EMDR what is it and what is the purpose...

You may have heard people mention EMDR therapy and wondered what it actually is. The name sounds technical, but the idea behind it is surprisingly simple.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a type of therapy designed to help people process painful memories so they stop feeling as overwhelming or “alive” in the present.

Why Trauma Can Feel Like It’s Still Happening

Normally, when something upsetting happens, your brain processes it and files it away as a memory.

But sometimes — especially with trauma — the brain doesn’t fully process the event. Instead, it gets “stuck.”

That’s why certain sounds, smells, or situations can suddenly bring the feelings rushing back as if it’s happening all over again.

EMDR is designed to help the brain finish processing those stuck memories.

How EMDR Therapy Works

During an EMDR session, you focus on a difficult memory while doing something called bilateral stimulation. This usually means:

Moving your eyes side to side

Listening to alternating sounds in headphones

Feeling gentle taps that switch from left to right

This process seems to help the brain reprocess the memory in a safer, more balanced way.

Many people say the memory doesn’t disappear — but it stops feeling sharp, raw, or overwhelming.

What EMDR Is Used For

EMDR is most commonly used for trauma and PTSD, but therapists may also use it to help with:

Anxiety

Panic

Phobias

Grief

Low self-worth linked to past experiences

What a Session Feels Like

Everyone’s experience is different, but people often describe EMDR as:

Emotional but controlled

Tiring but relieving

Strange at first, but natural after a while

You stay fully awake and aware the whole time — you’re not hypnotised or “out of control.”

Is EMDR a Quick Fix?

Sometimes EMDR can work faster than traditional talk therapy, but it isn’t magic. Healing still takes time, and a good therapist will make sure you feel safe and grounded throughout the process.

The Most Important Thing to Know

EMDR should always be done with a trained therapist.

It’s powerful work, and support matters.

Final Thoughts

Healing doesn’t always mean forgetting.

Sometimes healing means remembering — but without the pain owning you anymore.

EMDR is one of the ways people are learning to take that power back.

So that's it the jargon, the experience and reality I will document in blogs.  For me reaching out took years, one because my career is a Counsellor and it felt like I was a failure that I could not even fix me, and second because I couldn't associate my problem to trauma having cuddles people with such severe trauma I had devalued my own!

Hear me.

Our brains all process differently, so you cannot judge trauma impact by a rational reasoning or judgement. It's affecting you, your sleep, your day to day life, somatically as in my case, then it's trauma which means your brain needs help. 

Read my next blog, what is trauma, if like me you thought you had to be a war Veteran or the like to experience it.

Understand what is happening in your brain. That's the first step to recovery, that and acceptance and kindness. Don't fight it, it's there for a reason.