Below are 10 subtle EMDR benefits. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an increasingly popular therapy that uses eye movements, hand gestures, or even audio tones or hand buzzers to stimulate the left and right hemispheres of your brain.
This type of bilateral stimulation has been to shown to help update a distressed mind with reframed, positive information. The memories remain, but you can process and release the pain. In addition, to this primary benefit, participants also experience a host of other EMDR therapy benefits that change their thinking, goals, relationships, and even the dreams they dream at night.
EMDR therapy benefits you might expect to see:
1. Details and Dreams: Your Brain Awakens
A common EMDR therapy benefit is, generally, more accessible memories and an active dream state result. EMDR may seem to awaken and invigorate your brain in a general sense, stimulating access to vividly detailed recall and REM sleep.
Many EMDR participants report clear memories of their childhoods including sights, smells, and sensations, all formerly lost in their minds prior to treatment. Similarly, dreams may seem real and often tap into memories of relationships and experiences of the past as well. These mental experiences can then be explored and used for increased self-awareness. Thus, allowing you to more completely clear out sensations and feelings that affect you physically and mentally
2. The Brain’s Ability to Heal Itself Becomes Increasingly Evident
EMDR Therapy sessions process difficult thoughts and put them int their proper place. Effectively you update old, negative perceptions with positive resolutions. Overwhelm becomes a thing of the past as you become familiar with the process and allow the brains’ natural ability to heal itself happen freely.
3. Perspective Replace Overwhelm and Panic
EMDR Therapy won’t fix everything. Bills, car repairs, family arguments, sleepless nights, money problems, will still get in your way. But the freedom you have to face them with less grief, depression, anxiety greatly improves your quality of life. Therefore, EMDR therapy benefits include giving you the ability to stay more present and engaged in today's challenges.
4. A General Sense of Health and Wellbeing
All in all, EMDR therapy benefits allow you to feel healthier and more capable of investing in self-care. These sessions free up your capacity for daily, routine activities that prioritize your present situation over past struggles. As a result, you may start wanting to look better, feel better and seek better treatment from and for yourself. Sleep, healthy eating, improved healthcare and more become more important as you perceive a brighter future.
5. Acknowledgment and Acceptance & Makes You Mentally Stronger
Getting better means coming to terms with yourself and the entirety of your story. To do this gently, quickly, and fully confident of its therapeutic staying power, makes you feel more powerful and eager to face anything else that keeps from feeling your best.
6. Your Relationships May Shift
You will likely feel a surge of confident energy and emotional incentive to deal with the people around you. You will probably have more self-assurance dealing with other people, expressing yourself and asserting your viewpoint. Eager to pursue and improve relationships, you resolve issues as best you can, fully prepared to move on.
7. You are No Longer Intimidated
Your memories are no longer repetitive, intrusive mental bullies. You finally feel able to leave the past behind you. It doesn’t keep you defensive or on edge. The negative feelings connected to the past lose the power to sneak up on you. You are simply aware of the past and in charge of your responses. You no longer live with so much anxiety, empowered to face uncertainty with courage, assured of your resilience.
8. Adverse Events Fuel Post-traumatic Growth
You may find that debilitating childhood trauma, domestic abuse, or other trauma is given context and purpose once EMDR therapy benefits take effect. Previously feeling bullied, neglected, or abandoned may now feel like a way to connect with others. Through activism, outreach, or personal projects, you can use the lessons of your experience to enrich your life and the lives of others.
9. Boundaries are Easier to Build and Respect
Feeling neither helpless or anxious, you may find you are no longer consumed with the idea that your limits are destined to be breached or that you need impenetrable walls to keep yourself safe. EMDR helps you find clarity and balance with regard to your hurts. Working with a therapist, you begin to capably put in place safe zones and boundaries that you feel confident maintaining without extreme behavior or apology.
10. Reflection, Insight, Gratitude, and Generosity are Invaluable Gains
Unburdened by unproductive reactions and ongoing pain, you can finally see yourself and your experiences as opportunities to be your authentic self. EMDR quickly gets you to a place of inner observance and accurate perspective that talk therapy cannot achieve for many people. Rather than rehash the past, you get to see how EMDR can positively inform you about yourself, your potential, and the beauty of sharing your future. Who wouldn’t want to get on with living a life like that?
If you are ready to move forward, consider EMDR therapy. I’m here to help.
Please contact me for a free consultation.
In addition, to learn more about EMDR Therapy EMDR Therapy. Serving Boulder, Longmont, Denver.
For your other needs, you can count on April Lyons Psychotherapy Group, to help you heal and grow through EMDR therapy, somatic therapy, trauma therapy, and PTSD treatment – because we believe in your strength and potential for recovery.
