Have you been feeling stuck lately? You can't move on from something terrible that happened. Do you have panic attacks, constant worries, depression, nightmares, or problems in your relationships? It is understandable.
Trauma and personal issues can creep up and cause issues in a person's life in all sorts of ways. The good news is there's a fantastic therapy called EMDR that helps people get over trauma and anxiety.
What Exactly is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is the acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was first developed back in the late 1980s. It uses rapid side-to-side eye movements or taps while you focus on a traumatic memory. This therapy helps reprocess the memory in your brain. After EMDR, you'll still remember what happened, but it won't bother you as much anymore.
The point isn't to numb yourself to the memory. EMDR changes how your brain stores memories. It can unlink the emotions, body sensations, and anxiety triggers from the memory. For many people, the trauma memory goes from being their whole story to just one chapter in the book of their life. Over time, it becomes more of a neutral event that doesn't affect the present.
The remarkable transformations in clients' lives with this therapy can be unique—three primary benefits of EMDR.
The Top 3 Benefits of EMDR Therapy
1. Reorganizing Trauma Memories
EMDR lets you reprocess trauma memories, so they stop causing anxiety and negative emotions. The memory shifts from your only narrative to a small part of your history. Eventually, it just becomes something neutral that happened vs. controlling your current experience.
Many of my clients have shared that EMDR moves traumatic memories from being their only story to becoming just a short chapter in the book of their lives. Over time, the memory morphs into an “it is what it is” event that no longer has power over the client’s experience in the present moment.
2. Releasing the Burden of Trauma
EMDR helps break the agonizing cycle of endlessly dwelling on past traumas so you can let go and move forward. After EMDR, people often describe feeling lighter, like they’ve put down the heavy emotional baggage they’ve carried for so long. The memory feels more distant and hazy - still there but not negatively impacting daily functioning.
Many people say it’s like the memory loses its sharpness and becomes more faded. It hasn’t disappeared, but it’s no longer taking up space in their daily lives. Many clients have shared that EMDR helps them release the weight of the memory that had been bringing them down with sadness or anxiety, and they feel freer to move on.
3. Installing Positive Beliefs
This fact is a huge benefit that can’t be overstated! EMDR helps you develop new positive self-beliefs that you can apply in all areas of life. It boosts your self-motivation, mood, and feelings of self-worth. Trauma often fuels negative thoughts about yourself and others. EMDR therapy installs a new empowered perspective to replace that inner critic. It changes how you see yourself, others, and the world in a more positive light.
Many times, traumatic events, big or small, play a significant role in the negative things we tell ourselves. Our self-beliefs are strongly shaped by difficult experiences, toxic relationships, not feeling understood by those close to us, or adversities that happened to us. With EMDR, you can work through these experiences and shift your thoughts, changing your feelings about yourself and the world in a much healthier direction.
EMDR Therapy Also Improves Your Whole Life
Some people think EMDR is only helpful for processing trauma, but it creates positive ripple effects that go far beyond that one issue! EMDR moves people from knee-jerk reactions to reasoned, thoughtful responses. It progresses folks from negative, dysfunctional beliefs to positive, empowered ones.
Whether you need help specifically with trauma, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, or any other issues, EMDR can facilitate powerful change more quickly and effectively than many different therapeutic approaches. The benefits touch many aspects of life.
You're So Much More Than Your Hardships
We all face difficulties and endure setbacks, but they don't have to define our identity. EMDR gives you the power to take back control, tame anxiety, manage overwhelming emotions, and build inner strength to handle life's challenges. You gain personal insight and emerge wiser and stronger than before.
Sometimes, life feels like an endless storm - chaotic, dark, and seemingly permanent. But then, the inner turmoil starts fading. The winds die down, and rays of light peek through once again. You realize the storm was temporary, not permanent.
The truth is you are far more significant than anything you’ve faced. EMDR will help you reconnect with your inner light, which may have dimmed but is still there. The more positive beliefs you install, the fewer negative clouds remain until inner sunshine prevails.
There is Always Hope - You Have the Power to Heal
If you feel weighed down by anxiety, depression, grief, or trauma, please don't lose hope. As hard as it seems, you can change your inner world for the better. Wherever you're at now can transform into a brighter place with time and care.
EMDR improves lives every single day. You can break free of the past and create a beautiful present and future. Don't continue to let past hurts, failures, or events haunt you indefinitely. The time for relief is now. With dedication and EMDR as your guide, you can regain personal power, tame anxiety, manage overwhelming emotions, and build inner resources to handle life's challenges.
Take the First Step to Find Out about EMDR Today!
Investigate EMDR therapy and find an EMDR-trained therapist who you feel comfortable working with. Together, we’ll get to the root of your pain quickly and gently and start healing. I use an integrated approach that addresses past traumas while teaching the self-care skills that are important for maintaining progress after EMDR.
With EMDR, you’ll gain personal insight and emerge wiser; with positive beliefs, you can carry forward to create the life you want. The dark clouds will part, rays of sunshine will break through again, and you’ll reconnect with your inner light. Relief, joy, and purpose await.
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