anastasia_emdr

The term associated with traumatic memories is “reliving”.

In essence, these are small episodes that were so out of the picture that they did not fit into the narrative of the host of the memories.

I often see this when a client initially comes in and says that their parents were great, and that the dad was golden, the best.

But the client comes to work on temper tantrum, for example, and it turns out that a similar earliest memory is of daddy putting his head against the wall. And no, the person doesn't remember the situation in a trance under hypnosis, he knows about it, but it's as if it lives separately. As a lyrical digression from the main plot, where the ancestor is still the same gold.

The problem with these kinds of memories is that they are different from the ordinary. When, for example, you need to remember how to tie a nautical knot, you pull the right file out of your neural network, then you put it back in as well.

▶️ A reliving is a bug, and sometimes BSOD, and the behavior is already managed by the injured part, as it knows how.

▶️ Reliving is perceived as something that is happening now and is real, whether the person is aware of it or not.

In these same flashbacks lies the answer to the "why can't I deal with it" self-recriminations. If the threat is perceived as real, then it is followed by the normal human reaction of defense. Everyone is different, by the way 🤷‍♀️

The good news are that in capable hands something like this is processed not in years, but just in a couple of sessions 🙌

I'm continuing to look into ADHD and other manifestations of neurodiversity.
And the further I go, the more miraculous it gets.

It wasn't until 1998 that Harvard professor Jeremy Schmahman combined pre-existing ideas with research into a set of symptoms named after him: cerebellar cognitive-affective Schmahman syndrome.

A very small part of the brain, it is not only responsible for motor functions, as is commonly believed. It is critical in cognitive activity and emotional life.

Here is just a general description of the group of symptoms:
a) impaired executive functions such as planning, attitude switching, fluency, abstract thinking, and working memory,
b) impaired visual-spatial cognition,
c) personality changes with blunted affect or abnormal behavior,
d) language deficits, including dyslexia, impaired word choice, impaired language dynamics.

And there are at least two applied schools actively practicing this view to correct ADHD, dyslexia, and other conditions. (DM me if you need a link)

And there's another group of smart guys trying Dramamine to correct ADHD and talking about the very positive effects. The author doesn't call for it, but it's an interesting idea.

Trauma can have a profound impact on your life, but it's important to remember that it's not the event itself that makes you stronger or better. It's how you process and deal with trauma that will help you grow and develop yourself as a human 🙌

Dealing with trauma can be difficult, but we all have different ways of recovering and healing. By being resilient, and seeking help and support, you can overcome trauma ✨

If you’re curious about how EMDR therapy can help with processing past trauma, contact me for a consultation 📲

Want to make the most of your session?
Here are some tips 🔻

🗓️ Schedule your sessions intentionally. Try to aim for a day you won’t be rushing and you have time for reflection before and after.

📓 Bring a notebook to session and write down key themes or takeaways each time.

✨ Be honest with yourself and your therapist. If you didn’t follow through with something discussed last time, be willing to explore what got in the way. No judgment, but it is important to be accountable.

😌 Take care of your comfort needs. Wear something comfortable. Nourish yourself before and after your session. Stay hydrated.

Do not hesitate to contact me for more info via link in bio 🔝

For people with traumatic experiences that have not been adaptively experienced and stored in memory, meditation can be a challenging and even unsafe experience.. 🤔

▶️ The process itself can be a trigger for traumatic flashbacks. For example, lying still or in a certain posture can be intolerable for someone with an experience of s*xualized violence.

▶️ The second aspect is that difficult and painful experiences sometimes make us masters in dissociation. Not to feel, not to live through, not to touch - this is not happening with me.
Meditation is not at all about that effect, but it can lead to it..

Many people may find that they feel much better after vigorous physical activity: running, dancing, boxing, team sports. Anything that gives control over coordination, engages different areas of the brain, lots of different stimuli, is in itself healing. Plus it burns off stress hormones.

⚠️ Breathing techniques work well, but accompanied by a competent trainer who will guide the whole process, making it structured and controlled. Not letting a person fall into their own worries. 🙌

As I am now immersed in the study of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I want to share some non-obvious information that debunks the public narrative about this set of symptoms.

1️⃣ Only children can have and be diagnosed with ADHD. This is not true, many adults encounter the syndrome for the first time when life circumstances become beyond what they have adapted to. For example: going to university, moving or having their first child.

2️⃣ Probably about 5% of the population has ADHD to some degree. Most are coping, but the question is that their performance and quality of life could be significantly higher.

3️⃣ ADHD is a convenient excuse for the unwilling or lazy. Exactly the opposite is true. With ADHD, distraction and all the attendant "niceties" are the result of an endlessly working and processing brain.

I love the quote from clinicians about the possibilities and difficulties for such people: It's as if you have a Ferrari engine in your head with the brakes from a child's bicycle…

EMDR is a way of stimulating the brain through eye movements which appear to make distressing memories feel less intense.

▶️ Interestingly, it's thought to be related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep - the period of sleep in which we're dreaming. EMDR and REM sleep both involve our eyes 👀 moving rapidly from side to side.

Research shows that REM sleep is strongly associated with emotion regulation — the more REM sleep we get, the fewer symptoms of depression we experience.

REM sleep also plays a vital role in how memories evolve over time by dissecting how important the memories are to us emotionally. To do this, it seems to use a wider array of associations within the brain 🧠

▶️ This has been shown through word association studies-when people are woken after REM sleep, they give more creative responses (e.g. hot/burn) than if they're woken after non-REM sleep (e.g., hot/cold).

So, REM sleep helps us identify associations between apparently unrelated memories. Similarly, EMDR has been shown to promote effective memory processing. It appears to 'free up' trauma, allowing it to 'move over to regular memory. It helps people put traumatic experiences into a broader context or perspective, appearing more distant, and happening in the past 🙌

▶️ EMDR therapy can be highly useful to anyone who has experienced past stressful or traumatic events or is dealing with bothersome internal experiences (e.g., anxiety).

Most of us in modern life carry more stress and trauma than we realize, which EMDR can help to release. Remember that stress and trauma do not refer to what has happened to us, but rather the physical/emotional/sensory imprint that our bodies carry from the stressful/traumatic events we have been through 🙌

EMDR approach can help you get to the root cause of your present moment reactions, behaviors, and other internal experiences that are creating difficulty for you.

Do not hesitate to contact me for more info via link in bio 🔝

EMDR Therapy is designed to incorporate the mind and the body into the process WITHOUT having to talk about it.

Talking is a cognitive process. You can think about having a regulated nervous system, but that’s not the same as doing the work to actually make that happen.

▶️ If you have traumatic experiences that are incorrectly stored in your brain, then talking will only take you so far.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still talking involved in EMDR Therapy. There will be a decent amount of talking during the preparation phase so you have all the info you need for the next steps.

But EMDR Therapy is NOT weekly, lifelong talk therapy to analyze your life and how your week is going 🙌

For more info on how it all works and what to expect, contact me via the link in bio 🔝

EMDR has long been used to treat people with PTSD, anxiety and depression, but has shown to have benefits for all people. Here are a few ways that EMDR treatment can help you 🔻

▶️ Many of us subconsciously hold self-limiting beliefs based on unhappy experiences in our past. EMDR treatment helps to take the power away from these negative beliefs, showing you that they are merely an interpretation of an event, and that other, more valid and positive interpretations are available.

▶️ EMDR therapy takes a different approach from that of talk therapy, and issues that patients have tried to talk through for years may be resolved in only a handful of sessions. You also don’t have to divulge every detail of your memories in EMDR, which is very helpful if you have trouble vocalizing.

▶️ Everyday stresses take a toll over time if not dealt with, and can lead to complete burnout. There’s no need to wait until you feel completely overwhelmed to do something about it, however. Having the occasional EMDR therapy session can help you unburden yourself from all the stresses you have been carrying.

Trauma is a difficult experience that can leave a lasting impact on your life. Even long after the event has passed, you may find yourself triggered by certain situations, people, or events. These triggers can bring up intense emotions, flashbacks, and physical sensations that make it hard to move on.

▶️ Dealing with trauma triggers can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that healing is possible. Here are some tips to help you cope:

🔹 Identify your triggers - understanding what triggers your trauma response can help you prepare for it.

🔹 Practice grounding techniques - focusing on your senses and your surroundings can help bring you back to the present moment.

🔹 Seek support - talking to a trusted friend, therapist, or support group can help you process your emotions and experiences.

🔹 Take care of yourself - prioritizing self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, or creative outlets can help you manage stress and anxiety.

If you’re curious about how EMDR therapy can help with trauma triggers and processing past trauma, please contact me for a consultation and to see if EMDR might be a good fit for what you’re looking for.

Dissociation is a highly adaptive response to inescapable, overwhelming trauma. For example, many people dissociate when experiencing traumatic events such as war, abuse or a car accident.

▶️ Dissociation provides a “mental shield” in the face of trauma, to detach from feelings, bodily sensations and reality. We split off from experiences. Some call this the “paralysis of the mind” - ie. The lights are on but nobody's home. The freeze response in action.

In this state the body becomes immobile and releases chemicals which “numb” our body and mind. We might feel paralyzed and unable to move.

⚠️ Often survivors blame themselves for not “fighting back” or getting out of the traumatic situation, without fully understanding that they were dissociating from the traumatic event, as there were no safe options for escape.

▶️ The mind and body are doing exactly what they are supposed to: taking a mental flight when their physical flight isn't available.

Be gentle to yourself 💙

Here is an example of how in one EMDR session you can solve a rather complex query 🔻

A client had the following picture: she lives in Istanbul, after the earthquake she cannot sleep, she falls asleep only after 5 a.m., she is anxious, fears for her children, she’s constantly in her head rethinking an emergency evacuation plan with her family if the earthquake strikes again.. She spends a lot of time studying the issue, keeping up with the latest news and forecasts regarding the seismic situation.

▶️ It all sounds logical, an earthquake, one of the most destructive natural phenomena that literally knocks the ground out from under her feet.

However, when we began to dissect the feelings, thoughts, and sensations in the body associated with this experience, it became clear that the recent events in Turkey were the trigger for another, not adaptively processed, memory. It was as if it had become frozen in the structure of memory.

It turned out that a year ago in February, at 5:00 a.m., the client had awakened in a war zone. She fell asleep in a peaceful city in her home. I hope it is clear what has happened…

She was awakened by explosions and the vibrations from them. Hence the fear for the children, the inability to sleep until exactly 5 in the morning. Such a maladaptive, irrational way of controlling it. I wait for time X, if nothing has happened, the anxiety is relieved, and I can go to sleep.

▶️ We removed the charge of the most frightening pictures from the memory in one session, plus supportive thoughts that the family and the client are safe now.

After two weeks, the anxiety has decreased, the sleep is more stable, and the intrusive thoughts of the earthquakes are gone. Of course, there were some well-founded fears, but they no longer took over the whole background of daily life 🙌

According to numerous clinical studies, EMDR is one of the quickest and most effective ways to relieve the traumatic effects on the psyche. The further away from the event, the more associative connections it arises, the more its effects are woven into everyday life, but even this can be removed quite quickly.

Everyone chooses for themselves, including the therapist.

▶️ By the cost, the style of work, online or offline format. And most importantly, by the values they communicate.

For me, for example, it is important to rely on common sense, evidence-based methods, and to remain free to work.

I am not guided by questionnaires or ready-made templates, because everyone is different.

⚠️ A person is more complex than a cleverly crafted manual.

That's why I do NOT rely on popular mass-market concepts like the victim/stalker/rescuer triangle or psychosomatic body maps...

▶️ I am able to work with complex experiences, largely due to the fact that many queries are familiar to me as part of my own history. That said, I'm not a proponent of "working through Mom, Dad, and all the other relatives." I believe it is more important to look forward.

The Great and Terrible Psychosomatics…

The topic of psychosomatics and thinking is very popular in the insta-medium. The messages often being broadcasted are, to put it mildly, irresponsible 🤬

I want to outline some of the most common misconceptions that can prevent people from getting adequate treatment and understanding of their condition 🔻

▶️ "It's all in your head."
Very often people with psychosomatic symptoms face the preconception that their problems are made up. The presence of psychological factors does not make the disease any less real. The symptoms are real and can seriously affect a person's quality of life.

▶️ "Psychosomatic disorders are a weakness"
Some people believe that people with psychosomatic disorders simply don't know how to deal with stress and emotions. This is not a sign of weakness, but rather an indication that a person may have a particular sensitivity to stress or even have a genetic predisposition to certain disorders.

▶️"It's just anxiety or depression"
Psychosomatic disorders are often accompanied by anxiety and depression, they are not reducible to them. These disorders are a complex interaction of psychological and physiological factors that may be unique to each individual. Depression is not just a depressed state, but one of the most dangerous illnesses.

▶️ "Medication won't help"
Some people believe that psychosomatic disorders cannot be cured by medication and instead focus only on psychotherapy. Psychological support is an important part of treatment, drug therapy is necessary if the symptom already exists.

⚠️ It is important to break down these myths and stereotypes in order to provide effective and timely treatment as well as social support for those suffering from psycho/somatic disorders.

Each case is unique and requires an individualized approach to treatment. Do not hesitate to contact medical professionals and psychotherapists for help and information. The body and health is what defines our lives. Literally 🙌

Is it possible to overcome psychological trauma on your own ❓

▶️ It all depends on what we mean by trauma.

The common classical definition and approach assumes that a person can recover from a traumatic event without developing PTSD:
🔹 if there were enough resources initially
🔹 The traumatic event was not prohibitively intense and prolonged
🔹 There was a sufficiently supportive atmosphere around the person in daily life
🔹 There were no earlier difficult moments on which the new experience could be superimposed

On average, within 1- 1.5 months, according to various data, up to 80% are able to adapt and return to a normal rhythm of life.

▶️ Another issue is that traumatic events can significantly determine quality of life.

For example, the trauma of rejection, when in childhood the basic idea of love, trust and security was not formed, leads to the choice of partners who reproduce the painful experience familiar to the person. And such requests can be successfully dealt with 👌

EMDR views any event that has a negative impact on one's life as a trauma. Even if it doesn't look dangerous, life-threatening.

There is even the concept of positive trauma, which I will discuss a little later.

⚠️ It's important to understand that the traumatized psyche is very fragile, which means it's safer to deal with psycho-emotional queries not alone. If you deal with trauma on your own, the risk of retraumatization increases as a result of the constant reminder of the circumstances of the trauma

How to know when it's time for you to go to therapy 🔻

⚠️ I want to point out that we're not talking about clinical cases - people diagnosed with depression or some other kind of disorder, but people who seem to be doing okay, but something is bothering them.

"I'll go when it gets really bad" is a very common and dangerous stereotype associated with psychotherapy.

▶️ It can be compared to taking care of your physical health: you can go to the dentist when it hurts, and then the treatment will be more painful and more expensive, or you do preventive care and thus save your nerves, time and money 🤷‍♀️

There is a reason to seek help if :

🔹 you don't understand what's wrong with you, just feel something is wrong
🔹 you’re stuck in a loop
🔹 experiencing a loss
🔹 a state of confusion lasts for a while
🔹 trying to do something, but the usual methods don't work
🔹 or you don't even want to try anything to help yourself

▶️ If you realize that the problem remains either inside or outside, if something helps for a short time and then the condition rolls back to the negative - definitely see a specialist.

There are several aspects of the EMDR method that make it effective for processing difficult or traumatic moments.

This method is referred to as exposure therapy, that is returning the client to the place where the experience occurred.

▶️ Thanks to the protocol, this occurs very gently, without the need to reiterate the entire situation. Only the actualization of thoughts, sensations in the body, fragments of memories.
And then there is a double focus in the work: a fragment from the past and presence in the moment.

There are several neurobiological theories why this works 🔻

🔹 The traumatic event continues to be lived by the brain as continuing. Thus, it does not operate with past-present concepts at the moment of anxiety. There are MRI studies confirming this fact.

🔹 The double focus on remembering and being in the moment is exactly what gives the necessary experience. I'm here now, safe in the moment, remembering the past.

🔹 It allows the "guarding" structures of the brain to see that the dangerous moment has passed and it is possible to finally “archive” what provoked, for example, anxiety for a long time.

⚠️ The picture is not forgotten, but ceases to be an emotionally charged trigger.

Common myths about psychological trauma 🔻

🚨 Myth #1: Psychotrauma is a weakness or a sign of inferiority
🔎 Truth: Psychological trauma is a natural reaction to stressful and traumatic events, and it can occur in anyone, regardless of age, gender, or social status.

🚨 Myth #2: If you don't experience symptoms after trauma, you're fine
🔎 Truth: Symptoms of trauma can manifest immediately after the event or long afterwards. Some people don't even realize the connection between the trauma and the problems that occurred.

🚨 Myth #3: Only major traumatic events can cause psychotrauma
🔎 Truth: Psychotrauma can occur not only because of major traumatic events such as accidents, disasters, or violence. Accumulated stress, repetitive minor trauma, or even emotional abuse can also lead to trauma.

🚨 Myth #4: Time heals all wounds including trauma
🔎 Truth: While some symptoms of psychotrauma may diminish over time, many people need professional help to process the trauma and deal with the aftermath. Ignoring the problem can make it worse and lead to chronic disorders.

🚨 Myth #5: People who have experienced trauma always suffer from PTSD.
🔎 Truth: Although post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the possible consequences of psychotrauma, not everyone who has experienced traumatic events develops PTSD. People may exhibit a variety of symptoms and problems, depending on individual characteristics and circumstances.

🚨 Myth #6: Treating psychotrauma is about forcing a person to relive a traumatic event over and over again
🔎 Truth: Current approaches to treating psychotrauma, such as EMDR, aim to safely and effectively reduce the effects of trauma without having to relive traumatic events in detail. The goal of therapy is to help the person process the trauma and learn to cope with the emotions and consequences.

EMDR has a “blind” protocol specifically for painful and difficult memories, when it is not necessary to voice what has happened to the therapist.

🌱 Greetings, dear friends, in the style of Master Yoda, I shall share!

A mindfulness meditation tailored for those with attention difficulties, playful and friendly it shall be.

Begin, you must, by finding a comfortable space to sit, hmm. Quiet and peaceful, it should be. Mmm, distractions, away with them.

Close your eyes now, and focus on your breath, you will. Breathing in, aware of the air, you become. Breathing out, tensions release, they do. Mmm.

🧠 Attention wanders, it may. Fear not, my friends, normal this is. Notice and acknowledge the thoughts, you shall. Gently return to your breath, you must. Patience and kindness, important they are.

Imagine now, a fluffy cloud in your mind's eye, you do. Thoughts, like bubbles, float away on the cloud, they will. Focus, once again, on your breath, you return.

Ten minutes or more, continue this practice, you should. Stronger, your attention will become. Peaceful and relaxed, your mind shall feel.

When ready, open your eyes, you will. Gratitude for this moment, you express. Bring mindfulness into your day, may you. With you, the Force always be.

✈️ Share this meditation, you can, with friends. Remember, practice makes progress, hmm.

In a friendly and playful Yoda style, the meditation ends. May it help those who seek to improve their attention and enjoy a mindful moment.

A case from the experience of neurobiologists.

A 40-year-old heteros*xual man, when faced with situations where he felt misunderstood and offended, relieved tension through chaotic relationships. This behavior was a result of his difficult childhood. After losing his family and acquiring a number of health issues, he sought therapy. He was fortunate to join a neurobiological feedback treatment program. Using simple techniques developed in the 1970s, after a few sessions, his brain was literally taught to generate alpha waves, characteristic of a state of control, safety, and self-contact. I will make a separate post about this very cool, effective process, which was unfortunately overshadowed by the pharmaceutical industry. Specifically, the technique was used very successfully to prepare the Canadian team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but who needs simple working solutions... Although now the method is making a comeback, and there are several promising startups.

As a result of the therapy, our protagonist eventually traded bars with a known reputation for fishing. He found a completely different vibe, joy, and calm there.
This is incredibly relatable and familiar to me. Being on the water, where there's a gentle rocking motion, a completely different horizon, body sensations, sounds, and the whole sensory experience differs from everyday life. Everything external, in a well-organized fishing trip or life on the water, heals, dissolves, and restructures the mind. Those who have tried it will understand what I'm talking about.

And fishermen will confirm that time spent on the water doesn't count towards your lifespan 😉

Introducing the concept of "positive trauma" 🔻

Of course, there's nothing positive, good, or useful about this term. On the contrary, it's one of the most insidious mechanisms that reinforce a behavior pattern with a destructive impact on one's life.

▶️ A simple example is alcohol. A party with great conversations, a relaxed body, joy, one glass, two glasses. And if you manage to be the center of attention, it's even more 🔥

If this occurs in a context where you usually have few friends and interacting with society is either stressful or necessary, alcohol can become a direct path to pleasant experiences. Instead of the connection friends/communication-pleasure, the link alcohol-pleasure is formed.

▶️ Or consider a success situation. You've accomplished something great, won, or earned money, so you celebrate and drink. It seems like a positive event. But again, if other resources and sources of pleasant emotions were scarce before this, you might resort to the easiest way to create them.

Professionals who have long worked with alcohol addiction say there are 4 stages:
🔹 live and drink
🔹 live to drink
🔹 drink to live
🔹 drink to die

Those who know people with long-term drinking habits can confirm the accuracy of these stages, especially the last two.

There are also other, less obvious positive trauma hooks. These are related to violence, especially from significant adults, rejection, and parental attention only when a child is extremely successful.

I want to discuss these mechanisms in more detail in the future. 😉

Sexualized violence, including verbal abuse and harassment, is one of the most deeply traumatizing and destructive experiences a person can face. Not only does it leave psychological and emotional scars, but it can also significantly change one's relationship with their own body. Here are some of the consequences:

♦️ Alienation from the body: Victims of s*xualized violence may feel that their body no longer belongs to them, but has become an object of violence. This can lead to a sense of estrangement from their physical selves.

♦️ Lowered self-esteem: Sexualized violence can negatively impact a victim's self-esteem, causing feelings of worthlessness, shame, and guilt. This may lead to issues with self-identification, taking on responsibility for what happened, and attempting to regain control and safety in this way.

♦️ Altered perception of s*xuality: Survivors may begin to perceive their s*xuality as something dangerous that attracts violence. This can lower interest in s*x, cause fear of intimate relationships, and hinder the formation of healthy connections.

♦️ Physical symptoms: Sexualized violence can cause symptoms such as chronic pain, muscle tension, an inability to touch certain parts of the body, or even psychosomatic disorders. These symptoms can further aggravate one's self-perception.

♦️ Negative body image: A negative attitude towards one's body can lead to issues with eating and lifestyle choices, such as disordered eating, alcohol abuse, self-destructive or risk-taking behavior as a way to either numb sensations or to experience them.

All these states shift towards health when the traumatic experience is resolved. A sense of safety returns, along with the ability to live through bodily sensations, and the need to constantly be in a state of anxiety and control subsides. By the way, new manifestations can also be surprising and require adaptation. For example, when a person experiences attraction or physical pleasure for the first time in their life. But that's a story for another time.