Unlocking Healing: 10 Ways EMDR Therapy Empowers Your Journey
EMDR Therapy in Ann Arbor, MI. What is EMDR and How Does it Work?
The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in the late 1980s, utilizing this natural process, to help individuals with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) process distressing memories and experiences. EMDR has since gained recognition as an effective treatment for various mental health conditions.
During REM sleep, when your eyes start back-and-forth, your brain processes recent events. But distressing events can get stuck and need extra processing. Consciously engaging in rapid eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation (like alternative shoulder tapping or hand-held pulsators) activate your brain’s problem-solving process. By focusing on a specific problem, it's associated emotions, sensations, and beliefs, then adding bilateral stimulation, your brain begins problem-solving. Since you are focused on the specific problem, your brain can work through it more effectively than during REM sleep.
Is EMDR for Anxiety?
In addition to its use for the treatment of PTSD, EMDR has been successfully used to treat a variety of mental health conditions. At the heart of EMDR is unraveling negative core beliefs or stuck points that get written into our narrative in the face of distressing life experiences. Here are ten common concerns people present to therapy with.
Low self-worth. Also, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and feelings of worthlessness. When you have low self-worth, you may feel like an imposter or that “I’m not good enough,” a common core belief.
Guilt and Shame. Guilt focuses on our behaviors- feeling “I did something bad.” Shame is focused on the whole self, “I am bad.” Feeling shame can mean believing that we are flawed and therefore, “I am unworthy of love.” Whether you feel you are bad or unworthy of love, EMDR can unravel this belief that is holding you back from receiving love and affection. You may be flawed, we all are, but that doesn’t mean you’re unworthy.
Anxiety. An umbrella term, worry, fear, nerves, phobias, obsessions, and panic can all fall under the umbrella of anxiety. Distressing experiences in life can contribute to many forms of anxiety.
High achievement and perfectionism. Typically a form of anxiety, both high achievement drive and perfectionism can be rooted in early experiences whereby you felt not good enough or incompetent.
Trauma. No matter what trauma you’ve endured, it can leave you with feelings of guilt, responsibility, self-blame, shame, and feeling of “I’m helpless/powerless” or “I’m not safe.”
Grief. Experiencing a loss can be traumatic, and can also come with feelings of guilt, responsibility, self-blame, and feeling abandoned and can trigger a core belief from earlier life experiences that "I’m all alone.”
Avoidance and numbing behaviors. Binging on binging on food, booze, netflix, endless social media scrolling, and mindless online shopping can all be avoidant behaviors. What are you avoiding? Uncovering the answers will likely lead you to negative core beliefs and associated feelings holding you back and making you feel stuck.
Unmet needs and people-pleasing. At some point along the way, you started putting others needs first. Now, you have difficulty identifying what your needs even are, let alone communicating them. EMDR can help you unlearn the part of your narrative that told you that you were too much, and relearn that it is human to have needs.
Relationship conflict. As you start to heal anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief, you’re less likely to engage in numbing behaviors and can be more present in your relationships, at home, work, or school.
Becoming more resilient. This may seem like a no brainier, but if EMDR can help with all the things above, and to summarize, improve our mental health, the way we take care of ourselves, and our relationships, then we’re bound to become more resilient.
What exactly happens during EMDR? What are the steps of EMDR therapy?
EMDR Therapy happens in three stages. First, Case Formulation including history taking which starts in your first appointment with your therapist, second, Processing, and third, Integration. Beyond these specific stages, which are further broken down into eight phases, the work of EMDR therapy is reacalling past memories, recent events, or future triggers that are causing you distress, identifying core beliefs attached to these memories or events, and any negative feelings or sensations they bring up that can all be problem-solved while engaging bilateral stimulation. Beyond the science of the method, the process of EMDR therapy can:
Give your thoughts and feelings permission to be. Your feelings are REAL and VALID. And they exist whether or not we want them to, even those emotions we don’t *want* to feel or those we don’t think we *should* feel. Avoiding them doesn’t make them go away.
Encourage self-observation instead of judgment. Instead of judging yourself for thinking or feeling a certain way, do your best to simply observe it, without judgment. “I had a thought or a feeling” instead of “I had a *bad* thought or a feeling I *shouldn’t* have.”
And enhance self-compassion. Self-compassion has three core areas: self-kindness (being as caring toward ourselves as we are toward others), common humanity (recognizing that we all have flaws and make mistakes), and mindfulness (being present in any given moment and allowing all thoughts, emotions, and sensations to enter our awareness without resistance or avoidance).
Are you lOOKING FOR EMDR THERAPY IN ANN ARBOR, MI?
Hi, I’m Nikki. A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Social Work and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 17+ years of experience. In my online therapy practice, I support adults through life’s tough transitions, traumas, losses, and other adversities. I hope these tips and strategies help you find the right therapist in Ann Arbor or across Michigan. Reach out to me to schedule your FREE 15-minute phone consultation.