Trauma can be explained as unprocessed, distressing memories that get frozen in time. Logically, you know the event(s) is/are in the past, however, your body believes there’s still an active threat, priming itself for survival. This is an automatic/subconscious response and the body's way of keeping you safe. These survival responses are often referred to as fight, flight, freeze, fawn, numb, collapse, and dissociate. Many times, trauma survivors blame themselves for how their body chose to respond for them–know that you are not at fault.

 

EMDR is an evidence-based approach used to reprocess traumatic memories. At its core, EMDR utilizes past traumatic memory paired with negative beliefs about oneself, while bi-lateral stimulation such as buzzers, a light-bar, finger waving, self-tapping, or audio, are used to reduce the vividness and intensity of emotions, as well as activate both the left brain (logical/observing recall) and right brain (holistic experience). This helps create distance from the memory, enabling therapeutic intervention. In doing this, desensitization occurs, allowing positive, adaptive beliefs to form, keeping the past in the past, so that you can live in the present.