EMDR

Rex and Anna’s Story

Rex and Anna have been married for eight years.
Rex is 31 and Anna is 28, and together they have three children.

They met in college, fell in love quickly, and enjoyed a short engagement.
They were best friends and soul mates, and still are.

And… there have also been far too many seasons when all communication has shut down, emotions are blocked, and intimacy fades.

Anna loves her husband.
She truly trusts his character.

After all, it was him, and has been him.
He was there, and is here now.

The one who picked up the shattered pieces of her soul.
The one who has made every imaginable attempt trying to help her put the pieces back together.

The pain from this one single incident haunts Anna today.
She has trouble sleeping. Wakes drenched in sweat, panicked, and cannot catch a breath.
More and more difficulty concentrating, and is often forgetful with seemingly simple tasks.
She is easily and increasingly triggered, and misdirects her frustration to those she loves most.
Anna is left most days tired with a headache, stomach ache, and feeling guilty, ashamed, and afraid.

Rex loves Anna and is in this for the long haul.
He knew Anna before her pain, and misses her so badly it hurts.
His prayers have been endless.
But Rex is growing tired and he is growing weary.
He is holding on to hope with everything he has, but feels it slipping between his fingers.

Rex and Anna are exhausted and don’t know where else to turn.

Trauma

ANY adverse life experience.

 The severity of the traumatic event is NOT what is relevant.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS your brain came to, in relationship to that event, is what IS relevant.

When we experience something that is overwhelming to our system, such as a trauma, our brain struggles to know how to process and store those memories. Because of this, symptoms such as anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks can occur.

 A helpful analogy to understand how this works is to imagine that our memory is like a filing system. When a new experience comes into our mind, our brain has to decide which file to put that in. In the case of a traumatic memory, our brain becomes overwhelmed and does not know what file that experience belongs in, and therefore it gets stuck and is not stored in long term memory. Instead it stays in our short term working memory, which can cause us to be easily triggered in our day to day experiences.

 EMDR helps to ensure that trauma is thoroughly processed on all levels:

Mind (cognitively)
Body (somatically),
and Soul (emotionally).

 EMDR is a very effective and efficient therapeutic modality.

Many people report that after a single EMDR session they feel tremendous relief and a great sense of progress. Some clients find tremendous healing in as little as six sessions and are happy and comfortable with that, while others maintain a therapeutic relationship with their counselor that expands many years, and others land somewhere in between. Your length of therapy is uniquely individual, and will be an ongoing discussion with your counselor.

So the question is:
Are you someone who could benefit from EMDR therapy?

Are you feeling stuck?
Have you not dealt?
Is it getting to be too much?
Is it now affecting those you love the most?

 Are you ready for some relief?
Some healing?

 Let’s begin.

Video Courtesy of EMDR International Association