“David was always there in the marble. I just took away everything that was not David.”
-Michelangelo
You are not broken and in need of fixing, but wounded and in need of healing. Underneath the anxiety, depression, trauma, and pain, there is a whole, healthy being. Unfortunately, when we go through negative experiences, our minds can become stuck in a negative distortion. These negative views turn to negative beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Since we always find evidence for what we choose to believe, when we begin to not only filter experiences through the lens of “I am not loveable” or “I am not good enough.” we find that life reflects our view back to us. These beliefs then become self-fulfilling prophecies. However, the critical thing to remember is that these beliefs are not real and they are not who you are.
When we cut our hand, we don’t have to will or think about our healing for it to take place. Our bodies naturally heal it all on its own. However, we do need to create the right environment for that healing to take place, which means removing any debris, cleaning the wound and putting on a bandage that protects it from getting infected.
Our emotions and mind heal in the same way. We do not need to search for all of the right answers or fix what is wrong with us. All of our answers are already inside of us. We need to create the right environment for those solutions to come to the surface and healing to take place.
EMDR can remove the sediment and break away the beliefs that have been holding you back. It is inspiring to witness so many clients let go of the pain from their past and return to the truth of their beauty, love, and power.
WHAT IS EMDR AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Francine Shapiro, who developed EMDR says, “EMDR is a form of psychotherapy recognized worldwide as an effective treatment for trauma. Research has shown that general life experiences can cause even more negative symptoms than major trauma. Many interactions we’ve had in childhood, such as being ignored, bullied, humiliated, and talked down to can cause memories to be stored in our brains with the old negative emotions and feelings.”
EMDR stands for Eye-Movement-Desensitization-Reprocessing, and it is an evidence-based eight-phase treatment approach. During memory reprocessing, the client recalls a disturbing event for a short period while simultaneously undergoing bilateral stimulation. These consist of moving the eyes from side to side, vibrations from left to right, or tones alternating from ear to ear via headphones.
Francine Shapiro explains that “studies have explored various theories about the effects of eye movements and two dominant theories have emerged: that eye movements interfere with working memory processes (van den Hout et al, 2011) and link into the same processes that occur during R.E.M. sleep (Stickgold, 2002). In support of these theories, eye movements have been shown to decrease the emotionality and vividness of memories, create physiological relaxation responses, facilitate access to associative memories and lead to an increase in recognition of information that is true.”
How EMDR Therapy works is what Francine Shapiro postulates is the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) system. The AIP system is the internal system in the brain that knows how to heal. The problem is that when we experience particularly distressing events, our minds and neural networks permanently freeze. The trauma locks us into an irrational view, belief, and paradigm. EMDR brings different parts of the brain back online and helps us have a whole-brained perspective. New information can come forth, and clients can create a more cohesive narrative. It is a retelling rather than a reliving.
CAN EMDR WORK FOR ME?
If you suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship issues, or a repeating of old patterns, then EMDR could work for you. Clients that have been in therapy for years using other modalities are often surprised at how quickly they can drop their emotional baggage and create the life they want. You don’t have to change who you are or put forth a lot of effort to heal. Sometimes you need the right environment to facilitate healing and the tools to remove all the things that are not you.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how EMDR might work for you, please schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation today by clicking here.