Stuck & Hopeless
Do you ever feel like you are stuck re-living a painful event in your life over and over again? Maybe it’s something from your childhood or adolescence. Maybe you’ve experienced some type of abuse or neglect. You just feel stuck! You might be thinking, “Will I ever be able to move on from this agonizing memory?” You have tried traditional talk therapy, but it doesn’t seem to help ease the pain or fully process the memory. That can be extremely discouraging! You just want some relief and progress. I understand. What if I told you there was an evidence-based technique specifically developed to treat trauma that is different from traditional talk therapy? Would you give it a try?
What about EMDR for trauma: How can it help?
There’s this technique called Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR for short). It’s an evidence-based treatment that uses bilateral stimulation to foster the natural healing process of the brain. Bilateral stimulation is just fancy talk for engaging both sides of the brain in order to effectively process thoughts, emotions, and memories. Sometimes talking about our trauma can re-trigger us which makes it difficult to fully process, but EMDR requires minimal talking in order for the brain to naturally heal. Understandably, that might feel weird especially if you are used to processing in talk therapy. The brain is a wonderful organ with capabilities of healing itself. My favorite quote by How Humans Heal sums it up well, “When it feels disheartening to learn trauma changes the brain, remember healing changes the brain too.”
Let’s Sum It Up
Sometimes we experience negative events in our life that leave us feeling stuck and hopeless. You might feel like you’ve tried talk therapy and it didn’t seem to do the trick to heal the trauma you’ve experienced. EMDR might be the next step in your healing journey. Your brain is capable of healing itself with the right guidance. A trained EMDR therapist will walk you through the EMDR process and be a warm presence for you as you journey through your memories. Reach out today if you would like to feel unstuck and like yourself again!
About Therapist Nicole Koronkowski, LSW – Barnum Counseling
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay