EMDR – A New Tool in My Toolbox

Tomorrow, I embark on a new part of my healing journey . . . and although I am excited, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also terrified. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I’ve been moving in and out of a bit of a funk since the early part of the winter. The landscape of my life (especially relationship-wise) is changing in many ways, and intense, sometimes painful emotions have arisen. My therapist and I have talked about how my serotonin is depleted, and it’s situational. The depletion is not so much that I need medication (yet) to deal with it, but enough that it is definitely affecting the overall quality of my life to a small degree.

So, a few weeks ago, my therapist mentioned that a colleague of his does something called EMDR – Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. According to the EMDR Institute Website, EMDR is “a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.” From what a couple of friends who have experienced it have told me, EMDR stimulates both sides of the brain and re-trains the pathways so that healing of deep emotional beliefs, pains, and traumas can occur.

Tomorrow, my therapist and I will meet with his colleague and I will experience my first EMDR session. I am definitely excited for (and in need of) this profound healing. However, I am also a bit scared. I know I am a little “depleted” to begin with, and the fear is that if more deep emotions and pain surface, I won’t be able to handle it. My therapist has reassured me that EMDR may bring up emotions but that ultimately, it will lead to relief – and that he will be there in the session to assist in the process. So, this is where life is asking me to trust … to take a deep breath, know that this is going to be very healing, and that I have the support and strength I need to move through this. Let’s see where it all leads!