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EMDR and Anxiety

EMDR Therapy, Mental Health, Online Counselling, Parent, Teen

EMDR and Anxiety

by umohemem

EMDR and Anxiety – If you suffer from anxiety, you’re not alone. In fact, anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health conditions in the United States, affecting 40 million adults each year. While there are many treatment options available, one that has shown promising results is eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). But what is EMDR, and how does it work? Let’s take a closer look.

What Is EMDR – EMDR and Anxiety

EMDR is a type of therapy that was developed in the 1980s to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since then, it has been found to be effective for treating a variety of other conditions, including anxiety.

EMDR therapy consists of eight phases:

  1. History taking: The therapist will ask you about your medical history, symptoms, and any traumas you have experienced.
  2. Preparation: The therapist will explain the EMDR process and help you develop coping skills to deal with any distress that may arise during the session.
  3. Assessment: The therapist will identify specific events that trigger your anxiety and help you develop positive beliefs about yourself.
  4. Desensitization: The therapist will use bilateral stimulation (usually eye movements) to help you process the negative emotions associated with your trigger events.
  5. Installation: The therapist will help you reinforce the positive beliefs you developed in phase three.
  6. Body scan: The therapist will help you become aware of any physical sensations you experience in your body when thinking about your trigger events.
  7. Closure: The therapist will help you develop coping skills to deal with any residual distress from the session.
  8. Reevaluation: The therapist will assess your progress and determine if additional sessions are necessary.

How Does EMDR Work?

It’s believed that EMDR works by helping you process and integrate traumatic memories into your existing schema (i.e., the way you understand and make sense of the world). When we experience trauma, our brain doesn’t process the event like a normal memory; instead, it gets “stuck” in our limbic system—the emotional center of our brain—and becomes unprocessed sensory data. This can lead to difficulties down the road, such as sleep problems, flashbacks, anxiety, and depression. EMDR appears to help “unstick” these memories so that they can be processed normally and integrated into our schema .

This theory is supported by research showing that bilateral stimulation helps reduce activity in the amygdala—the part of the brain responsible for fear response—and increases activity in the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for memory formation . In other words, EMDR may work by helping to reduce fear response and improve memory formation . However, more research is needed to confirm this theory .                                                                                                                                                           

If you’re struggling with anxiety, know that you’re not alone—anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health conditions in America today. Thankfully, there are many treatment options available, one of which is EMDR. EMDR therapy has shown promising results for treating anxiety and other mental health conditions. If you think EMDR might be right for you call or send an email about getting started with therapy .

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