How many of you - just for the heck of it - randomly dart your eyes around, back and forth, up and down or diagonally? Most of us don’t, unless we’re dreaming and having REM sleep.
Research has found that this rapid eye movement, that occurs in our sleep, plays a significant role in processing and storing information. Rapid eye movement can also help in the healing of trauma, good news for those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Research has found that this rapid eye movement, that occurs in our sleep, plays a significant role in processing and storing information. Rapid eye movement can also help in the healing of trauma, good news for those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
We know these past events get completely processed when people are no longer reporting anxiety, panic, depression and sleep and mysterious body complaints are improved. Addictive urges are greatly reduced as there’s no longer a need to self-medicate. It's fascinating to see someone bring up the negative memory and it no longer bothers them; it seems farther away, less vivid, because it has been filed into long-term memory where it belongs. When you think about it, we really don’t remember many events from long ago very clearly unless something negative happened. That’s because your survival brain is designed to focus on things that may cause you physical harm, so you can run, fight, or hide. This part of the brain is primal and doesn’t always separate real harm from perceived harm, so it acts to protect you regardless. And it doesn’t always know when to stop so it keeps helping you survive long after you need to, leaving you in “survival mode.” EMDR calms the survival brain, and engages processing so that you can feel what you know to be true. That it is over.
I’ve been using EMDR with clients since 2007, and it amazes me to this day the rapid processing that occurs right before my OWN eyes. I never get tired of it. In the past couple of years, I've used EMDR to reduce (or eliminate) sugar cravings, increase urges for fruits, vegetables, water and increase motivation for exercising. These sessions have been quite remarkable and while results vary, the outcome is usually long-term.
I’ve been using EMDR with clients since 2007, and it amazes me to this day the rapid processing that occurs right before my OWN eyes. I never get tired of it. In the past couple of years, I've used EMDR to reduce (or eliminate) sugar cravings, increase urges for fruits, vegetables, water and increase motivation for exercising. These sessions have been quite remarkable and while results vary, the outcome is usually long-term.
 Shannon McQuade, LCSW, LMT Founder of Real Caring Integrative Therapy |
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