point is working alongside a qualified therapist. This is precautionary guidance from how the practice is used, not proof it is safe or unsafe.

Use care. Because descent imagery is deliberately built to soften the mental guardrails that normally hold difficult feelings at a distance, strong grief, fear, or vivid memory can rise faster and more intensely than in ordinary reflection, which can be destabilising when trauma is present. No controlled trials have tested this practice with trauma survivors, so this caution is drawn from how the practice is used and from its proposed mechanism, not from safety data. The safer path is to treat it as slow depth work with a qualified therapist who can help steady and reintegrate whatever surfaces, rather than practising alone. It is not a treatment for trauma.

How do I start a Descent Journey safely on my own?

Start small and stay in charge. Pick a private, unhurried space, learn one grounding skill first such as feeling your feet or slowing your out-breath, then let the imagery deepen gradually knowing you can pause or come back up anytime. Leave a few minutes to reintegrate before returning to your day. If trauma, active addiction, acute depression, or self-harm thoughts are present, work with a therapist rather than practising solo.

Start small and stay in charge. Set up a quiet, private space, and before descending, practise one simple way to reorient yourself, such as feeling your feet on the floor or slowing your out-breath, so you can steady yourself if strong feeling rises. Let the descent deepen slowly, match the depth to what you can hold, ease off if grief or a vivid memory surfaces faster than you can stay with, and leave a few minutes to come fully back before you stand or make decisions. These are sensible, practice-informed precautions rather than a trial-tested protocol, and this practice is a doorway into inner work, not a treatment for any condition.

What's the difference between a Descent Journey and a Shamanic Journey?

A Descent Journey is the downward, underworld route within the broader Shamanic Journey family. Shamanic Journey as a whole also includes upper- and middle-world journeys and is usually carried by steady drumming within a spirit-world cosmology, while a Descent Journey narrows that to imagined descent for meeting shadow, grief, and material below ordinary awareness.

The difference is one of scope and direction rather than proven effect. Descent Journey is a guided visualization in which you imagine descending into an inner landscape to meet hidden parts of yourself, drawing on depth psychology and descent myths such as Inanna, Orpheus, and Persephone framed by Campbell's hero's journey. Shamanic Journey is the wider practice it belongs to, adding upper-world and middle-world routes and typically using rhythmic drumming or rattling as the vehicle. This is a descriptive, source-context distinction: no controlled trials have compared them, so neither is shown to work better or to treat any condition.

Default mode network

The background pattern of self-referential thinking, the mental chatter about yourself, that tends to quiet when attention absorbs into imagery.

A set of interconnected brain regions active during rest and self-referential thought, proposed to attenuate during states of focused internal absorption.

Depth psychology

An approach to the mind that pays close attention to the unconscious, symbols, and dreams as sources of insight, and the tradition Descent Journey draws its rationale from.

Hero's journey

Joseph Campbell's account of a recurring story pattern, present across world myths, in which a figure descends into an unknown realm, faces something difficult, and returns changed, framing the descent theme as meaningful rather than arbitrary.

[3]other peer reviewed

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[4]observational

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[5]other peer reviewed

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[6]other peer reviewed

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[7]observational

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[8]other peer reviewed

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[9]randomized controlled trial

Sperling R A, Donohue M C, Rissman R A, Johnson K A, Rentz D M, Grill J D (2024). Amyloid and Tau Prediction of Cognitive and Functional Decline in Unimpaired Older Individuals: Longitudinal Data from the A4 and LEARN Studies.. https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2024.122

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[10]observational

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[11]other peer reviewed

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[12]other peer reviewed

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[13]other peer reviewed

Perin Stephanie, Harrington Karra D, Lim Yen Ying, Ellis Kathryn, Ames David, Pietrzak Robert H (2018). Amyloid burden and incident depressive symptoms in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.101

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[14]other peer reviewed

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[15]other peer reviewed

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[16]observational

Reiman Eric M, Quiroz Yakeel T, Fleisher Adam S, Chen Kewei, Velez-Pardo Carlos, Jimenez-Del-Rio Marlene (2012). Brain imaging and fluid biomarker analysis in young adults at genetic risk for autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease in the presenilin 1 E280A kindred: a case-control study.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70228-4

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[17]other peer reviewed

Jack Clifford R, Bennett David A, Blennow Kaj, Carrillo Maria C, Dunn Billy, Haeberlein Samantha Budd (2018). NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer's disease.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018

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[18]other peer reviewed

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[19]observational

Chatterjee Pratishtha, Pedrini Steve, Doecke James D, Thota Rohith, Villemagne Victor L, Doré Vincent (2023). Plasma Aβ42/40 ratio, p-tau181, GFAP, and NfL across the Alzheimer's disease continuum: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study in the AIBL cohort.. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12724

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[20]other peer reviewed

Azhaar Ashraf, Nicholas J. Ashton, Pratishtha Chatterjee, Kathryn Goozee, Kaikai Shen, Jürgen Fripp (2020). Plasma transferrin and hemopexin are associated with altered Aβ uptake and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease pathology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-00634-1

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Cited in: –

[21]observational

Porter Tenielle, Burnham Samantha C, Milicic Lidija, Savage Greg, Maruff Paul, Lim Yen Ying (2018). Utility of an Alzheimer's Disease Risk-Weighted Polygenic Risk Score for Predicting Rates of Cognitive Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-180713

DOI: 10.3233/jad-180713

Cited in: –

[22]other peer reviewed

Burnham S C, Coloma P M, Li Q-X, Collins S, Savage G, Laws S (2019). Application of the NIA-AA Research Framework: Towards a Biological Definition of Alzheimer's Disease Using Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in the AIBL Study.. https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2019.25

DOI: 10.14283/jpad.2019.25

Cited in: –

[23]observational

Feizpour A, Doré V, Doecke J D, Saad Z S, Triana-Baltzer G, Slemmon R (2023). Two-Year Prognostic Utility of Plasma p217+tau across the Alzheimer's Continuum.. https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2023.83

DOI: 10.14283/jpad.2023.83

Cited in: –

[24]meta analysis

Donohue Michael C, Sperling Reisa A, Salmon David P, Rentz Dorene M, Raman Rema, Thomas Ronald G (2014). The preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite: measuring amyloid-related decline.. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803

DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.803

Cited in: –

[25]other peer reviewed

Francesca Mangialasche, Eric Westman, Miia Kivipelto, J‐Sebastian Muehlboeck, Roberta Cecchetti, Mauro Baglioni (2013). Classification and prediction of clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on <scp>MRI</scp> and plasma measures of α‐/γ‐tocotrienols and γ‐tocopherol. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12037

DOI: 10.1111/joim.12037

Cited in: –

[26]observational

R. Martins, V. Villemagne, H. Sohrabi, P. Chatterjee, T. Shah, G. Verdile (2018). Alzheimer’s Disease: A Journey from Amyloid Peptides and Oxidative Stress, to Biomarker Technologies and Disease Prevention Strategies—Gains from AIBL and DIAN Cohort Studies. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-171145

DOI: 10.3233/jad-171145

Cited in: –

[27]other peer reviewed

De-Paula Vanessa J, Radanovic Marcia, Diniz Breno S, Forlenza Orestes V (2012). Alzheimer's disease.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5416-4_14

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-5416-4_14

Cited in: –

[28]other peer reviewed

Gaël Chételat, Victor L. Villemagne, Kerryn E. Pike, Kathryn A. Ellis, Pierrick Bourgeat, Gareth Jones (2011). Independent contribution of temporal β-amyloid deposition to memory decline in the pre-dementia phase of Alzheimer’s disease. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awq383

DOI: 10.1093/brain/awq383

Cited in: –

[29]other peer reviewed

Xinru Gu, Junyi Zhou, Yanyan Zhou, Hongjie Wang, Nan Si, Wei Ren (2021). Huanglian Jiedu decoction remodels the periphery microenvironment to inhibit Alzheimer’s disease progression based on the “brain-gut” axis through multiple integrated omics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00779-7

DOI: 10.1186/s13195-021-00779-7

Cited in: –

[30]other peer reviewed

Aliev Gjumrakch, Palacios Hector H, Walrafen Brianna, Lipsitt Amanda E, Obrenovich Mark E, Morales Ludis (2009). Brain mitochondria as a primary target in the development of treatment strategies for Alzheimer disease.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2009.03.015

DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2009.03.015

Cited in: –

[31]other peer reviewed

Calabrese Vittorio, Butterfield D Allan, Stella Anna M Giuffrida (2003). Nutritional antioxidants and the heme oxygenase pathway of stress tolerance: novel targets for neuroprotection in Alzheimer's disease..

Cited in: –

[32]other peer reviewed

Jaak Panksepp (2004). Affective consciousness: Core emotional feelings in animals and humans. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2004.10.004

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2004.10.004

Cited in: –

[33]other peer reviewed

Fen Wang, Brian A. Gordon, Davis C. Ryman, Sheng‐mei Ma, Chengjie Xiong, Jason Hassenstab (2015). Cerebral amyloidosis associated with cognitive decline in autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000001903

DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000001903

Cited in: –

[34]other peer reviewed

Stéphanie Debette, Philip A. Wolf, Alexa Beiser, Rhoda Au, J.J. Himali, Aleksandra Pikula (2009). Association of parental dementia with cognitive and brain MRI measures in middle-aged adults. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181c67833

DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181c67833

Cited in: –

[35]other peer reviewed

Alan Rembach, Andrew D. Watt, W.J. Wilson, Victor L. Villemagne, Samantha C. Burnham, Kathryn A. Ellis (2014). Plasma Amyloid-β Levels are Significantly Associated with a Transition Toward Alzheimer's Disease as Measured by Cognitive Decline and Change in Neocortical Amyloid Burden. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-131802

DOI: 10.3233/jad-131802

Cited in: –

[36]other peer reviewed

Karikari Thomas K, Pascoal Tharick A, Ashton Nicholas J, Janelidze Shorena, Benedet Andréa Lessa, Rodriguez Juan Lantero (2020). Blood phosphorylated tau 181 as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease: a diagnostic performance and prediction modelling study using data from four prospective cohorts.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(20)30071-5

DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(20)30071-5

Cited in: –

[37]other peer reviewed

Tobore Tobore Onojighofia (2019). On the central role of mitochondria dysfunction and oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-019-03863-x

DOI: 10.1007/s10072-019-03863-x

Cited in: –

[38]observational

Lim Yen Ying, Kalinowski Pawel, Pietrzak Robert H, Laws Simon M, Burnham Samantha C, Ames David (2018). Association of β-Amyloid and Apolipoprotein E ε4 With Memory Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease.. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.4325

DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.4325

Cited in: –

[39]other peer reviewed

Ooi Kei-Lin Murata, Vacy Kristina, Boon Wah Chin (2021). Fatty acids and beyond: Age and Alzheimer's disease related changes in lipids reveal the neuro-nutraceutical potential of lipids in cognition.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105143

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105143

Cited in: –

[40]observational

Boerwinkle Anna H, Gordon Brian A, Wisch Julie, Flores Shaney, Henson Rachel L, Butt Omar H (2023). Comparison of amyloid burden in individuals with Down syndrome versus autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(22)00408-2

DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(22)00408-2

Cited in: –

[41]other peer reviewed

Imane Lejri, Anastasia Agapouda, Amandine Grimm, Anne Eckert (2019). Mitochondria- and Oxidative Stress-Targeting Substances in Cognitive Decline-Related Disorders: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Evidence. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9695412

DOI: 10.1155/2019/9695412

Cited in: –

[42]other peer reviewed

Calabrese V, Scapagnini G, Colombrita C, Ravagna A, Pennisi G, Giuffrida Stella A M (2003). Redox regulation of heat shock protein expression in aging and neurodegenerative disorders associated with oxidative stress: a nutritional approach.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-003-0048-2

DOI: 10.1007/s00726-003-0048-2

Cited in: –

[43]other peer reviewed

Sylwia Śliwińska, Małgorzata Jeziorek (2021). The role of nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease. https://doi.org/10.32394/rpzh.2021.0154

DOI: 10.32394/rpzh.2021.0154

Cited in: –

[44]other peer reviewed

Ankit Verma, Anna Shteinfer‐Kuzmine, Nikita Kamenetsky, Srinivas Pittala, Avijit Kumar Paul, Edna Nahon Crystal (2022). Targeting the overexpressed mitochondrial protein VDAC1 in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease protects against mitochondrial dysfunction and mitigates brain pathology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40035-022-00329-7

DOI: 10.1186/s40035-022-00329-7

Cited in: –

[45]other peer reviewed

L. Rami Arab, Marwan N. Sabbagh (2010). Are Certain Lifestyle Habits Associated with Lower Alzheimer's Disease Risk?. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2010-091573

DOI: 10.3233/jad-2010-091573

Cited in: –

[46]other peer reviewed

Wenjun Wang, Shaohui Wang, Yue Liu, Xiaobo Wang, Jia Nie, Xianli Meng (2022). Ellagic Acid: A Dietary-Derived Phenolic Compound for Drug Discovery in Mild Cognitive Impairment. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.925855

DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.925855

Cited in: –

[47]other peer reviewed

Weiner Michael W, Veitch Dallas P, Aisen Paul S, Beckett Laurel A, Cairns Nigel J, Cedarbaum Jesse (2015). 2014 Update of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: A review of papers published since its inception.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.001

DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.001

Cited in: –

[48]other peer reviewed

Jeffrey M. Burns, Benjamin Cronk, Heather S. Anderson, Joseph E. Donnelly, George Thomas, A. H. Harsha (2008). Cardiorespiratory fitness and brain atrophy in early Alzheimer disease. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000317094.86209.cb

DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000317094.86209.cb

Cited in: –

[49]observational

Vincent Doré, Victor L. Villemagne, Pierrick Bourgeat, Jürgen Fripp, Oscar Acosta, Gaël Chételat (2013). Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship Between Aβ Deposition, Cortical Thickness, and Memory in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals and in Alzheimer Disease. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.1062

DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.1062

Cited in: –

[50]other peer reviewed

Mattson M P (2000). Existing data suggest that Alzheimer's disease is preventable.. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb05573.x

DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb05573.x

Cited in: –

Explore Descent Journey

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Talks

66 min

Bedtime Story: The Sea Fairies

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Sleep Story For Kids: The Sleep Train

New Horizon

★ 4.7

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45 min

Guided Sleep Session For Inner Peace

Kim Carmen Walsh

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90 min

Insomnia ~ Guided Sleep Meditation

Kim Carmen Walsh

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61 min

Guided Sleep Session - Sleep Spaceship

Kim Carmen Walsh

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Stairway into Sleep

Meg James

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You imagine going downward — into a cave, the sea, an underworld — to meet hidden parts of yourself as the scene deepens.

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Acute depression or thoughts of self-harm

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How to practise safely?

Set up a safe container

Learn a grounding skill first

Descend gradually and stay in charge

Match the depth to what you can hold

Reintegrate before you finish

Pair with professional support where relevant

Medical Disclaimer

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Depth psychology

Hero's journey