Many people are trying a new therapy known as Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR). PTSD is among a number of conditions that have been successfully treated with this innovative and revolutionary technique.

PTSD Ran My Life
As someone with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ), I personally have experienced its many benefits.  After being in traditional talk therapy for a number of years, my therapist (and I) felt that we weren’t getting anywhere and she suggested EMDR. PTSD had been running and ruining my life for many years as the result of being my daughter’s primary caregiver.  She had a very long and difficult recovery from a bone marrow transplant. 

I was unable to sleep, couldn’t go anywhere or do anything and spent a great deal of time crying.  As my daughter’s caregiver, every aspect of life was “reminiscent” of being her caregiver and, even simple, everyday life like grocery shopping, going to the movies, eating out and spending time with friends had become overwhelming to me.  Even though the big “life and death” situation with my daughter had calmed down a bit over the years, I was like a person who had been freed from prison, but was still walking around with a ball and chain.

For people with a wide variety of conditions and distress, EMDR has proven to be extremely successful, and is becoming more widely recognized for its effectiveness, where other treatments have shown either little or no results. EMDR treatment has proven to be one of the most effective and rapid methods for healing PTSD.

How EMDR Works
EMDR works by activating the opposite sides of the brain and helping to release trapped emotional experiences within the nervous system.  Emotionally charged and painful images and feelings are processed through the “back and forth” motion of the eyes (like watching ping pong). 

For many emotional and mental conditions such as PTSD that had been time-consuming, difficult-to-treat and/or treated mainly with medications, EMDR is now considered a breakthrough therapy.  It is simple, non-invasive, reduces the amount of medication a person might need, and can bring quick and lasting relief for most types of emotional distress.

EMDR: PTSD and More Treated
Some of the conditions treated with EMDR are:
•    Disaster victims (rape, accidents, earthquakes, fires, murder, gang-related violence)
•    PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
•    Veterans with battle-induced PTSD
•    Panic  and anxiety attacks
•    Phobias
•    Substance abuse
•    Excessive loss (death, divorce, loss of a house by fire or flood)
•    Crime victims and police officers who were once overcome with violent memories
•    Accident or burn victims

During my daughter’s illness and recovery, there were painful images too numerous to mention here.  Because of the constant emergencies, there was literally no time to process anything I felt or experienced. The images were trapped in my mind, heart and body, causing me to be constantly anxious, fearful and in tremendous emotional pain. It was through EMDR that I was able to work through these images and feelings so that they no longer had such a overwhelming emotional charge. 

For people with PTSD, EMDR is a breakthrough treatment that has the potential and power to alter their lives, and bring about healing, greater health and a new outlook for the future.

Photo shows section of the brain EMDR affects, an overactive amygdala.