EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that uses eye movement to activate both hemispheres of the brain to help re-process trauma, difficult memories, and more.

We hear the word “trauma” used a lot these days, but what actually is trauma?

Trauma is not the actual event or situation that happened, trauma is your mind and body’s struggle to process any traumatic event or situation.

When something becomes too overwhelming for us to handle, we move into survival mode, and the hemispheres of the brain and the body split from one another to avoid complete shutdown. We are wired to work this way- it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. In fact, it means everything worked as it should to keep you safe.

However, after the event is over, sometimes the brain, the mind and the body don’t process what happened in the same way. This is why some people can speak about an event with no emotion, but may have emotional outbursts or flashbacks without being able to verbalize the experience. Essentially, the left hemisphere of your brain holds the story, the right hemisphere holds the emotion, your body holds on to the experience, and your brain doesn’t know how to file this experience away as something in the past. For some people, this means they continue to experience it as a present threat which can be intrusive, scary and disruptive to living life.

The process of EMDR gently calls back the emotions and images while using eye movement to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain and the body, so that your brain and body know how to process the experience and understand it is in the past. EMDR does not aim to erase the memory (This isn’t Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), but instead aims to reduce the present distress associated with the memory.

EMDR can help shift stuck emotions, memories, images and even help release things you didn’t know needed to move. I like to think of it as removing a road block so traffic can flow smoothly again.

You can explore my blog for more resources on EMDR and each of the phases here!