EMDR Trauma Therapy
An effective and evidence-based treatment for trauma experiences is EMDR therapy. Life gives us ups and downs, and typically we are able to cope with our experiences. At times, a negative experience will occur that is outside our ability to cope. Or a series of negative events may occur that pile up and overwhelm our abilities. At times in life, we can become wounded.
An effective treatment for trauma is EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). EMDR trauma therapy can assist you in exploring a past hurt or trauma in a safe environment, assisted by a licensed and certified EMDR therapist. EMDR therapy can help you increase coping, understanding, and move forward from negative experience. EMDR trauma therapy is generally faster than other forms of psychotherapy trauma treatment.
What is Trauma?
What qualifies as “trauma” can be difficult to determine since the term is frequently used in casual conversation, but not always applied to negative life experiences. Trauma can take the form of distinct negative experiences that are highly charged (emotionally, physically, or mentally). Trauma can take the form of consistent negative messages that add up over time (such as negative childhood relationships or isolation). These negative experiences can linger in our minds, nightmares, behaviors, relationships, or future activities. Not every bad experience is a trauma, but living with trauma can feel like living in a shadow or re-experiencing the worst parts of the past.
Does Trauma Mean I am Crazy?
Having difficulty coping does not mean that you are crazy. The symptoms of PTSD or trauma may be very disturbing and you may not feel like yourself. People sometimes wonder why they can’t just “get over it,” or feel that they are “overreacting” since the dangerous or negative experience is over. The difficulty with trauma is that our brains don’t process these events as it does regular events, and the feelings, sensations, and perceptions can feel like they are stuck in limbo…playing over and over.
These past experiences continue to place pressure and influence (unwanted) on the present. Nightmares, physical arousal such as being on guard, avoiding people or places that resemble a previous bad event, having panic attacks, experiencing flashbacks…these are a few of the symptoms that can contribute to a person feeling crazy.
You are not crazy. You probably need some assistance to help make sense of a trauma that has overwhelmed your current coping ability. You might be diagnosed with PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) or an anxiety disorder; this still does not mean that you are crazy. There is help and treatment for trauma: both the big “T” traumas, and help for the small “t” traumas. EMDR trauma therapy can help you reprocess negative events and allow these feelings, sensations, and perceptions to become unstuck.
EMDR Trauma Therapy as Wound Care
If you had a splinter in your hand, you would have the fragment removed before expecting the skin to heal. If the foreign object was left within the hand, infection, swelling, or scar tissue would likely form. The wound may reopen and continue to be problematic.
In a similar way to a physical cut, trauma can be a splinter that hampers proper healing and can impair regular functioning. EMDR trauma therapy can assist in reprocessing the negative trauma which can act like removing the splinter, prior to setting a wound to heal.
It is not crazy to seek help for a physical wound. It is not crazy to seek help for an emotional or mental wound. If trauma symptoms or past events are impairing your ability to live your life, it is possible that EMDR therapy may be beneficial for you. A licensed and certified EMDR therapist can assist you in reprocessing the past to help you heal from trauma.