Is EMDR Right for Me?

Are you reaching your full potential… or is something holding you back?

For some it’s obvious. They’ve lived through a traumatic experience and find it hard to cope with day to day life.

Maybe for you, it’s not as obvious, but certain limiting situations seem to play out over and over. Perhaps you don’t like to try new things… harm relationships by overreacting or withdrawing… or sabotage success by procrastinating… to name just a few of the signs.

Whether it’s is obvious or not, what’s really holding you back is a negative belief you have about yourself.

Your own negative beliefs are hard to see. You’ve lived with them so long, you don’t even realize they’re there. But until you resolve those negative beliefs, you limit your expectations. You continue the patterns of behaviour that hold your back from enjoying the rich, full life you deserve.

Fortunately, there’s a therapy that assists in uncovering those negative beliefs and helps you move forward.

Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a simple process that helps people heal from the emotional upset caused by distressing events in their life. Studies show that many get long-lasting and positive results… faster than more traditional therapies .

EMDR was first used to help war veterans and was successful in eliminating the panic attacks, flashbacks and anxiety caused by the traumatic experiences of the war.

Since that time, EMDR has been shown to be an effective treatment for many types of emotional distress.

How Does EMDR Work?

Just like your body heals itself after an injury, your mind tries to heal itself after a traumatic event.

Any time you go through a distressing experience, you feel it physically… a tightness in your chest, a knot in your stomach, weak, shaky legs… before you react with emotion. Along with the emotion, comes the negative self-talk and beliefs about the event … even if it was completely out of your control.

Those emotions and beliefs can last for days or months depending on the event. Meanwhile, your mind works at healing itself, by processing all of these thoughts, emotions and feelings. You sleep on it, think about it, talk about it… and in time, you can recall the event without an intense reaction.

You’ve ‘reprocessed’ the memory of the event and your mind has healed.

When the Processing Centre Gets Overloaded

However, sometimes experiences are too painful or disturbing. The processing center in your brain gets overloaded and tucks it all away before your mind has healed. Not just the memory, but all the emotions, beliefs and physical sensations with it.

Since the memory wasn’t reprocessed properly, any time that memory is triggered… you relive the physical response, intense emotions and negative beliefs as you felt the first time.

EMDR therapy involves three concepts, past, present and future. The good news is, you don’t have to talk about the event in great detail if you don’t want to.

You identify the worst part of distressing memory from your past… and the emotions that memory brings up for you now. We discuss the positive and negative beliefs you have about that event and rate them on a scale of zero to ten.

Our goal is to take the negative beliefs that are rated high on your scale and bring them down to zero… while raising your positive beliefs to a level of ten out of ten.

As you move into the future the negative belief no longer affects you as it once did.

Let’s use a car accident as an example.

During the EMDR session, you’re asked to recall an image from that distressing memory. For you, it’s the impact. Then you identify the negative, or false belief you have surrounding that event. A common one is I’ve been hit once, so I’m going to get hit again.

Let’s say the emotions connected to the accident are anger and frustration… anger at the other driver and frustration at yourself for not avoiding the crash.

As you focus on these emotions and beliefs, I use what’s called ‘bilateral stimulation’. This a gentle process involving a rhythmic pattern of either beeps or buzzes alternating from side to side.

This bilateral stimulation helps you reprocess the memory, releasing the negative emotions and beliefs.

Once the therapy sessions are completed, you no longer feel the physical and emotional sensations when you recall the accident. You’re comfortable, both as a driver and a passenger. You feel safe in the car again and can drive by the scene without getting upset.

EMDR Helps You Overcome Less Traumatic Events Too

Here’s an example of a memory that’s not as traumatic outwardly, yet it still causes you to hold yourself back.

It’s report card day. You’re excited to show your parents that you scored an overall average of 80 percent. As soon as you get home, you proudly hand the report card over… they read it together and one looks up and says: ‘Only 80? What happened to the other 20 percent?

Critical comments cut deeply, especially from those close to you. Hurt and humiliated, you think to yourself ‘nothing is ever good enough for them’.

Although you move past the outward feelings, the hurt is transformed into a negative belief of “I’m not good enough”. Now as an adult, you hold yourself back from what you want, because you don’t think you deserve it. “I’m not good enough to try out for the team….to go for that promotion… to go for the girl (or guy)”.

Or perhaps this negative belief pushed you to be a perfectionist. You go well beyond ‘striving to do your best’… for you, everything must be perfect. You take hours to hang a picture so it’s ‘just right’. You won’t try anything new unless you know you can do it perfectly.

Either way, one simple incident—with lasting implications—holds you back from reaching your full potential. All because you don’t see that a negative belief is ruling your choices.

What Can EMDR Do for You?

If your experiences are holding you back from a fulfilled and productive life, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at what EMDR can do for you.

EMDR allows you transform your negative beliefs… helps you remove the painful emotions behind those limiting beliefs… so you can become more emotionally healthy.

The emotional well-being necessary to enjoy the rich full life you deserve.

To see if this therapy is right for you, call me at 705-257-6857. During our initial session, we can determine the number of sessions that best suits your needs.

Share this with a friend.

IS EMDR Helpful to Treat PTSD?

By Monique Morrison • April 28, 2020
Yes, EMDR (Eye Movement and Desensitization) is the most researched treatment for PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder). Significant decreases in many symptoms of PTSD have been found in as few as 3-4 sessions. Some of the symptoms of PTSD that people might experience after a trauma might be as follows: Emotional numbing Unwanted thoughts or images about a distressing event Exaggerated startle response Recurrent nightmares Loss of interest or participation in pleasurable activities Stress related to cues or triggers of the distressing event Flashbacks of the distressing event Hypervigilence or scanning of the environment Inability to recall parts of the distressing event Avoiding places, people, or activities related to the trauma Avoiding thoughts, feelings, and conversations about the trauma Sensing a foreshortened future Insomnia-hard to fall or stay asleep Feeling estranged from others Difficulty concentrating Restricted range of emotions Decreased pleasure Distancing from others Irritability or anger Dissociation Since there is no homework with EMDR, the overall time is much shorter with this therapy. Research indicates that the benefit of this treatment continues over time and the issues that caused the initial trauma are neutralized and do not continue to cause problems once it is cleared through EMDR. The effects of EMDR have been found to be superior to many other types of therapy for PTSD such as relaxation training, biofeedback, active listening, and 1:1 individual therapy. EMDR can be helpful even if the client does not wish to share the details of the trauma with the therapist. This has been especially helpful in working with the veterans. EMDR can soften the pain of past experiences and improve feelings of calmness and happiness.

Recovering from Trauma with EMDR

By Monique Morrison • April 28, 2020
Although I’m trained in a variety of therapy techniques, one type of therapy that I find particularly beneficial for many of my clients is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR originated as a technique in the 1950s, and I became familiar with it while completing my training in this therapeutic method in the military base in CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick. I was involved with opening the Veterans Affairs Canada office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and assisted many veterans with recovering from trauma experienced in war using EMDR. Although this method was originally intended as a technique for reprocessing war trauma, it is actually ideal for almost anyone who has experienced trauma.

Where to Find Free Mental Health Services in Sault Ste. Marie

By Beverly Hann • January 8, 2018
One question that I am frequently asked is where to go to receive free mental health services in Sault Ste. Marie. Although I would caution against choosing a psychological health professional or resource based solely on cost, I do recognize the need for affordable mental health care. If your need is urgent, you may want to consider a walk-in facility, or use one of the hotlines listed below. If you would like to discuss other holistic therapeutic approaches for less time sensitive issues, please get in touch.