Looking for a method to try to shift your trauma responses?
Does being flung into fight or flight cause issues in your career?
Your relationships?
Wanting to try to heal with some different therapy?
Your past can be marked by layers of trauma and intense stress, which have lasting impacts on mental and emotional well-being. Some of us are not aware that the trauma we encountered, in our formative years, has left a lasting fingerprint. We believe it is our character, our personality that can make us anxious, insecure, feel sad, feel tired, feel hopeless. We struggle and think it is normal and we can never change. It’s up to you to find solutions to get out from under the suffocating depression, the autoimmune diseases to see if you can build your own calming sustainable foundation of peace.
You may find that some modalities help you build your sustainable foundation more than others.
Here is an idea to help shift your narrative and head down your own path of healing.
Utilizing eye movement to facilitate trauma healing and induce a sense of calm in the midst of distress. We explore the concept of using eye movement as a therapeutic tool, its connection to trauma healing, and its potential for immediate calming effects.
Eye Movement and Trauma Healing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach employing bilateral stimulation.Using horizontal eye movement, to facilitate the processing of traumatic memories.Distressing memories are stored in an unprocessed form, contributing to emotional distress and negative beliefs about yourself. By engaging in directed eye movements while recalling these memories, individuals can reprocess them, leading to a reduction in the emotional charge associated with the traumatic experience. This process is thought to mimic the natural processing that occurs during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, facilitating the integration of the memory into a more adaptive and less distressing form.
Calming Effects of Eye Movement
Beyond trauma healing, eye movement has the potential for immediate calming effects in moments of distress. Engaging in rhythmic eye movements stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system. This promotes relaxation and counters your fight-or-flight reaction. This response is useful in moments of acute stress or anxiety. Methods like “eye movement meditation” involve gently shifting one’s gaze in a slow, deliberate manner, allowing the mind to focus on the movement and break free from escalating thoughts of worry.
The Role of Neural Pathways
The efficacy of eye movement-based therapies are attributed to the complex neural pathways that connect eye movement, memory recall, and emotional processing. Horizontal eye movements are believed to engage both the left and right hemispheres of the brain, facilitating communication between logical and emotional centers. This cross-hemispheric communication might be integral to processing traumatic memories and transforming their emotional impact.
Ethical Considerations and Future Research
While the potential benefits of using eye movement for trauma healing and calming are promising, ethical considerations must be acknowledged. Proper training and guidance are crucial to ensuring that these techniques are applied safely and effectively. Additionally, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying eye movement’s effects on trauma processing and emotional regulation. This includes investigating individual differences in responsiveness to eye movement-based interventions and identifying the optimal protocols for different types of trauma.
Incorporating eye movement into therapeutic practices has emerged as an innovative approach for trauma healing and immediate calming. Techniques like EMDR and eye movement meditation harness the brain’s neural pathways to process distressing memories and activate relaxation responses. While more research is needed, to fully comprehend the intricacies of these effects, the potential for enhancing mental health treatment through eye movement is a promising avenue that could lead to improved outcomes for individuals dealing with trauma and acute stress. Seek out a professional well versed in this methodology and monitor how you feel. It can stir up some situations that can be tricky to process so go gently and give yourself time.
Make sure you choose a therapist you feel safe with, who is consistent, who is patient, and you feel as comfortable as possible with. Ensure they have a plan in place to help you recover, after a session, as this kind of therapy can be exhausting. You may need to have someone at home aware of how to assist you. Stay clear of coping mechanisms from substances and focus on resting and letting all your feelings go through you. Keep going. You are worth it. If it doesn’t feel right, you can stop. You are not failing. We extend compassion to all our Calming Box members gently making shifts. Build your calm sustainable foundation.