What Is EMDR Therapy? A Powerful Tool for PTSD Recovery

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can leave deep emotional scars, making everyday life feel overwhelming. Traditional talk therapy helps many people, but for some, trauma remains stuck in the brain, causing flashbacks, anxiety, and emotional distress. That’s where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy comes in—a groundbreaking treatment that helps the brain process and heal from trauma.

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But what exactly is EMDR, and how does it work? In this post, we’ll explore:

• The origins of EMDR

• How EMDR helps rewire the brain

• What to expect in an EMDR session

• Who can benefit from this therapy

• The science behind its effectiveness

The Origins of EMDR Therapy

EMDR was developed in 1987 by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. While walking in a park, she noticed that her own distressing thoughts seemed to lessen when her eyes moved rapidly from side to side. Intrigued, she began researching this phenomenon and eventually developed a structured therapy approach—EMDR.

Today, EMDR is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as an effective treatment for PTSD and trauma-related disorders.

How Does EMDR Work? Rewiring the Traumatized Brain

Traumatic memories often get "stuck" in the brain, causing them to replay in distressing ways (flashbacks, nightmares, or emotional triggers). EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories so they no longer cause intense emotional reactions.

The 8-Phase EMDR Process

EMDR follows a structured approach:

1. History Taking – The therapist assesses your trauma history and identifies target memories.

2. Preparation – You’ll learn coping skills (like grounding techniques) to manage distress.

3. Assessment – You’ll identify negative beliefs tied to the trauma (e.g., "I’m not safe") and positive ones to replace them ("I can protect myself").

4. Desensitization – While recalling the trauma, you’ll engage in bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or sounds) to help the brain reprocess the memory.

5. Installation – The positive belief is reinforced.

6. Body Scan – You’ll check for any lingering physical tension related to the memory.

7. Closure – The session ends with stabilization techniques.

8. Reevaluation – In future sessions, progress is reviewed.

Why Bilateral Stimulation?

Therapists use side-to-side eye movements, hand taps, or auditory tones to engage both brain hemispheres. This mimics REM sleep, where the brain naturally processes memories. Studies suggest this helps "unstick" traumatic memories so they can be stored properly—reducing their emotional charge.

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

While EMDR is best known for PTSD, it can also help with:
✔ Anxiety & panic attacks
✔ Depression (especially trauma-related)
✔ Phobias & OCD tendencies
✔ Childhood trauma & attachment wounds
✔ Grief & loss
✔ Chronic pain & somatic symptoms

Research shows that EMDR can work faster than traditional talk therapy for some people, with benefits often appearing in just 6-12 sessions.

The Science Behind EMDR: Does It Really Work?

Multiple studies support EMDR’s effectiveness:

• A 2014 meta-analysis in Psychological Medicine found EMDR as effective as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for PTSD.

• The VA and Department of Defense recommend EMDR as a first-line PTSD treatment.

• Brain scans show that after EMDR, trauma-related brain activity shifts from the amygdala (fear center) to the prefrontal cortex (rational thinking).

Critics once questioned whether eye movements were necessary, but research now confirms that bilateral stimulation enhances memory processing.

What to Expect in an EMDR Session

If you’re considering EMDR, here’s what a typical session might look like:

1. You’ll focus on a traumatic memory while following the therapist’s fingers (or another form of bilateral stimulation).

2. You’ll notice shifts in emotions, thoughts, or body sensations.

3. Over time, the memory loses its intensity, and new, healthier beliefs take its place.

Some people feel tired afterward, as the brain continues processing. Others experience rapid relief.

Final Thoughts: Is EMDR Right for You?

EMDR isn’t a magic cure, but for many, it’s a life-changing tool that helps them finally move past trauma. If you’ve tried talk therapy but still feel stuck, EMDR might be worth exploring.

Have you tried EMDR? Share your experience in the comments!

Next Steps

• Find an EMDR therapist (check the EMDR International Association)

• Learn more about PTSD & trauma recovery (check out our other blog posts!)

• Share this post to help others discover EMDR

Would you like a deeper dive into any specific part of EMDR? Let me know in the comments!

Nervousness Attack Signs: Triggers of Stress

Panic attack and anxiety are deemed to be the natural defense mechanisms of the body designed to trigger off by our creator anytime we have to face an unwelcome predicament. However, when these guard mechanisms take the form of intense position or decision, hereby developing it's own anxiety or stress that persists even when there is no unwelcome source to trigger them off, it becomes necessary to recognize the situation as an anxiety take on. Once the signs becomes abnormal, which means that the individual needs medical treatment or other sources of help to be able to lead a normal life.

An anxiety attack symptom can often last for more than a few minutes and the severity of the symptoms usually increases with time. There is never an apparent cause present as a cause for these symptoms and most people who have recurrent anxiety attacks also suffer consistently from the fear of having another attack.

It is essential that, to seek appropriate help, people should be able to remember an anxiety attack signs in their own behavior and also in the behavior of their loved ones. The most common indicators of an anxiety attack are as follows; continual worry over sources of trouble that are absent and are unlikely to be ever present; body pains, soreness and muscular tension that does not emanate from any illness or injury; insomnia; dizziness and light-headedness; nausea or diarrhea and recurring troublesome thoughts that prevent you from engaging yourself in any activity.

Even though most of us may experience an anxiety attack signs once in a while, it is the recurrence of these symptoms over and over again that indicate that the individual may be suffering from Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, post traumatic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder.
If you or any of your loved ones are experiencing a repetition of the symptoms mentioned above, it is desirable to seek professional help right away. Contrary to a general opinion that anxiety attacks subside with age, they may actually become worse and manifest themselves in more complicated symptoms. Virtually all cases of an anxiety attack symptom can now be handled through drug therapy combined with behavior therapy.

Visit post traumatic stress disorder treatment emdr for more information on nervousness attack signs

About Amnesia and Management

Amnesia is a defect of brain that alters the remembering aspect of one ability to remember. It is caused by harsh head injury or thru the consumption of unclean element that affects the brain. Though the disease can also impact those who suffer from paralysis or heart stroke. Those who suffer from Amnesia have a tough time recalling previously learnt information such as their name or dialect.

Amnesia victims never remember their past or anything associated with it such as people, place etc. They are often seemed to be feeling mixed up or disoriented. This disease unlike Alzheimer can occur at any age. And thus can lead to a partial or full Amnesia illness. In few cases patients are never left unsupervised as they may hurt themselves. If the person remembers recent events then it is incomplete amnesia. The recovery process involves remembering the previous or past ability to remember before the most recent memories. Another factor that is very important to the disease besides incomplete and full is the term of Amnesia as in whether it is temporary or permanent.


Support of caregiver is very important for person suffering from Amnesia though references from past can help them recover soon. If those references are disturbing to them then one should restrain from discussing them in their presence. Generally such cases are people who have been thru some kind of mental shock or agony. Such as accident victims, trauma patients or those who had to deal with a sudden death of some one close.


Another form of Amnesia is psychological Amnesia where someone takes on a new life for a few months or days and once the anxiety induced amnesia attack is over no memory remains of that period. Most of amnesic patients recover on their own not requiring much medical interference. Change of work and activity can bring along a good change along with family therapy. Hypnosis also acts as a great tool to bring back the memory of the patient. Amnesia patients not only lose their ability to remember but also the ability to generate any memory in the time span of disease.


Tension is a major cause of concern for today's generation. Life is so fast paced that it calls for a halt to think for oneself. We have so many things to worry about in today's world and recalling things forms a major part of our life today. Be it electricity bill payment or client appointment. As the value of time has gained importance so have the getting work done on time has. Every day in our life we are faced with so many deadlines that we are stressed out completely by the end of the day. We seldom have time to reflect, exercise, engage ourselves in light activities such as games or clubbing The more our life is technologically influenced the more we are running into the danger of acquiring one or more neurotical disorders. In order to wade through the worry that we face in our day-to-day life, we must follow a healthy diet pattern along with adequate physical exercise and supplement intake.


In earlier times the work timings were fixed and there were limited services of available technologies that makes us sit like couch potatoes. People would interact and share their problems and worries that would act as stress buster. Hence fewer people suffered from disease such as Alzheimer and Amnesia. But now all these sufferings are becoming clear as we barely lay emphasis on improving our lifestyle and switching to a more relaxed life.

Visit Anxiety & stress EMDR to learn more