Understanding How EMDR Works For Trauma
● Our minds have the natural capacity to process what happens to us in a healthy adaptive way.
● Some experiences can be so stressful and distressing that they overwhelm this natural process.
● Worries and intrusions about the future can also overwhelm the natural process.
● When the past/future experience is highly distressing, it is stored in a way that mimics the experience (e.g., same body sensations, same perceptions, same beliefs, same images).
● Oftentimes, the fuel to mental disruptions may be a set of unprocessed, undigested memories.
● EMDR helps to remove this disruption. The mind can actively heal by engaging this natural process using bilateral simulation (e.g., eye movements which mimic rapid eye movement, tapping) while holding a distressing memory/future scenario in your mind. This dual attention assists in ‘turning on’ this natural adaptive process.
● Preparation for this “emotional surgery” involves learning skills to help you become an observer in your own experiences through a self-compassionate, mindful attitude.
● Successful EMDR therapy removes the disruption in your mind and body. You will still experience feelings related to the processed event, but the level of distress that you originally had will be reprocessed and stored in a healthy, non-distressing way.
● EMDR has proven to be effective for PTSD, Acute Stress, and Anxiety.
** Adapted from article written by Jason N. Linder, PsyD for Psychology Today
● Our minds have the natural capacity to process what happens to us in a healthy adaptive way.
● Some experiences can be so stressful and distressing that they overwhelm this natural process.
● Worries and intrusions about the future can also overwhelm the natural process.
● When the past/future experience is highly distressing, it is stored in a way that mimics the experience (e.g., same body sensations, same perceptions, same beliefs, same images).
● Oftentimes, the fuel to mental disruptions may be a set of unprocessed, undigested memories.
● EMDR helps to remove this disruption. The mind can actively heal by engaging this natural process using bilateral simulation (e.g., eye movements which mimic rapid eye movement, tapping) while holding a distressing memory/future scenario in your mind. This dual attention assists in ‘turning on’ this natural adaptive process.
● Preparation for this “emotional surgery” involves learning skills to help you become an observer in your own experiences through a self-compassionate, mindful attitude.
● Successful EMDR therapy removes the disruption in your mind and body. You will still experience feelings related to the processed event, but the level of distress that you originally had will be reprocessed and stored in a healthy, non-distressing way.
● EMDR has proven to be effective for PTSD, Acute Stress, and Anxiety.
** Adapted from article written by Jason N. Linder, PsyD for Psychology Today