Trauma, PTSD and EMDR

 A traumatic incident can be  just about anything, although obvious examples are  accidents, car crashes, natural disasters, acts of terrorism.  A person can experience trauma by either being involved in or witnessing a traumatic event, a person can also become traumatised after just being told about a traumatic experience of a loved one.

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person’s daily life.

People with PTSD experience three different kinds of symptoms.

The first set of symptoms involves reliving the trauma in some way such as becoming upset when confronted with a traumatic reminder or thinking about the trauma when you are trying to do something else.

The second set of symptoms involves either staying away from places or people that remind you of the trauma, isolating from other people, or feeling numb.

The third set of symptoms includes things such as feeling on guard, irritable, or startling easily.

How is PTSD treated ?

EMDR is an acronym for a psychotherapeutic technique called Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.

EMDR is a treatment method used to heal the symptoms of trauma, as well as other emotional conditions, such as anxiety, phobias. EMDR is the most effective and rapid method for healing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) as shown by extensive scientific research studies.

The EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation, right/left eye movement, or tactile stimulation, or sound, which repeatedly activates the opposite sides of the brain releasing emotional experiences that are "trapped" in the nervous system. This assists the neurophysiological system, the basis of the mind/body connection, to free itself of blockages and reconnect itself.

EMDR allows a client to process an emotional experience that he/she cannot yet talk about, yet following an EMDR session find an ability to talk about it freely. Most importantly, it can eliminate stress surrounding the traumatic event, with the purpose of allowing new life in the once traumatised and emotionally difficult memory.

How Does It Work?

The therapist works gently with the client and asks him/her to revisit the traumatic moment or incident, recalling feelings surrounding the experience, as well as any negative thoughts, feelings and memories. The therapist then holds her fingers about eighteen inches from the clients face and begins to move them back and forth, tapping and sound can also be used. The client tracks the movements as if watching ping pong or listening to a sound switching from the left ear to right ear. The more intensely the client focuses on the memory, the easier it becomes for the memory to come to life. As quick and vibrant images, thoughts and feelings arise during the therapy session, they are processed by the brain, resulting in painful feelings being exchanged for more peaceful, loving and resolved feelings.

What Symptoms can be helped with EMDR treatment?

• High anxiety and lack of motivation 
• Memories of a traumatic experience 
• Fear of being alone 
• Unrealistic feelings of guilt and shame 
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 
• Difficulty in trusting others 
• Phobias 
• Relationship problems 
• Panic attacks 
• Performance Anxiety 

Since the initial medical study in 1989 positive therapeutic results with EMDR have been reported with the following populations: 

• People who have witnessed or been a victim to a disaster (rape, accidents, earth quakes, fires, murder, gang related violence) 
• Clients suffering from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) 
• Suffers of panic disorders and anxiety attacks 
• Suffers of phobias 
• Chemically dependent clients 
• Persons exposed to excess loss ( loss by death, divorce, loss of a house by fire) 
• Crime victims and police officers who were once overcome with violent memories 
• Accident or burn victims 

EMDR is a natural process. The client and the therapist become partners on a journey to help move traumatic and blocked energy. Together they work to transcend and free up the energy, so the client can return to their natural grounded state of being. The goal of this work is to help the client heal, so they can return to their life in peace.