EMDR and anxiety
Why EMDR for anxiety?
Around 8 million people in the UK experience some form of anxiety that affects their life. This makes it one of the most common mental health difficulties faced within our society. Anxiety can affect our daily lives, our relationships and our work lives. There are different types of anxiety, including social anxiety, generalised anxiety or phobias.
What about when it comes to choosing a treatment or therapy for anxiety? With so many people living with anxiety, it is inevitable that not everyone will respond to the same type of treatment. Therapy is not a one size fits all.
One effective therapy option for treating anxiety disorders is eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR). Many people have heard of EMDR, and it is often linked to PTSD. Whilst EMDR is effective for PTSD it also helps many other problems, including anxiety. There is a large body of evidence that shows it is effective for anxiety.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a unique and powerful therapy to help you process difficult memories that are currently causing you distress. It is based on the theory that past negative experiences are stored in the brain and have become ‘stuck’, and so can trigger anxiety. Events from the past can cause distress and psychological symptoms in the present. EMDR heals the past to improve the now.
Bi-lateral stimulation (eye movement or tapping) activates the natural process in the brain that is needed to integrate information healthily. Bi-lateral stimulation encourages the reprocessing of negative and unhelpful memories, helping you gain control over the anxiety symptoms that come along with them.
What happens in an EMDR for anxiety session?
During the sessions, you work alongside a therapist to target the negative thoughts and emotions associated with the memory. Using bilateral stimulation (left / right eye movements or tapping) the memory and negative emotions are desensitised. The negative beliefs are replaced with positive statements. This helps ease and treat anxiety symptoms.
One popular aspect of EMDR is that it is an internal process so you can share as much or as little as you want with the therapist. This is helpful for people who have trouble talking about their experiences. It makes EMDR a different approach to achieving psychological wellbeing compared to other talking therapies.
An assessment with a EMDR therapist will help identify which past experiences are triggering your symptoms of anxiety. An EMDR therapist will help you safely reprocess these traumatic memories.
An EMDR therapist will also teach skills for relaxation to help you manage the process of EMDR.
Depending on your goals and history of the anxiety, session number can range from 4-6 sessions to a longer course of EMDR therapy.
There is a life beyond anxiety, so if you think you could benefit from EMDR, speak to an EMDR therapist for an assessment to see if it’s the right fit for you. Sarah at NEpsychology is an EMDR therapist and a member of the EMDR UK Association. Please call 07870 241970, email hello@nepsychology-co-uk.stackstaging.com or contact us to book your free initial consultation.
