how counseling can change your life

EMDR Therapy Might Be A Great Way To Stop Your Anxiety Attacks

22 June 2016 by Timmothy Miles

Suffering from panic attacks can be extremely scary and can leave you feeling horrible, yet it is very hard to find ways to stop these from occurring. If you suffer from panic attacks and have tried everything you can think of to make them stop, it might be time to try eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR therapy is relatively new, but it has no side effects and can offer great results for people suffering from panic attacks.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Dr. Francie Shapiro created EMDR therapy in 1987 after years of studying how eye movement can affect emotions, feelings, and thoughts. It is a process that involves steps that are designed to reach a person's traumatic memory network, which is the part of the brain responsible for bad memories, thoughts, and feelings. The goal is to work through bad memories or thoughts so the person is no longer bothered by them.

This form of therapy has eight phases and can take weeks or months to complete. It can be helpful for people who suffer from panic attacks, but it can also help with a variety of other issues too, including the following:

• Problems that stem from any type of abuse
• Nightmares
• Any type of anxiety or depression
• Emotional trauma from a bad event in life

How Is It Done?

EMDR therapy is something that involves a lot of thinking. When you seek EMDR therapy, your therapist will have you think about memories or things that trigger your negative feelings and symptoms. As this is occurring, the therapist may have you complete certain eye movements and may guide you to think about this memory in a different way. If this works for you, you will slowly replace your bad memories with positive beliefs.

You should understand that you may have to describe the bad events or memories in detail during your sessions. The more descriptive you can be, the more effective this therapy might be for helping you overcome the issues you are struggling with.

For anxiety attacks, the therapist will really try to focus on the thoughts that trigger these attacks. Slowly, you may build a better perception and image of yourself, and you may no longer feel triggered by these bad memories.

If bad thoughts and memories are causing you to experience anxiety attacks, seeking EMDR therapy might be a good type of treatment to try. To learn more, contact a center that offers EMDR counseling and therapy.

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