Anxiety is a common disorder affecting people all over the world. Over 40 million adults in the United States alone are dealing with some type of anxiety disorder.
You shouldn't think of anxiety as a negative thing. It’s actually your body’s own built in alarm system. When you're faced with a potentially threatening or dangerous situation, anxiety helps you become more alert. Unfortunately, external stressors can easily throw this system off course. That can explain why anxiety sometimes feels like a never ending chaos that you can’t seem to shut off.
When this happens, you may find yourself needing a little extra help to regain control over it. That’s where EMDR therapy comes in.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR was originally created to manage traumatic memories and PTSD. It also has effectiveness in treating anxiety amongst many other conditions.
The whole EMDR approach is based on the idea that when we experience any type of trauma or develop significant anxiety, the brain is not able to fully process these experiences as it would normally do. This leaves certain memories “stuck” in a place where they can cause some havoc on our daily functioning.
The EMDR process involves eight phases:
History and Treatment Planning: You and your therapist will discuss your full history, any symptoms you’ve been experiencing, and health matters to see where the course of the EMDR needs to focus.
Preparation: During this phase, you will build rapport with your therapist to create a safe space to begin treatment.
Assessment: Your therapist will identify the most appropriate memory or triggering thought to target during your session. This may include image, body sensations, or cognition.
Desensitization: This is the start of the physical part of the approach. Your therapist will begin implementing bilateral stimulation while you focus on the specific target memory/thought. You will be guided to perform certain eye movements while the therapist uses auditory sounds or tactile taps to engage both sides of your brain.
Installation: During the installation phase, you will replace negative thoughts or feelings with more positive beliefs while focusing on that targeted memory/thought.
Body Scanning: After the desensitization and installation phases, you will be guided through performing a full body scan to see if there are any negative sensations anywhere following the treatment.
Closure: This phase serves to make sure you feel safe and protected following treatment. Your therapist will help return you to a state of calm in the present moment before ending the session.
Reevaluation: Each new session will start with a reevaluation of previously reprocessed memories/thoughts to ensure they are no longer causing distress.
How Does EMDR Work for Anxiety?
Anxiety disorders can lead to distorted thoughts and altered realities. Much of what causes the negative version of anxiety is some underlying unprocessed memory or negative belief. Holding onto these can make you feel triggered in future situations where something similar happens. Anxiety lies to you, making you feel like you have no control over these situations. Eventually, you’ll begin to believe the lies your anxiety is telling you.
EMDR takes you on a journey that simulates your REM sleep cycles, where your brain can rest and recover, but also confronts this altered thought process. It places you in a position to challenge negative, charged memories and replace them with productive, positive ones.
Getting Started
EMDR is may or may not work better for you than other methods, but is effective with relatively no side effects. The approach also tends to be faster than other talk therapy methods.
If anxiety is throwing you for a loop, EMDR may be an area worth exploring. Sitting down with an EMDR therapist can help uncover what’s really at the core of your anxiety and help teach you ways to better manage it.
Ready to break this cycle? Contact us to schedule your first session today.
About the Author
Madeline Rice, LCSW, is a licensed mental health therapist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and owner and founder of Madeline Rice & Associates. She offers therapy to teens and women seeking help with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders and also works closely with couples. The main modalities she uses in working with clients include CBT, EMDR, IFS, mindfulness, and psychodynamic. Madeline offers counseling in online sessions.
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