Overcome Barriers with EMDR

Have you ever felt like there were invisible barriers preventing you from achieving your goals or getting to where you wanted to be in life?

Many times, these barriers are the result of traumatic experiences that have negatively impacted the way you view yourself, others, and the world around you. A therapeutic technique known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) offers a way to overcome the barriers that may be holding you back by helping you re-shape your core perceptions.

Megan McQuary, our guest in Episode 93 of The MINDSet Game® podcast, was drawn to EMDR for its ability to help people quickly and effectively overcome trauma and other obstacles. After owning and operating one of the largest treatment centers for substance abuse and trauma in Southeast Idaho, Megan became a Certified EMDR Clinician and Trainer, conducting trainings on this powerful technique for practitioners around the world. In this episode, Megan shares the following:

What is EMDR? 

Megan explains that one of the main goals of EMDR is to re-shape the core perceptions you have about yourself, others, and the world around you. This enables you to begin removing the barriers that may be holding you back from your goals and return your brain to its natural processing abilities, which can lead to more optimal functioning. In addition to helping people remove the negative perceptions they have developed as a result of trauma, EMDR can be effective with issues such as stress and anxiety, addiction, and impulse control. 

How Does an EMDR Session Work?

When conducting an EMDR session, Megan begins by guiding the client to identify negative core beliefs and perceptions that are getting in the way. She also looks at a timeline of events that have occurred in the client’s life, including traumatic experiences in the past and current stressors, as well as a “resiliency timeline.” The latter focuses on opportunities the person has had throughout their life and the things that kept them going or got them motivated when they were navigating difficult times. Megan says that tapping into those opportunities and integrating them into EMDR can lead to significant progress.

During the actual EMDR process, Megan uses a technique called bilateral stimulation, which stimulates both the right and left sides of the central nervous system – thereby helping both sides communicate with each other. To understand why this is important, Megan offers a metaphor: if you think of your brain as a stoplight, the green light is the front part of the brain, where you can use logic, solve problems effectively, and make concrete decisions. The yellow light is the mid-brain, or the amygdala, which senses danger and can help you react. The red light is the back brain, which triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response. When the red light activates, the green light region essentially shuts down, impairing your ability to think logically or make rational decisions. EMDR can interrupt this process, forcing the frontal lobe to come back online so you can work through traumas or stressors in a logical, clear-minded way. 

At the end of the episode, Megan takes us through a guided visualization using bilateral stimulation. This empowering session is designed to help you reflect on how far you’ve come in life and discover where you are in relation to achieving your goals.

To learn more about Megan and EMDR, visit her website at https://thementalsurvivalist.com or tune into Episode 93 of The MINDSet Game® podcast!