How Does EMDR Work For Anxiety?
EMDR therapy is a therapy technique used to address anxiety, particularly anxiety linked to past traumas or negative experiences. The letters “EMDR” stand for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR therapy has been proven effective in treating anxiety, PTSD, and other trauma-related disorders. Numerous studies show EMDR can both relieve symptoms and improve your mental well-being. While EMDR may seem strange at first, many clients find it very helpful for overcoming stuck points in their anxiety or trauma recovery.
How Does EMDR Work?
When a traumatic experience happens, it can get locked in your memory network with all the sights and sounds of that event. EMDR therapy helps unlock those memories and reframe them. Your therapist will have you recall distressing events while moving your eyes back and forth as you follow their fingers. This helps the memory processing areas of your brain activate and reframe those memories into less distressing ones. Over multiple sessions, the painful memories lose their intensity, so your anxiety and distress start to fade.
Bilateral Stimulation
The eye movements stimulate the opposite sides of your brain, helping it process the traumatic memories in a new way. This bilateral stimulation seems to help unlock the traumatic event from the part of your brain where it’s stuck, allowing you to view it from a new perspective. Over several sessions, the memory loses its painful emotional charge.
New Associations
EMDR also helps your brain make new, healthier associations with the traumatic event. The negative thoughts and beliefs you’ve linked to the memory are replaced with more positive ones. For example, feelings of fear and shame might be replaced with confidence and self-empowerment. New insights and understanding also emerge, allowing you to view yourself and the event in a healthier way.
EMDR for Treating Anxiety Disorders
During EMDR, you’ll recall distressing experiences while moving your eyes back and forth, following the movement of your therapist’s finger. This helps your brain access and reprocess traumatic memories. For anxiety, EMDR can help identify distressing memories that contribute to your symptoms. Your therapist will guide you through EMDR sessions to process these memories and the negative beliefs associated with them.
As you process the memory, the therapist will help you identify negative beliefs you formed about yourself due to the experience. For instance, a negative belief after a public speaking mishap could be, “I’m a failure.” EMDR aims to replace these negative beliefs with more positive and empowering ones, like, “I can learn from this and improve.”
Over multiple sessions, the distressing memories lose their emotional charge. EMDR may sound strange, but research shows it can be very effective for anxiety and trauma. It is thought to work by stimulating both sides of the brain to help process memories and change their effect on you. EMDR also increases relaxation and mindfulness.
Anxiety Disorders Treated by EMDR
Generalized anxiety disorder: Excessive anxiety and worry occurring most days for at least 6 months. EMDR can help process the root causes of anxiety and make worries feel more manageable.
Social anxiety disorder: Fear of social interactions and being scrutinized or embarrassed in social situations. EMDR targets the memories and experiences that contribute to social anxiety.
Panic disorder: Recurrent panic attacks accompanied by worry about future attacks. EMDR helps reframe thoughts about panic sensations and reduce their threat.
PTSD: Persistent frightening thoughts and memories of a traumatic event. EMDR is very effective in reducing PTSD symptoms by reprocessing traumatic memories.
EMDR may cause some distress as traumatic memories surface, but a skilled EMDR therapist will guide you through the process to minimize discomfort. For anxiety and PTSD, EMDR can be life-changing and provide rapid, long-lasting relief from distressing symptoms.
If you’re interested in learning more about EMDR and its potential benefits for anxiety, the first step is finding a licensed therapist trained in EMDR therapy. EMDR requires specialized training and certification, so look for therapists listing “EMDR” and “EMDRIA certified” in their credentials.
