Scars and the Power of EMDR
Most of us carry with us scars from the past; they present as stored memories that, whether we like it or not, impact the way we show up in the world.
· Childhood wounds from an ill-equipped parent.
· Hurt and pain that often accompanies loss of loved ones or failed relationships.
· Fear of the unknown as we navigate new seasons of life.
God gives us an indescribable ability to weather the storms that life will undoubtedly present. However, sometimes human emotion interferes with this process and causes us to become stuck, reliving events from the past and recreating the emotion tied to them. Left untreated, these experiences can often result in symptoms that often mask as anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, low self-esteem, and more.
If that’s you, there’s good news.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy assists in reprocessing these experiences.
EMDR therapy is implemented by using a technique called bilateral stimulation. This technique helps in engaging the left and right side of an individual’s brain (the emotional side, and the logical side). As both parts of the brain are engaged, our brain allows us to revisit these experiences and reprocess them in a healthier way. This process assists in decreasing the emotion while increasing logic.
We all filter life through a lens. When life experiences harm us the lens becomes negative, limiting beliefs that we think about ourselves or the world around us (i.e. “I’m not good enough, or “People aren’t safe”). This lens lays the framework for our actions. The goal with EMDR is to transform this negative belief system and revise the lens through which we perceive ourselves and the world. Over time, these negative and/or traumatic experiences begin to have less of an effect on us. Individuals who undergo EMDR therapy often transform their negative beliefs, such as “I’m not worthy of love” to a more positive framework such as “I’m worthy of love and acceptance.” When our belief system changes, we navigate the world differently.
According to an article in emdrhealing.com, EMDR therapy may be right for you if:
You have tried talk therapy and it hasn’t delivered great results.
You have tried talk therapy, and yet the same traumatic experiences that happened before have continued to happen.
You like the concept of resolving underlying causes (actual traumatic experiences), rather than symptoms which stem from the trauma (anxiety, depression, addiction etc).
You have certain specific phobias (EMDR has been shown to be very effective at dealing with certain phobias).
You have a history of significant trauma in your life and the memory of those experiences continues to bother you and intrude into your thoughts.
You want fast acting, quicker results in resolving traumatic experiences and improving your quality of life.
You are not frightened to re-access traumatic experiences in order to process them to resolution. You are on board with the “the only way out is through” notion.
If you or someone you know would benefit from EMDR therapy, Renewing Life Center has multiple trained clinicians that are here to help. Give us a call to set up an appointment!
Samantha Winters, M.A., LMFT