EMDR Therapy & Trauma
Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes
Most of the time our bodies routinely manage new information and experiences.
However, when something out of the ordinary occurs , such as a car accident, or being repeatedly subjected to distress, our natural coping mechanisms can become overloaded. This overloading can result in distressing experiences remaining frozen in our brains, or ‘unprocessed ‘.
These are stored in the brain and can then be continually re-stimulated when we experience events similar to the original distressing experiences. Often the memory itself is long forgotten but the painful feelings of anxiety, panic, anger, or despair are repeatedly triggered in the present.
It might become increasingly difficult to live in the present and learn from new experiences.
There are cultural, gender, and age-related differences in the expression of trauma.
There may be psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual symptoms.
There are cultural, gender, and age-related differences in the expression of trauma.
Dissociative symptoms are often a feature in the acute stage.
With the right support, natural resilience usually allows recovery in days or weeks.
Some people go on to develop PTSD, immediately or with late onset.
You will not have to recount the trauma in great detail. This is different to other therapies.
EMDR in a nutshell
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is an effective treatment developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980’s for processing traumatic memories. It involves focusing on a particularly distressing thought, emotion & body sensation at the same time as making rapid bilateral eye movements. This enables the unprocessed traumatic material locked in the amygdala (part of the brain) to become stored in another part- the hippocampus so that it becomes less vivid & distressing & can be stored like any other memory. You remain conscious throughout and in control.
You will not have to recount the trauma in great detail, which some people find very distressing. This is different to other therapies. Sometimes other forms of bilateral stimulation such as touch (tapping) or auditory (sounds) are used.
What symptoms does EMDR treat and will it help me?
Since its inception, EMDR therapy has been found helpful in many situations, and for many disorders and symptoms. Following are some indications of the wide variety of its application today, and this is increasing.
PTSD
Most people are now familiar with the term Post traumatic stress disorder. It is a mental and behavioural disorder that can develop due to exposure to an event, or to repeated exposure to distress. Symptoms may include thoughts, feelings or dreams related to the event(s) and last more than a month after the event(s),.
Addiction
A compulsive physiological need for and use of a habit forming substance characterised by tolerance and well defined symptoms upon withdrawal. Typically drugs or alcohol are used, but other addictions such as gambling, sexual activity, thrill seeking may be present.
Depression
A mental condition characterised by feelings of severe despondency, dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep
Phobias
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias, typically are present for more than six months and some prevent people from going about their day to day business.
Panic attacks
Sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include sweating, chest pain, shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, or a feeling of impending doom or losing control. Typically symptoms can reach a peak within ten minutes of onset, and last for roughly thirty minutes, but the duration can vary from seconds to hours. They are not in themselves physically dangerous but the sufferer is unable to comprehend that at the time.
Anxiety
A feeling of unease, worry or fear that can be mild or severe. There may be excessive and intrusive worrying thoughts that disturb day to day activities.
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Bereavement
The experience of losing someone or something important to us. It is characterised by grief, which is the process and range of emotions we go through when we lose someone or something. People respond differently to loss and sometimes it is necessary to get help with loss, particularly if the loss is a complicated one.