Trauma

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Ask yourself...

• Are you feeling overwhelmed by emotions or negative thoughts about yourself? 
• Do small challenges seem too much to handle?
• Do you have a traumatic past experience that keeps popping up in your head?

If these sound familiar to you, you are not alone. Many people experience trauma that creeps up into their lives. The human body is an extraordinary, self-sustaining system designed to heal and maintain its physical and emotional components in harmony. Just as our bodies recover from bodily injuries, such as cuts or bruises, our brains are equipped with mechanisms to process emotional stress and heal from life’s challenges. However, when these natural processes are disrupted, whether in the body or the mind, professional care becomes essential to restore balance and well-being. For example, the body’s innate ability to regulate its temperature allows us to swim in frigid water without matching the water’s temperature. Similarly, minor illnesses or injuries often heal on their own without intervention. This self-regulatory capacity extends to the emotional realm as well: the brain processes stress, emotions, and experiences, particularly during REM sleep, allowing us to adapt and heal. REM sleep is integral to emotional regulation, memory processing, and overall psychological restoration.

Similar to a severe physical injury, such as a fractured bone, which necessitates medical intervention to facilitate proper healing, significant psychological trauma can overwhelm the brain's inherent coping mechanisms. When the brain becomes "stuck" and is unable to effectively process and integrate a traumatic experience, it disrupts emotional functioning in a manner akin to how an untreated physical wound impedes the body’s operations. In both scenarios, professional care—whether medical or therapeutic—is essential for recovery.

Traumatic experiences can bypass the brain’s normal processing system, resulting in the maladaptive storage of memories. Instead of being integrated into the brain’s broader memory network, these experiences remain isolated, interfering with emotional and cognitive functioning. Just as a physical injury might leave the body inflamed or weakened, unresolved emotional trauma leaves the mind on high alert, triggering responses that mirror the original distress. This can manifest as conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or complex PTSD, much like untreated physical injuries can lead to chronic pain or infection.

The brain and body work together as a unified system, using positive and negative feedback signals to maintain health and safety. Positive feedback—such as the sense of joy after connecting with loved ones—reinforces well-being, while negative feedback, like physical pain, acts as a warning to prevent harm. Similarly, the brain learns from emotional experiences, allowing us to adapt and avoid repeating harmful situations. However, when traumatic memories remain unresolved, these signals can become maladaptive, keeping the body and brain trapped in a cycle of stress and reactivity.

Key brain structures, like the hippocampus, amygdala, and limbic system, play vital roles in storing emotional and episodic memories. Over time, most experiences are sent to the neocortex, where their intensity diminishes, and they are integrated into general knowledge. This enables us to recount past events without becoming emotionally overwhelmed. When an experience is too intense to process, however, the brain’s normal integration falters. Much like an untreated wound continues to cause pain, unresolved trauma sends persistent signals that perpetuate distress and hinder healing.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) provides a therapeutic approach that targets these stuck memories, enabling the brain to process and integrate them. EMDR utilizes the same healing mechanisms as REM sleep, allowing individuals to reprocess traumatic experiences while remaining fully awake and in control. EMDR serves as a tool to restore the brain’s ability to function more appropriately and effectively. This holistic and safe therapy enables emotional healing, promoting psychological well-being and a renewed sense of balance.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can help you feel better. EMDR was originally created to help military veterans with PTSD, but it now helps people from all walks of life deal with many types of trauma, including abandonment trauma, attachment, domestic violence, car accidents, severe weather catastrophes, and more. 

EMDR therapy can help you change how you relate to painful memories, such as those from childhood, emotional abuse, or unhealthy behaviors like binge eating. Importantly, EMDR also helps you develop positive beliefs about yourself. Whether you've experienced a single traumatic event, like a car accident, or multiple hardships, EMDR can reduce symptoms of PTSD, shame, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and addiction. By addressing unresolved trauma, EMDR can help improve your mood, increase your energy, and support a healthier self-image. 

So, how does EMDR work? When we sleep, our eyes move back and forth, which helps our brains process information. This mechanism enables us to integrate experiences and feel renewed upon waking. Babies often calm down when they are rocked gently, taking in feelings of comfort during this EMDR processing. Similarly, children and teenagers often find comfort in rocking themselves during times of stress. While our brains usually manage disturbing experiences well, severe trauma can disrupt this process. When trauma occurs, our brains may trap painful memories instead of fully processing them. This can leave us feeling uneasy and emotionally charged, leading to feelings of fear, shame, or helplessness, which can impact our quality of life. EMDR focuses on identifying these troubling memories, emotions, and behaviors. It stimulates the brain’s ability to process information using eye movements, touch, or sound. This process mimics the benefits of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep while you remain awake and in control.

The therapy helps different parts of the brain communicate. 

By engaging both sides of the brain (bilateral stimulation), EMDR allows you to connect with the present while addressing past traumas. This approach enables your brain to process and integrate painful memories, reducing their negative effects on your life. It's important to note that EMDR doesn’t erase memories. Instead, it helps you integrate them in a healthy way. By processing these memories, you can release the emotional weight they carry, leading to healing and a better outlook on life. In short, EMDR can help lessen the pain of memories, allowing you to move forward with strength. This therapy supports your emotional healing journey, helping you take charge of your story and thrive. If you're ready to start feeling better and living a more fulfilling life, consider trying EMDR therapy. You deserve this chance to transform your life!