How Can EMDR Therapy Help You?

Have you ever wondered why certain memories, fears or reactions seem to grip you long after the moment has passed? Our minds can be brilliant at protecting us, but sometimes they hold on a little too tightly, leaving old experiences echoing through the present.

That’s where EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) comes in.

EMDR is one of the few therapies that doesn’t ask you to talk endlessly about the past. Instead, it gently helps your brain process what it couldn’t handle at the time, so that you can move forward feeling lighter, clearer, and more in control. Although it was originally developed to support people recovering from trauma, it has since helped those dealing with anxiety, depression, phobias, break-ups, low self-worth, chronic stress, and so much more.

This blog brings together everything I’ve learned while completing my EMDR training, including research, reflections, surprises, and “ohhh, that makes sense now!” moments , to help answer a simple question:

How can EMDR help you feel better?

Where EMDR Began: A Surprising Discovery

EMDR began almost accidentally in 1987, when psychologist Francine Shapiro noticed that her anxious thoughts eased as her eyes moved from side to side during a walk. Curious, she tested the effect repeatedly on herself before going on to study it clinically.

Although early theories focused purely on eye movements, further research found that EMDR works best when eye movements are combined with cognitive processing — which is why the “R” for Reprocessing was added.

Researchers have since drawn intriguing links to:

• REM sleep, when the brain naturally processes emotional experiences

• Left–right brain integration, supporting emotional and logical processing at the same time

• Working memory load, where the brain becomes less able to maintain the intensity of a disturbing memory

The Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model now provides the clearest explanation. AIP suggests that the brain normally stores experiences in connected, organised networks. But overwhelming events can become “stuck,” stored with their original emotional charge. These unprocessed memories can continue to shape reactions, beliefs and behaviours long after the event has passed.

EMDR helps unstick these memories and integrate them into a healthier network.

What EMDR Can Help With

Although EMDR first gained recognition for treating PTSD, research now supports its use for a much wider range of difficulties.

PTSD and Trauma: More than 20 controlled studies show significant improvement, often faster than with some traditional therapies.

Anxiety and Phobias: EMDR is particularly effective for fears rooted in past experiences. Trauma-linked phobias respond especially well.

Depression: EMDR has strong evidence for reducing depressive symptoms, particularly when early experiences shaped beliefs such as “I’m worthless” or “I can’t cope.”

Addiction and Compulsions: By targeting the emotional roots beneath compulsive behaviours, EMDR can help reduce cravings or urges.

Physical Symptoms: Conditions such as migraines, chronic pain, and stress-related discomfort often improve when the underlying emotional tension is processed.

Relationships, self-worth and “stuckness”: EMDR can help with break-ups, attachment wounds, repeating emotional patterns and negative self-beliefs.

How EMDR Works in the Brain (Without the Science Jargon)

The EMDR process itself is gentle, but it taps into some powerful neurological mechanisms. Here’s a simple explanation of the theories behind why EMDR works:

Your Brain Files Memories — Until Something Overwhelming Happens

Normally, experiences get stored in an organised way. But during moments of fear, shock or emotional intensity, the brain can’t process information properly.
The memory becomes “stuck” as vivid and emotionally charged as the moment it happened.

EMDR helps the brain finish processing that memory, so it no longer hijacks your present-day reactions.

Bilateral Stimulation Helps the Brain “Re-file” the Memory

In EMDR, your attention moves rhythmically left to right (through eye movements, tapping or alternating sounds). This mirrors the way the brain behaves during REM sleep, supporting emotional processing.

Clients often describe a feeling that the memory is being “reorganised” or “moved somewhere safer.”

Working Memory Theory

Your working memory can only handle so much at once.
When part of it is occupied following bilateral stimulation, it has less capacity to keep the disturbing memory intense or vivid.
The emotional charge gradually fades.

Dual Attention Keeps You Safe While Processing the Past

You never get lost in the memory.
Part of your attention is in the past, and part is anchored in the present through grounding and pauses. This allows healing without overwhelm.

The Body Stores What the Mind Can’t

Emotional experiences live in the body — in tight chests, tense shoulders, stomach knots or shakiness.
EMDR includes a body-focused stage that helps release these stored reactions.

When the body lets go, the mind often follows.

EMDR Helps Replace Old Beliefs With Healthier Ones

Trauma often leaves behind unhelpful beliefs such as:

• “I’m not safe.”

• “It was my fault.”

• “I’m powerless.”

As the emotional intensity fades, more helpful beliefs have room to settle in. Ones that reflect your current resilience and reality.

EMDR Across Different Ages and Life Stages

Children

Young children process the world through senses and body signals rather than words.
EMDR adapts through:

• drawings

• toys

• play

• shorter bilateral sets

• observing emotional cues rather than relying on verbal descriptions

Parents can safely use simple bilateral rhythms at home (rocking, side-to-side songs, tapping games), which support nervous-system regulation.

Teenagers

Teens benefit hugely because EMDR does not require them to talk in detail.
They can share a headline version of what’s wrong, and the brain does the processing internally.

Adults

Adults often find EMDR helpful when long-standing beliefs or patterns no longer make sense... “Why do I react like this?”, “Why does this bother me so much?”, “Why can’t I move on?”

Older Adults

EMDR has even been used to support people adjusting to dementia diagnoses or processing earlier life events that resurface later in life.

How Effective Is EMDR — Really?

Research is overwhelmingly positive, but EMDR is not a magic wand. Around 22% of people see limited benefit depending on the source, often because:

• the issue is not trauma-based

• the person struggles to access sensations or images

• processing is incomplete

• the wrong memories are targeted first

However, for many, EMDR is one of the most transformative therapies they try, especially for long-standing emotional patterns.

What Does EMDR Feel Like?

People commonly describe EMDR as:

• intense, but relieving

• strangely fast at shifting stuck emotions

• less “talky” than traditional therapy

• like the brain is “tidying up old files”

Temporary tiredness, vivid dreams or emotional shifts between sessions are normal. They’re signs that the brain is processing.

Could EMDR Help You?

You may find EMDR helpful if you:

• feel stuck in repeating emotional patterns

• react more strongly than you’d like to certain triggers

• struggle with anxiety, panic, or low mood

• hold negative beliefs about yourself

• have memories that feel “unresolved”

• carry physical tension linked to stress

• want to feel calmer, more grounded, and more confident

My Own Experience

Before I studied EMDR, I was a client of this therapy. I have a tremor, which had worsened significantly with work-related stress, and EMDR has taken me almost back to a baseline level of shakiness. Before this therapy, I had actually thought there was no way forward and that my future could no longer look like one I recognised, but that all changed after my first 60 minute session.

What can EMDR help you with?

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