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Some people find that they become stuck in memories from the past and distressing events, where they experience unwanted thoughts, sensations, and emotions about the events.
It is common to feel on guard, vigilant, and jumpy and to avoid people and situations that remind the person of the traumatic event because it is distressing.
Also, some people find themselves worrying about bad things that can happen. Th y might feel a sense of free-floating anxiety. S etimes, it is based on bad things that happened in life, or sometimes, it is not about something terrible that happened, but it is the stuff that someone is terrified of the possibility of it happening.
Some people notice that after distressing events, their thoughts change. Th y may blame themselves or think differently about themselves and others than they used to, which can feel upsetting.
Trauma experts believe that one reason for these symptoms can be that traumatic memories are processed (or ‘consolidated’) differently than non-traumatic memories in a way that leads to the symptoms I just described. However, it is possible to reconsolidate and reprocess these memories, which helps reduce distressing symptoms. That is what EMDR aims to do!
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), as with most therapy approaches, focuses on the individual’s present concerns. The EMDR approach believes that past emotionally charged experiences become stuck in the nervous system and overly influence your present emotions, body sensations, and thoughts about yourself. Because it is stuck, it continues to be triggered by reminders of the emotionally charged experiences.
The goal of treatment is to free these stuck memories to connect with more useful information. The eye movements or other Dual Attention Stimuli used in EMDR Therapy seem to be the mechanism that unlocks these stuck memories and allows the brain to process the experience. The important thing to remember is that your brain will be doing the healing, and you will be in charge of the process. It is also important to remember that the feelings may become stronger before they resolve.
For example, “Do you ever feel worthless although you know you are a worthwhile person?” EMDR processing helps you break through the emotional blocks that keep you from living an adaptive, emotionally healthy life. EMDR uses rapid eye movements to help you update disturbing experiences, much like what occurs when we sleep.
How It Works
We alternate between regular sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) during sleep. This sleep pattern helps us process troubling thoughts. EMDR replicates this sleep pattern by alternating between eye movements and brief reports about what we notice. This alternating process helps us update our memories to a healthier present perspective.
When we enter REM sleep, our brain processes everything we go through that day. It stores it appropriately and puts it where it needs to go; it's fully integrated, and nothing is triggering about it. It does what it needs to do.
That process gets disrupted when trauma happens, so the memory gets stuck. With EMDR, we are doing EMDR and tapping into that brainwave (network). It is almost like tapping back into your REM sleep, so we can share the information back and forth to get it fully integrated and store it appropriately.
One of the perks of EMDR techniques is that you don’t have to relive every little piece of a traumatic event or tell me about the details. This makes EMDR more doable for many people. You can share as much or as little detail as you want.
Research has shown it to be very effective for many, helping them feel better, sleep better, feel calmer, and experience fewer distressing symptoms!
Here Are Two great videos that explain EMDR.
What Kind of Problems Can EMDR Treat?
Depression
Anxiety
Addictions
Negative self-beliefs
Complex trauma
Relationship concerns
Panic attacks
Complicated grief
Dissociative disorders
Pain disorders
Body dysmorphic disorders
Eating disorders
Sexual or Physical abuse
Performance anxiety
Stress reduction
Disturbing memories
Phobias
Sleep problems
The Phases of EMDR Therapy
Past emotionally charged experiences have the ability to impact most aspects of life negatively. EMDR treatment aims to replace negative emotions with positive feelings to handle stressful situations without feeling overwhelmed.
Client History and Treatment Planning
Preparation (establish trust, build a toolbox of resources, and fully explain the process)
Assessment (establish negative beliefs and determine positive replacements)
Desensitization (the bilateral motion or eye movement technique)
Installation (strengthen the placement of the positive replacements)
Body Scan (used to test your ability to think about the experience and determine if the negative emotions are still present)
Closure (destressing to end the session safely)
Reevaluation (establish your progress before beginning another session, if necessary)
Is EMDR Like Hypnosis? What’s the difference?
Will I remain in control and empowered? Yes. During EMDR processing, you are present and fully in control.
During EMDR treatment, you will remain in control, fully alert, and wide awake. This is not a form of hypnosis, and you can stop the process at any time. Throughout the session, the therapist will support and facilitate your own self-healing and intervene as little as possible. Reprocessing is usually experienced as something that happens spontaneously, and new connections and insights are felt to arise quite naturally from within. As a result, most people experience EMDR as being a natural and very empowering therapy.
The most notable difference between EMDR and hypnosis in therapy is that a person in an EMDR session does not ever go into a trance-like state of consciousness.
On the other hand, hypnosis is a process by which the specially-trained therapist helps the client into a more relaxed state of mind that allows the person to go deeper and selectively move below the analytical mind, making it easier to access unconscious memory and accept positive suggestions.
This is a significant difference from EMDR. A person is continuously asked to remain highly focused on specific things (like physical tapping or other forms of bilateral stimulation) and think, reinforcing positive thoughts and re-framing negative thoughts. The EMDR therapist also helps the client remain focused and grounded during the session by describing their sensations and emotions throughout the session.