For Those Who Are Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: There’s EMDR
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Sounds weird, right? While it certainly sounds odd, it is just a label for a type of therapy that utilizes your brain’s natural ability to heal. Your brain already uses left-right eye movements while you sleep to process information. This is what happens when you dream! This type of therapy was born from the realization that we are already equipped with everything we need to move through difficult things. This type of therapy integrates the left-right eye movement into structured therapy to tackle some of life’s most difficult experiences.
What is EMDR used for?
EMDR is regularly used to treat the impact of trauma (such as Post Traumatic Stress), anxiety, low self-esteem, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, attachment wounds, phobias, and other stress related concerns. In short, it is used for when your head and your heart are not in agreement.
Maybe one part of you KNOWS that you are a worthwhile person, but a different part of you FEELS as though you aren’t. Maybe one part of you KNOWS that a bad event was in the past, but another part of your FEELS as though it is happening again, and you relive the same bad experience over and over. This is where EMDR comes in. It is the bridge between these two parts that gets your feelings in alignment with your rational thoughts.
How does EMDR work?
How is EMDR able to do this? On a biological level, the guided eye movements help facilitate certain parts of your brain communicating with each other. Those bad memories and irrational beliefs are “stuck,” almost like they are their own island in your mind. That is why the passing of time sometimes doesn’t help us when moving on from these stuck beliefs/memories. Our brain has its own network for naturally processing information, but these “islands” aren’t well connected to the network, so they don’t change. EMDR is able to have an incredible impact on people because it helps these “islands” get connected.
What would this connection do? How does it help? There is a short-term and long-term answer!
In the immediate, what you notice is that you have reduced or eliminated disturbance from certain events/memories. You will feel like you are able to “let go” of what you processed. In the long-term you will notice the gradual and exponential change of this connection. You will notice that you can see things in a more balanced way. Some things that might really bother you now just start to roll off your back; you will notice that you get to start living your life as if you were never weighed down by these negative beliefs and events.
When you have less negative beliefs, thoughts, and memories floating around your brain all day, you will notice that you have much more free brain space! That means you will be able to be more present and in the moment. Many people will find this also leads to increased motivation, attention, clear thinking, and feelings of contentment.
If any of this sounds familiar to you and you want to try EMDR, you will want to find a talented and experienced practitioner of it. Just like with anything else, something this powerful takes time to perfect. If you feel like you have a complex situation and intense concerns, you will want to find someone who has had plenty of experience and additional education in EMDR. There is a great tool to help you find someone who will be perfect for you:
Head over to the International Association of EMDR website and click the orange button in the top right corner that says “Find an EMDR Therapist”. The standards for the International Association of EMDR require extra education, experience, and consultation above the standard training to be considered “EMDR Certified.” They require even further education, experience, and consultation to become an “EMDR Consultant.”
If you feel like your concerns are intense and/or complicated, you should look to see that the therapist has one of these two labels under their name in the EMDR Therapist Directory. That being said, everyone has to start somewhere. Every EMDR Consultant was once someone who had just been trained, so don’t count someone out just because they aren’t Certified or a Consultant by EMDRIA standards. The most important thing is that you find a therapist you trust and can connect with.
As my original EMDR trainer said long ago, “EMDR is for those who are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” If that sounds like you, there is always hope!
