A Little Self EMDR Treat: Quick Read + Exercise
Quick Disclaimer: This is NOT therapy and shouldn't replace professional support for trauma or grief. Proceed with care.
If you’re curious about EMDR therapy and want to give it a solo try before committing to work with a therapist, this one’s for you.
What you’ll need:
headphones
computer or phone with screen and audio
timing device
about 10 minutes
Again, I have to state this, please know this is NOT THERAPY and shouldn’t be used to try to treat anything.
If you are feeling suicidal, this should not be used as a replacement for emergency care.
Call or text 988 if you are in crisis.
The Process Explained
Just a note: We are not trying to “feel better" - we’re working with your body’s natural inclination toward wellness to increase access to confidence, calm, courage, creativity, and curiosity.To begin, get in a comfortable place that is as peaceful as possible. Connect your headphones to your computer (you can do this on a phone if that’s all you have!)
RE: overwhelm : If you begin to feel quickly overwhelmed or distress comes up during this exercise, pause or stop immediately. Take calming breaths, ground yourself in the present moment, and know that seeking professional help is the right next step if you're struggling.
Let’s start with imagining a moment of:
confidence, courage, calm, creativity, or curiosity
This could be a time from long ago, more currently, or an imagined time. You can implant yourself into a movie, book, show, or the life or situation of someone you admire.
Zoom into the thought or memory - what does it smels like or sound like or look like? What can you see? Try to see THROUGH your own eyes, versus seeing yourself in a birds eye view or from a distant POV.
What does your body feel like in the moment as you bring up this thought? Is there a location that feels the confidence, courage, creativity or curiosity the strongest? Maybe it’s in your heart, or your head is light, or your hands feel vibrating. Maybe it’s more sublet, a bit of heat in your neck or a pulsing of your stomach. Put as much attention there as possible, try to get it up to a 7 or 8 out of 10.
Choose one of these videos, open it in another tab and then come back here:
When you’re back, get comfy and pull up the memory or thought to re-sink into the sensory information. You can draw it, think about it, use a photo…there are so many ways to connect with this.
Now, check in with the spot in your body that the confidence, calm, courage, creativity, or curiosity felt strongest. Take your time. Turn it up to an 8 or 9.
Think of a word, image, movement, color, shape, or other symbol you can use to represent this feeling. Not just the memory itself, but the felt sense of the memory.
It doesn’t have to be accurate or mean anything to anyone other than you.
With this body awareness and unique symbol to represent that felt sense of confidence, calm, courage, creativity, or curiosity, get in a comfortable position, put on your headphones, and pull up the video that you selected.
You will not need to watch the video, but it can be a place to look. You can close your eyes, focus your eyes on something, move between open and closed. The important thing here is the audio.
Headphones are really important!
Set your timer for 5 minutes, pull up your symbol, check your body spot, and begin playing the video at a comfortable (loud enough!) volume.
You are giving about equal attention to:
the music
the felt sense of C’s in your body
When your 5 minute timer goes off, pause the video and take a nice nourishing breath.
Notice your toes, notice where you are sitting or laying. Notice the barrier between your body and the surface. Bring attention to the space right above your head, and then into the tips of your fingers.
Decide if you’d like to go on with the exercise or move on with your day.
There is no magic amount of time that this should or does take. That’s really not the point.
Instead, think of it more as a vitamin or proactive exercise that helps you fill your reserves to move through more difficult emotional experiences.
Please remember this is not an exercise to cure anything or make you “feel better.” It is not therapy and shouldn’t replace therapeutic care.
