Clients come to me struggling and suffering and not always understanding why. These struggles can show up in many ways: difficulty connecting with others, loneliness, anxiety, low-self worth, people-pleasing, social anxiety, withdrawal, headaches, sleeplessness, stomach pain, addictions, nightmares, racing thoughts, anger, irritability…and so much more.
What many people don’t realize is that the past lives in us both emotionally and physically.
I often hear:
I should be over this already. It was so long ago.
I’ve already talked about this so why does it still bother me?
I don’t know why I’m so unhappy. I have a good life.
Just as the impact of a car accident can cause our muscles to lock up, the impact of an emotional event can cause the brain and body to lock up. We get stuck in fight-or-flight and that reaction gets triggered over and over again by every day events.
Many of my clients have spent years in therapy, but find that simply talking about their experiences is not enough to heal what’s happening on a nervous system level.
That’s why I integrate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) into my talk therapy. Through EMDR, we’re able to change the neurological response to the past, and release the emotional hold it has on you.
