EMDR, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is an effective type of therapy that aids in reprocessing traumatic memories in the past.
If you’ve heard a loved one who has had incredible healing experiences from doing EMDR with their therapist, you may be wondering if EMDR therapy is right for you.
I’ve compiled a list of common trauma responses below to help indicate whether EMDR therapy may be right for you.
1. You find yourself having a fight response. There are various forms of trauma responses but the flight response is one of them. This means, if there is a situation in the present, you find yourself getting angry beyond what the current situation would have called for. For example, your partner forgets to call to tell you they are running late for plans and your instant response is to yell at your partner. After you get off the phone you may feel guilty for “letting your anger get the best of you”.
2. You find yourself having a flight response. This is another trauma amygdala response. This means when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed that you have the impulse to run away or avoid the situation altogether. For example, you’re having a fight with your partner so you decide to go home to your parents for the weekend instead of staying in town to work the personal conflict through.
3. You find yourself having a befriend response. This is another trauma response. A befriend response will often show in the form of “people pleasing”. For example, even though you may not want a certain type of food for dinner, if your friend is in town, you may agree to that type of food just to avoid feared conflict or abandonment.
4. You find yourself having a freeze response. This is the last trauma response. The trauma freeze response may feel like you are shutting down completely. For example, your family member is trying to express hurt feelings over something you did and you end up zoning out, turning inward and not responding in any real way.
There are a tremendous amount of other more specific trauma symptoms that may show up for you. If you are noticing you are having a flight, fight, freeze or befriend response EMDR is definitely right for you.
Let me know if you have any questions and please feel free to reach out at reneeminxtherapy@gmail.com !
Metta Holistic Therapy 