How EMDR Sessions Are Useful For Anxiety Attack?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in 1987, is an increasingly popular therapeutic technique widely used to help the people dealing with and healing from disturbing experiences causing anxiety disorder. Researches and results certify its effectiveness in treating anxiety attack. If you are suffering from anxiety disorder, EMDR treatment should be your approach. EMDR supports you for gaining the new perspectives facilitating improved self-esteem and positive beliefs about your personal capabilities.

What is EMDR? - Understanding the Approach:  

EMDR is a well-balanced blend of several psychotherapy theories including widely used cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). EMDR techniques use eye movements, audio stimulation and hand tapping to unblock the stagnant emotional processes; as a result, you can reprogram the brain to heal from the anxiety disorder problems. Unlike most forms of psychotherapy, EMDR is focused less on the traumatic event but more on disturbing symptoms resulted from the particular incident. During EMDR treatment, negative thoughts and feelings that don’t exist in reality are replaced with the +ve feelings and thoughts to encourage your social interactions and healthier behavior.

Eight Phases of EMDR for Anxiety Attack Treatment: 

1. Treatment planning on the basis of history 

2) Establishing trust and explaining the treatment 

3) Assessment of negative feelings to be replaced with positive feelings 

4) Desensitization through eyes movement techniques

5) Strengthening positive replacements

6) Scanning to check if the patient is able to bring up trauma memories without having negative and disturbing feelings or if the reprocessing is required 

7) Assessment and record of recovery at the end of each session

8) Re-evaluation at the start of each session

The Concept behind Using EMDR for Anxiety Attack Treatment: 

The EMDR treatment session may last up to one hour or one and half hour (90minutes). During the session, EMDR therapist moves the fingers back and forth in front of your face asking you to follow the motions with eyes. 

During the same period, the EMDR therapist asks you to recall the disturbing event including the emotions and sensations that you experience. While moving the fingers in non-pattern style, EMDR psychotherapist guides you to shift the disturbing thoughts to the positive thoughts. Some EMDR specialists use alternatives of finger movements like hand or musical tones. The rapid and rhythmic movement of eyes dampens the intensity of emotionally charged disturbing memories of past events.

Are You a Good Candidate for EMDR Treatment?  

EMDR is widely being used to eliminate the symptoms of anxiety like excessive worrying, feeling agitated, restlessness, fatigue, difficulty in concentrating, irritability, irrational fears, lack of sleep, nature of avoiding social interaction, etc. Do you experience any of these? EMDR has been proved highly effective to treat: 

• Victims of a disaster like accident, violent crime, natural disaster, fire, etc 
• People dealing with grief or loss due to death, financial loss, divorce, etc
• Police officers and frontline security personals 
• Children/adolescents with experience of sexual abuse 
• Accident victims
• People worrying for unrealistic imaginary conditions  

Tips to Prepare Yourself for EMDR: 

EMDR gained popularity gradually for the treatment of anxiety disorder. Many research studies suggest that EMDR is an evidence-based dependable tool for the treatment of several mental disorders like phobia, panic disorder, depression, Schizophrenia, trauma, etc. 

The outcome of EMDR depends upon your preparation also. Are you ready for the first EMDR session?  Following tips will help you prepare better for EMDR sessions to treat anxiety disorder:   

• Know what will happen in each session- Every patient is different, so, the activities are planned accordingly. 
• Be confident that EMDR will help you treat anxiety – Belief in the effectiveness of EMDR helps you focus on the directions better 
• Find the qualified EMDR therapist – The qualification, experience, and expertise makes the difference in your experience
• Expect  a slow start - Each exercise of eye movements lasts up to 30 seconds (approximately); the start-up phase is planned at a slow pace to make the patient comfortable   

Concluding Note: 

The professionally planned mix of exposure therapy and eyes movements helps the anxiety patient to convert "stuck memory" into the learning experience. Some patients succeed to process a traumatic event eve in a single session; however, how fast you recover from anxiety disorder depends upon how well you understand the process and follow the recommendations of EMDR specialist.