When scary things happen to people we know, in places we have been, like a church or a school, or at concerts we might have attended, or airports we’ve traveled through — there is a quietness of disbelief. An echo of these questions…

Why did this happen?

Was there a motive?

How could something so heartbreaking happen so close to home? 

Am I in danger? 

When traumatic events occur, they stay frozen like a snapshot in the mind.

In these moments, we go into a trauma response — whether it’s fight, flight, or freeze. The story gets lost from the narrative of the event. Our brains and bodies need help to heal back to the way things were, to regain a sense of normalcy felt in the day before the shock, a day when things were not dangerous. 

EMDR therapy can help mend the broken scary parts of your story by helping create a safe place to grieve.

What is EMDR therapy?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy that uses eye movement and body awareness to help you heal from trauma.

Trauma simply means a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. EMDR helps relieve some of the stress that occurs after a shocking event occurs. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of PTSD based on a traumatic event, then EMDR could be a helpful therapy to consider. Symptoms to look for are trouble sleeping, anxiety, panic attacks, rage, fear, anger, and trouble concentrating. 

The gift of healing from trauma can create more peace in stressful situations and a greater understanding of yourself.

Things do not always have to be like this and we are here to help. 

If you’d like to learn more about EMDR, ask your therapist or email maryprevost@sagehillcounseling.com to schedule a session with a Sage Hill Counseling therapist who’s trained in EMDR.

Christen Johnson is a therapist at Sage Hill Counseling in Nashville, Tennessee. She spent her post-graduate internship at the Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville where she gained experience working with women in crisis pregnancy situations and with young women and men who struggled with depression, anxiety, relationship issues and personality disorders. She is also trained in Trauma-Focused Behavioral-Cognitive Therapy (TF-BCT).