Trauma – AM Nelson Counseling Services

July 07 2024

EMDR Therapy Helps Normal People Heal From Trauma

People who seek trauma EMDR therapy are normal, regular people who have experienced a life event that has gone wrong. Perhaps you were at the right place at the wrong time and experienced a crime, natural disaster, or witnessed a violent act. Perhaps you were at the wrong place and unforeseen events unfolded that were outside of your control. Perhaps you were involved in a relationship (childhood or adult) that did not nurture your self-worth or was abusive. In short, negative life events can happen to anyone, unexpectedly. This is not your fault. An EMDR Therapist can help guide you to move past these unfortunate events. You do not need to allow these negative events to define the rest of your life.

Signs and Symptoms that EMDR Therapy Could Be Helpful

Normal, regular people who are searching for a way to stop past negative events from impairing their current lives go to EMDR therapy. Some people are able to continue living in a similar way as they did before, such as meeting family obligations and excelling at work. Other people have more pervasive symptoms and problems carrying out daily tasks and roles; they may have noticed a shift in how relationships feel, or may not have been able to go to work or school. Sometimes people feel “on edge,” irritable, or grumpy in a way that isn’t normal for them. Problems with concentration or having difficulty recalling information or learning new things can occur.

Having signs or symptoms that something is wrong after something has actually gone quite wrong, does not make you weak or crazy. It does mean that something profound has happened that may be beyond your ability to cope with it alone. If you continue to feel the negative impact of a traumatic experience several weeks after the event is over, EMDR therapy may benefit you.

Some life experiences seem to carry a negative charge that is pervasive and powerful. If can be difficult to shake a feeling of blame, shame, powerlessness, or fear. People often wonder “why.” Why did it happen, why won’t it stop, why were they in a particular place, why didn’t they trust a certain feeling, why did they ignore a gut sense? People also continue to replay scenes in their minds, or jump at similar sounds or places. Nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of reminders, always feeling on guard, or having intrusive thoughts can be symptoms of an unresolved trauma experience that is still affecting you.

How Do I Start EMDR Therapy?

Finding a licensed psychotherapist who is also certified in EMDR is a great place to start. EMDR therapy by a licensed and EMDR certified psychotherapist can assist you in exploring, processing, and moving past these trauma symptoms. EMDR is psychotherapy and requires considerable experience, knowledge, and training to be conducted in a safe and effective manner. By finding a licensed psychotherapist who is also certified in EMDR treatment, you are providing yourself with an opportunity to work with a professional who understands trauma and has considerable experience helping others.

If you miss the old you, or are looking to find the new version of yourself that doesn’t seem stuck in the past, EMDR therapy may help. EMDR therapy explores previous, current, and future events, thoughts, and feelings. The process can help you shift to more adaptive, positive ways of managing and conceptualizing unfortunate life experiences.

September 09 2023

Can I Benefit From EDMR Without Having Experienced Trauma?

Can I Benefit From EDMR Without Having Experienced Trauma?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach known for its effectiveness in treating trauma. But can you do EMDR without trauma? In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore the versatile world of EMDR therapy and how it can benefit individuals who may not have experienced trauma but still seek its therapeutic advantages.

EMDR: A Tool for a Wide Range of Concerns

One of the misconceptions about EMDR therapy is that it’s exclusively for individuals who have experienced trauma. However, a growing body of research highlights how EMDR can be beneficial for a wide range of concerns, even in the absence of trauma.

No Trauma Required for EMDR

The beauty of EMDR therapy lies in its adaptability. Unlike some treatments that necessitate a specific diagnosis or trauma history, EMDR does not require you to meet these criteria. EMDR is designed to target the level of disturbance or discomfort an individual is experiencing, irrespective of whether it fits within a specific diagnostic label.

This means you don’t need to have a diagnosed condition or a traumatic experience to explore the benefits of EMDR therapy. Whether you’re grappling with stress, anxiety, phobias, or simply seeking personal growth and self-improvement, EMDR can be a valuable tool to help you navigate these challenges.

The Versatility of EMDR

EMDR therapy is like a multi-tool in the world of mental health. While its roots are in trauma treatment, it has shown remarkable adaptability in addressing various concerns:

Stress: Daily life can be filled with stressors, big and small. EMDR can help individuals manage and reduce stress levels by targeting the underlying sources of tension.
Anxiety: Whether you’re dealing with generalized anxiety or specific phobias, EMDR can assist in desensitizing anxiety triggers and promoting a sense of calm.
Depression: EMDR therapy can be a valuable addition to traditional depression treatment, helping individuals explore the emotional roots of their depression and develop healthier coping strategies.
Self-Improvement: Even if you’re not grappling with a particular issue, EMDR can be a tool for personal growth. It can help you address limiting beliefs, enhance self-esteem, and unlock your full potential.

The Power of EMDR for Unresolved Concerns

It’s important to remember that unresolved concerns or discomfort don’t always have to be tied to a specific traumatic event or diagnosis. Sometimes, we carry emotional baggage from past experiences or face ongoing challenges that impact our well-being.

EMDR therapy’s adaptive nature makes it suitable for addressing these concerns. It allows individuals to process and heal from emotional wounds, regardless of their origin. By doing so, EMDR can pave the way for a more fulfilling and balanced life.

Seeking EMDR Guidance

While EMDR therapy can benefit a wide range of concerns, it’s crucial to seek the guidance of a qualified EMDR therapist. A trained professional can assess your unique needs and tailor the therapy to address your specific goals and challenges.

In summary, EMDR therapy is not limited to trauma or specific diagnoses. Its versatility makes it a valuable tool for anyone seeking emotional healing, personal growth, or relief from various concerns. If you’re curious about how EMDR can benefit you, consider reaching out to a licensed therapist to explore the possibilities.

September 09 2023

What Conditions and Problems Does EMDR Treat? A Beginner’s Guide

Understanding EMDR Treatment

When it comes to seeking effective mental health treatment, it’s essential to know your options. One lesser-known but highly effective therapy is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). While EMDR might sound complicated, it’s a versatile treatment method that can address a wide range of conditions and problems. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore what EMDR is and delve into the various conditions it can effectively treat.

EMDR for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

One of the most well-known uses of EMDR treatment is for individuals struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD can develop after experiencing traumatic events, such as accidents, abuse, combat, or natural disasters. People with PTSD often suffer from flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety related to their traumatic experiences.

EMDR helps individuals process and heal from these traumatic memories by using a structured approach. During EMDR therapy, a trained therapist guides patients through a series of bilateral stimulation techniques, such as following the therapist’s finger movements with their eyes. This process helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity and allowing patients to regain control over their lives.

EMDR for Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions worldwide. EMDR treatment has shown promising results in alleviating symptoms of various anxiety disorders, including:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: People with generalized anxiety disorder often experience excessive worry and fear about everyday situations. EMDR can help them process the underlying causes of their anxiety.
Panic Disorder: Individuals with panic disorder have sudden and intense episodes of fear, known as panic attacks. EMDR can assist in identifying and addressing the triggers behind these episodes.
Phobias: Whether it’s a fear of flying, spiders, or heights, phobias can be debilitating. EMDR can be used to desensitize individuals to their specific phobias.
Social Anxiety/Phobia: EMDR can help those who struggle with social anxiety by addressing the root causes of their fears and helping them build confidence in social situations.

EMDR for Depression Disorders

Depression can manifest in various forms, and EMDR is a valuable tool in treating different types of depression, including:

Major Depressive Disorder: EMDR helps individuals with major depressive disorder explore the underlying issues contributing to their depression and develop coping strategies.
Persistent Depressive Disorder: Also known as dysthymia, this form of depression is characterized by chronic low mood. EMDR can help individuals identify and address long-standing emotional patterns.
Illness-Related Depression: Coping with chronic illness can lead to depressive symptoms. EMDR can assist in processing the emotional impact of illness.

EMDR for Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders involve a disconnection between one’s thoughts, identity, consciousness, and memory. EMDR has been applied successfully to treat:

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Amnesia: DID involves the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states, each with its own way of perceiving the world. EMDR can help individuals integrate these identities and heal from past traumas.
Depersonalization or Derealization Disorder: Individuals with these disorders often feel detached from themselves or their surroundings. EMDR can assist in reconnecting them to their sense of self and reality.

EMDR for Eating Disorders

Eating disorders can have devastating physical and psychological consequences. EMDR has been used in the treatment of:

Anorexia Nervosa: EMDR can help individuals address the underlying issues related to body image and self-esteem that contribute to this condition.
Bulimia Nervosa: EMDR can assist individuals in managing the impulses and emotional triggers that lead to binge-eating and purging behaviors.
Binge-Eating Disorder: EMDR can help individuals gain insight into the emotional factors driving their binge-eating episodes and develop healthier coping mechanisms.

EMDR for Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria occurs when an individual’s gender identity doesn’t align with their assigned gender at birth. EMDR can be used to help individuals explore their feelings, experiences, and challenges related to gender identity.

EMDR for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive, distressing thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). EMDR can assist individuals in identifying and reducing the anxiety associated with these thoughts and behaviors, promoting healthier coping mechanisms.

EMDR for Personality Disorders

Personality disorders can profoundly affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, and relationships. EMDR has shown promise in treating:

Borderline Personality Disorder: EMDR can help individuals with borderline personality disorder manage their intense emotions and unstable relationships by addressing past traumas.
Avoidant Personality Disorder: Individuals with this disorder often experience extreme social anxiety. EMDR can assist in addressing the underlying causes of this anxiety.
Antisocial Personality Disorder: While EMDR may not treat the core traits of this disorder, it can help individuals address trauma and improve their overall well-being.

EMDR for Trauma Disorders

In addition to PTSD, EMDR can effectively treat other trauma-related disorders, including:

Acute Stress Disorder: Similar to PTSD, acute stress disorder can develop after a traumatic event. EMDR helps individuals process these experiences, preventing long-term distress.
Adjustment Disorder: EMDR can assist individuals in coping with major life changes, such as job loss or divorce, by helping them process the associated emotions and adapt more effectively.

EMDR Can Be a Game-Changer

In conclusion, EMDR treatment is a versatile and highly effective approach for addressing a wide range of mental health conditions and problems. Whether you’re struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or personality issues, EMDR offers hope and healing. It’s important to remember that EMDR is most effective when administered by a trained and licensed therapist. If you or someone you know is dealing with any of the conditions mentioned in this guide, consider discussing EMDR treatment with a mental health professional.

EMDR treatment can be a game-changer, providing a path to recovery, emotional well-being, and a brighter future.

October 10 2019

Using EMDR for Trauma Therapy

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.

It Get's Better

Category Archives: Trauma