EMDR Introduction
Anxiety and depression rates are at an all-time high and continue to rise. There are two kinds of depression: hormonal and situational. EMDR will be discussed below.
If it’s a hormonal imbalance, medication is necessary. You can’t do anything about it. Consider it like high blood pressure – medication is required.
But if it’s situational, we have some good news for you! You can significantly reduce or even eliminate it completely. YES, you read that right!
To give you an idea, most of the world’s population struggles with situational depression, which can be treated without medication. This type of depression has a starting point, and various events have intensified it over time. It could have begun as early as when your mother was pregnant with you!
Think of situational depression as a building that starts with one small room and expands into an entire complex. You might not even realize how severe it has become because you were born into this situation!
How could my depression or anxiety have started in the womb?
Brain development begins early in pregnancy, just three weeks after fertilization, and continues throughout the entire nine months.
At six weeks, the neural tube forms and closes. The brain now consists of three areas: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
The forebrain develops into the cerebrum, which controls certain brain functions, such as thinking and problem-solving.
The midbrain processes visual and auditory information.
The hindbrain develops into the cerebellum, which manages balance and coordination, and the medulla, which controls the body’s automatic functions, such as blood pressure and heart rate.
So, starting in the womb, you begin to absorb emotions. If the mother experiences any distressing emotions, even if it’s just due to pregnancy, they can be transmitted to the baby. This can lead the baby to believe they are unwanted or unloved. And BOOM. You begin to notice the starting point of anxiety and depression to establish.
Or it could have been your first birthday. Your parents threw you a party, and you felt anxious around all these new people. And now, you have anxiety.
But whaaaaat? How? I was a baby; I can’t remember that.
Yes, you can! Your brain remembers everything! Do you remember taking your first step, saying your first word, or reading your first sentence? No, you don’t, but your brain remembers it all. It’s like a vast database, storing every single emotion and memory, starting from the womb.
The good news with situational depression is that we can significantly reduce or eliminate it completely. This is where EMDR therapy comes in.
EMDR utilizes the left and right brain to target all negative and distressing memories. You may not remember them, but your brain remembers them all. With EMDR therapy, we can automatically target all memories that have caused distress in your life and worsened your anxiety, depression, or PTSD. We can trace it back to as early as the womb. You don’t need to have a conscious memory of all the emotions or distressing events; your brain’s hard drive has stored them all. And the great news is, we can heal them all. We can heal that wounded inner child, the inner critic, the root of anxiety and depression. We can address any and all traumatic events.